How Much Have You Been Given?

One

The Repentant Woman and the Pharisee 

Let’s begin with a reading from the Gospel of Luke, about a repentant woman and a pharisee, “A Pharisee invited him 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.” 

So, what is this story about? It’s about someone who knew how much she owed Jesus and someone who didn’t. Which are you?

Two

How much are we in the red? How much do we have that needs forgiveness?

The sinful woman had done a lot of bad stuff, and she knew it. She knew that Christ was able to handle it. She knew that Christ had handled it.

That woman was like somebody who calls those financial talk shows because they’re horribly, horribly in debt. Now usually the talk-show host will try to give some sound financial advice and a lot of times it’s brutal advice, but the talk-show host won’t actually do anything to pay off the debts of the people calling in. But Jesus doesn’t just tell you how to avoid falling into debt. Jesus covers all your debts. 

Can you imagine if there was someone walking around, paying off everyone’s mortgage, everyone’s credit card debt, everybody’s student loans out of their own personal funds? The folks who would be most grateful would be the ones who were in the biggest financial trouble, new it, and wanted to get out of it.

That’s this woman. She was in big trouble. She was way in the red. She knew it. And she knew who had saved her. And she was so, so, so grateful. Is that you?

Three

How Much Are We In the Black? 

The Pharisee who was hosting Jesus, he had been given a lot. The gift of life, the gift of creation, the gift of the sun and the sky and the stars and the moon. The gifts God’s given all of us. He’d also been given the truth. He’d been given the scriptures, the Ten Commandments, the gift of being one of God’s chosen people. He’d been given the gift of knowing where the world came from, what life was about, and that he was loved by God.

Think how many people aren’t given those gifts! And then, as if all that wasn’t enough, he had been especially blessed even relative to his own demographic. He wasn’t poor, or homeless, or neglected. He was a Pharisee! A religious leader, and one of the most respected people in his community. He was certainly sufficiently prosperous to be able to host people for banquets.

But he doesn’t seem particularly grateful. He doesn’t seem particularly gracious (and, it’s a funny thing in life, but gratitude and graciousness go together). He doesn’t particularly honor Jesus. His main thoughts seem to focus on other people’s problems, on the woman’s sinfulness and Jesus’ cluelessness.

So here’s this man who’s been given so much, life and truth and health and prosperity and respect, but instead of gratitude and generosity, he’s cranky and critical of others. Is that you?

Four

Combining the Black and the Red 

The repentant woman knew how much she owed Jesus. The Pharisee clearly didn’t. She realized how far she’d been in the red. The Pharisee didn’t think about how it was God’s generosity that had put him so far in the black.

So how much do you owe Jesus? How grateful should you be? How much should you love Him? Simple: add up all the ways you need to be forgiven, and combine it with all the things that you’ve been given.

Make a list of all the ways you’re in the red. All the times you’ve ever lusted, ever said something nasty, ever shown off, or cut someone off. All the times you’ve ever put your preferences for food, or activities, or tidiness, or expense ahead of others. Watch that red line grow and stretch until it hits the horizon and you lose sight of it. 

Then start making a list of all the ways you’re in the black. All God’s given you, being alive, and being able to walk, and being able to see and to hear, and your house and friends and family and good food and comfortable beds and a million and one ways of being entertained and educated and especially your faith and the sacraments and the promise of heaven. Watch that black line get longer and longer and still you can’t even begin to count all the stuff you’ve been given just out of God’s generosity.

Then, now that you’ve got two lines, the red and the black, and they’re both immeasurable – now add them together. That’s what you owe God. 

Five

How are we showing our devotion, our gratitude, our love?

So how do we know if we really appreciate all God’s done for us? If we do acts of devotion.

The repentant woman poured out super-expensive perfume, washed Christ’s feet with her tears, and dried His feet with her hair. She came up with dramatic and creative ways to show her love. The Pharisee didn’t even do the basics. 

So which are we? Are we coming up with dramatic and creative ways to show our gratitude, our devotion, our love for Christ? Or are we the ungrateful Pharisee? Do we just take everything for granted, and fail even to minimally express our awareness of just how much we owe Him?