Matthew 8:1-13 and Luke 7

Faith.

She was a woman of the street.  Everyone knew her occupation.  It was a special dinner and she along with others were allowed to enter the house but not invited to eat.  Food was provided for a few and the others were given a free night of entertainment and conversation.  This woman knows the depth of her sin and she knows that Jesus is the great healer.  She weeps, anoints, and kisses the feet of Jesus.  Would we have been embarrassed by her actions?  Would we have questioned Jesus’ understanding?  Would we have been Simon?  Or would we have been the woman recognizing how sinful we are and being unapologetic for revealing the fullness of our heart in the presence of Jesus?  We are not invited in this story to identify with Jesus.  Luke writes the story so that we either identify with Simon or with the woman.  We are either profoundly embarrassed and judgmental or we are profoundly thankful and humble.  Too often we are convicted by decorum rather than convicted by the Spirit about our sin.  The point of the story isn’t to agree that sinners should come to Jesus but to see ourselves as the sinner who needs Jesus.  Only when we know the depth of our sin do we abandon decorum to fall at our Master’s feet.