SHE WEPT
LUKE 7:36-8:3
FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF PALO ALTO
June 10, 2007
Douglas Norris
I’m intrigued by the woman
who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears, dried them with her hair, repeatedly
kissed his feet and then anointed them.
Outlandish? Overly demonstrative?
Now, Simon, the host, I
can understand. He was a, cautious,
conservative, reserved, proud, respected Pharisee who probably felt he was
doing Jesus a favor by entertaining him in his home. But, he certainly failed as a host. It was the custom to wash the feet of guests, or have a servant
wash them. The streets weren’t
paved. Guests walked, sometimes long
distances. Can you imagine how relaxing
it would feel to have your sore, hot, dusty feet washed and soothed with
ointment. But, there was no foot
washing in Simon’s house. And, he was
shocked when Jesus allowed this sinful woman to touch him. “Surely” Simon thought, “he knows who and
what kind of woman this is!”
Jesus put Simon in his
place in short order, pointing out his shortcomings as a host, and praising the
woman for her outlandish kindness.
Simon is reprimanded, the woman is praised. Jesus praised her for her lavish demonstration of love, and forgave
her sins, which were many. Notice she
didn’t ask to be forgiven. Her forgiveness
was a gift. Jesus said to Simon, “Her
sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven,
loves little.” Ouch! Take that, Simon. You who think you are so important do not realize how pitiful you
are. You who think you are
self-sufficient do not realize how spiritually impoverished you are.
I’m intrigued by the
woman. We first see her standing behind
Jesus at his feet, weeping. Remember,
now, they weren’t sitting on chairs. When he painted The Last Supper, DaVinci evidently didn’t know how
they dined in Jesus’ day. Evidently
DaVinci thought Jesus said, “Hey, guys, if you want to get in the picture, get
on this side of the table!” No, they
didn’t sit on chairs. Nor did they sit on the floor. They reclined at the table, leaning on one arm, with their feet
outstretched.
The woman stood behind
Jesus at his feet, weeping. (I also
wonder how she got into Simon’s house.
If she were a woman of the streets, how did she get in? Was she a regular visitor of Simon? But, let’s not go there.)
She wept. I wonder why. Why was she weeping? Did
she feel badly because no one had washed and anointed Jesus’ feet? Was she embarrassed by the lack of
hospitality? Did she see a need, and
decide to fill it? Evidently, she was
prepared. She had brought with her an
alabaster jar of ointment.
I suspect there was more
to it than that. I suspect her tears
were the result of being in the actual presence of the Lord? She probably could not believe it! Here she is--a woman of the street, a woman
shunned by other women, a woman who respectable people ostracized, a
sinner. Here she is, standing behind
Jesus. Overwhelmed, filled with awe,
struck with the incredulity of the moment, she wept. Did she also weep out of remorse, sorry for her life, ashamed of
how she had to live in order to survive?
How unworthy she must have felt to be in the presence of Jesus.
This unnamed woman, her
response and her actions serve as a model for Christian worship and service.
When we enter the presence
of God, when we sense the mystery, grandeur, and holiness of God, our response
is to weep. The woman teaches us to
weep in the presence of God. I recall
giving a Minnesota couple a tour of our church several years ago. I didn’t bring visitors into the sanctuary
through the convenient side doors. I
made them walk outside, through the patio, through the narthex and then into the
sanctuary. The woman from Minneapolis
wept. She was awestruck and whispered,
“How magnificent!” Other visitors would
say, “How nice. Where’s the
coffee?” But, she wept. I’m afraid most of us have been in this room
so often we take it for granted. And,
on Sundays, we’re late, rushed, busy, our minds filled with myriads of thoughts,
none of them on God, and we miss the sense of awe. The Minneapolis visitor entered the presence of God, and she
wept. What if she had heard the organ
and choirs!
I suggest to you that our
response when we enter the sanctuary, or a time of prayer is to weep. Oh, I don’t mean literal tears necessarily;
but my profound religious experiences have included tears, sometimes wet eyes,
but sometimes intense weeping. Several weeks ago, I talked to a woman who is going
through a very difficult time. She goes
to church and weeps. She was
embarrassed until her pastor told her, “If we aren’t free to cry in church,
where can we weep?” Weeping is
cleansing. Weeping is healing. Weeping is a blessing from God. Weeping, not necessarily literal tears, is
an attitude of humility, vulnerability, and dependence on God.
Next Sunday when you come
to church, and whenever you begin a time of prayer at home or wherever, begin
with weeping. By that I mean, recall
how blessed you are, how God has lavished heaps of blessings on you. Call to mind how you have not done what you
should have done, how you have done what you shouldn’t have done, and how you
have failed to do what you set out to do.
Confess. Weep.
Yesterday, one of our
church’s young women was married. Her
family moved here when she was five years old.
Marjorie Sweet grew up in this church.
She loves this church and considers you part of her family. She recalls that when she was little, she
would not go home until she had her hug from Doug. Yesterday, we wept, we wept tears of joy, basking in the beauty
of God’s love. This morning we baptized
Adam Noke and Jeremiah Fung, and we weep tears of joy and gratitude to God for
the precious gift of life. Today we celebrate the golden wedding anniversary of
Allen and Mary Lu Wood. Fifty
years! And we weep tears of joy and
thanksgiving to God for their example, their witness. In three weeks, we will
celebrate the life of one of the grand ladies of our church, Gracia Smith, and
we weep. Yes, church is where we weep
tears of sorrow and grief; church is where we weep tears of joy; church is
where we weep tears of remorse and contrition.
When Isaiah had a vision
of the Lord’s grandeur, mystery and splendor, how the whole earth is full of
God’s glory, his reaction was to contrast the holiness of God and the human
condition. And he wept, (Isaiah 6.5),
“Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man
of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips.”
When the news first came
of the Virginia Tech massacre, I wept.
Our nation wept. Americans
caught a glimpse of what the Iraqis live with every day—senseless, brutal,
demented killings of innocent people.
Woe is us! We are lost. We are a people of unclean lips.
But, the woman did not
stop with her tears. Nor did
Isaiah. He was mystified, he couldn’t
believe what he was experiencing, and again he must have wept when he whispered
in disbelief, “Yet, yet my eyes have seen the King.” Yet, in spite of what the woman was, in spite of what she had
done, she saw Jesus. Yet, in spite of
the horrors of terrorism and wanton killing, in spite of war and its
uninhibited violence, yet we can see God.
We can experience the presence of God even in the midst of sin and evil.
She wept, but she didn’t
stop there. Her tears moved her to
action. She fulfilled a need. Jesus’ feet were dusty. She tenderly washed his feet with her tears,
dried them with her hair, kissed them and rubbed them with ointment.
Our country has schools to
educate; cities to provide protection, streets, water; engineers to improve
technology; agriculture to provide food, etc.
What is the role of the church?
What does the church provide?
The church’s role is to weep, to intercede with God on behalf of a
suffering, troubled world, and to call the nation to weep. “Oh, God of creation, who gave us a planet
of plenty, who made us to love and live in peace and harmony, what have we
done! Woe is us.”
However, weeping does not
mean hand wringing. Weeping means
remorse, contrition, repentance, cleansing, and true weeping leads to
action. Serve. Wash and anoint the Lord’s feet. Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, love and
protect the children, fight for justice, make peace.
Our church wept when the
Ramirez family was threatened. The
parents were deported because they were illegal immigrants, but their children
were being forced to stay here. Our
church turned tears into action, raised awareness and money so the children
could accompany their parents. The
family remains intact.
The senior high youth
group at Paradise Valley United Methodist Church, the church we attend in
Arizona, wept over the plight of the homeless.
They turned their tears into action.
One Saturday a month they prepare sack lunches and then distribute them
at a homeless shelter. They went
further and developed a mission they call Open Table. So far they have helped a single man and a single woman with a
young son get training, jobs and homes of their own. One of the youth, Victor Ferreira, said, “It’s great to work with
the homeless. Seeing the joy and hope
on their faces when we tell them that we are going to help them is amazing…Our
work shows me that most homeless people want to and do work hard; they simply
do not have the resources or knowledge.
Open Table clears these obstacles and brings hope to the homeless.” Open Table is now spreading throughout
United Methodist churches in the Phoenix area.
She wept. She met Jesus and she wept. She experienced the forgiving, loving
presence of God, and she wept, turning her tears into action. Sisters and brothers, do you weep?