Luke 7:36-50

Luke 7:36-50

A certain Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him,

and he entered the Pharisee's house and reclined at table.

Now there was a sinful woman in the city

who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee.

Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment,

she stood behind him at his feet weeping

and began to bathe his feet with her tears.

Then she wiped them with her hair,

kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself,

“If this man were a prophet,

he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him,

that she is a sinner.”

Jesus said to him in reply,

“Simon, I have something to say to you.”

‘Tell me, teacher,” he said.

“Two people were in debt to a certain creditor;

one owed five hundred days’ wages and the other owed fifty.

Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both.

Which of them will love him more?”

Simon said in reply,

“The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven.”

He said to him, “You have judged rightly.”

Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon,

“Do you see this woman?

When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet,

but she has bathed them with her tears

and wiped them with her hair.

You did not give me a kiss,

but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered.

You did not anoint my head with oil,

but she anointed my feet with ointment.

So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven;

hence, she has shown great love.

But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”

He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

The others at table said to themselves,

“Who is this who even forgives sins?”

But he said to the woman,

“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I thank you for the gift of your mercy. You sent your Son to redeem me from sin and restore me to life with you. Give me a humble and contrite heart that recognizes my need for your forgiveness. When I fall, lead me back to you, that I may receive your mercy and love you more deeply.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The One Who Can Forgive Sins: Today’s Gospel reveals Jesus as the one who has authority to forgive sins. This is not merely one of the many things Jesus does; it reveals something essential about his identity and mission. All three Synoptic Gospels record the healing of the paralytic as a sign that Jesus has authority to forgive sins (Matthew 9:1–8; Mark 2:1–12; Luke 5:17–26). John the Baptist identifies him as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The Letter to the Hebrews explains how Christ accomplishes this work through his sacrifice on the Cross. The priests of the Old Covenant offered the blood of animals, but Christ, the true High Priest, entered the heavenly sanctuary with his own blood. His sacrifice is not repeated because it is perfect and definitive. “We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). Christ’s sacrifice does more than cancel a debt. His blood purifies our consciences so that we can serve the living God (Hebrews 9:14). He offers us not merely forgiveness from something but restoration to someone. Through Christ, sinners are reconciled to the Father and brought back into communion with him. The woman in today’s Gospel understands this. She approaches Jesus because she knows that she needs his mercy. Simon does not yet understand the same thing about himself.

2. The Pharisee Simon and the Repentant Woman: Simon the Pharisee invites Jesus into his home, but his actions reveal that he does not recognize who has entered it. He does not offer Jesus the customary signs of hospitality: water for his feet, a kiss of greeting, or oil for his head.

The woman, by contrast, approaches Jesus with extraordinary humility and love. She washes his feet with her tears, wipes them with her hair, kisses them, and anoints them with ointment. She does not come to defend herself or justify her past. She comes to Jesus because she knows that she needs mercy. Simon looks at the woman and sees a sinner. Jesus looks at the woman and sees someone who can be restored. Simon’s judgment of her also reveals something about his own heart. He believes that he can distinguish himself from her by his righteousness, but he fails to recognize his own need for mercy. Jesus then tells the parable of two debtors. One owes five hundred days’ wages and the other fifty. Neither can repay the debt, and both are forgiven. Jesus asks Simon, “Which of them will love him more?” Simon correctly answers, “The one, I suppose, to whom he forgave the larger debt” (Luke 7:42–43). The woman’s great love does not purchase her forgiveness. Rather, her love reveals that she has received and recognized God's mercy. Jesus concludes, “Her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love” (Luke 7:47). Then he tells her, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (Luke 7:50). True righteousness therefore begins not with confidence in our own goodness but with faith in Christ and humble dependence upon his mercy. Works of love are the fruit of that faith. The woman loves because she has encountered mercy.

3. Deep Gratitude: The contrast between Simon and the woman ultimately concerns their awareness of their need for forgiveness. Simon appears to have little need for mercy because he believes he has little for which to be forgiven. The woman knows the depth of her sin and therefore experiences the depth of Christ’s mercy. This does not mean that we should sin more in order to love more. Rather, it means that the deeper our awareness of God’s mercy, the deeper our gratitude should become. The saints are not people who believe they have no need for forgiveness. They are people who have come to understand more profoundly both the seriousness of sin and the astonishing generosity of God’s grace. This is one reason the Sacrament of Reconciliation is such a beautiful encounter with Christ. We come before him acknowledging our sins, not because he is waiting to condemn us, but because he desires to restore us. We bring him our failures, and he gives us his mercy. We bring him our wounded conscience, and he gives us peace. The woman leaves Jesus with a new life. She came carrying the burden of her sins; she leaves with forgiveness and peace. Her encounter with Christ does not merely remove something from her past. It creates a new future. The mercy she receives becomes the source of a new love. We should therefore never allow shame over our sins to keep us away from Christ. The greater our awareness of our need for mercy, the more confidently we should approach him. As the Letter to the Hebrews teaches, we can “draw near to the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help” (Hebrews 4:16).

Like the woman, we can approach Christ with humility and confidence. He does not ask us to pretend that we have no debt. He asks us to let him forgive it.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are seated at the right hand of the Father on the throne of mercy. I approach you with confidence, knowing that you desire to forgive and restore me. Give me a humble and contrite heart. Help me recognize the seriousness of my sins, trust in your mercy, and love you more deeply because I have been forgiven.

Living the Word of God: When I examine my conscience, do I approach Christ like the woman – with humility and awareness of my need for mercy – or like Simon, comparing myself favorably with others? When was the last time I received the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and have I allowed that encounter with Christ to change how I live? What sin, wound, or failure do I need to place before Jesus today and entrust to his mercy?