by Michael Danner
Epistle Reading: Luke 7:36 - 8:3
For Sunday, June 16, 2013; Year C—Ordinary 11
I get annoyed by people who want to be near me to judge me. These people feign interest in me and my life. They engage in what appears to be normal, friendly, dialog. However, they are really watching for anything in me that doesn’t measure up.
There is one person in my life, in particular, who excels at this. I’m not around this person all the time, but I’ve discerned the pattern. We will engage in conversation around everyday things. When something comes up that this person judges as inappropriate for a person of faith (things like I watch The Walking Dead), this person says things like, “That’s nice, PASTOR Mike.” (heavy emphasis on the “pastor” part).
Guess Who is Coming for Dinner?
In this week’s gospel text, Jesus has just such an experience. He’s invited to dinner at Simon’s house, who is a Pharisee. After a woman shows up (we’re told she is a sinner) it becomes apparent that Simon invited Jesus over to size him up. By Simon’s standards, PROPHET Jesus doesn’t fare too well.
By Simon’s judgment, a true prophet of God should know sinners and avoid them. To Simon, that is what it means to be a person of faith.
She is Already Forgiven
Simon could not handle Jesus associating with the woman. Can you imagine Simon’s horror when Jesus reveals that this woman (whose sins were many) had already been forgiven?
The thing that Simon thought made her an outcast had already been removed. Jesus could tell by the way she loved. Simon, on the other hand, was a different story.
Sinners needed
It was clear by Simon’s behavior towards both Jesus and the woman that he had much to learn. What is more clear, however, is that Simon needed this woman to be and to remain a sinner. Why? In order for Simon to be “Simon the Pharisee”, he needed this woman to be “this woman the sinner.” Without sinners, it is hard to distinguish the “I have no need to be forgiven” righteous people. Karl Marx defined ideology this way: “They do not know it, but they are doing it.”
In the end, Simon’s ideology revealed itself. He knew the right answer to Jesus’ question following the parable. He just lived a different way. He did not know it, but he was doing it. He needed this woman in sin in order to maintain the image of the righteous.
The Hardest Question
Do "Good Christian People” need sinners in order to be “Good Christian People”? If so, forgiveness is not something to be celebrated, but something to be feared.
Do you need others to be sinners in order to consider yourself good?
Michael Danner is an ordained pastor of the Mennonite Church USA. He serves as Lead Pastor at Metamora Mennonite Church, a rural community on the outskirts of the empire (easy to miss unless you live nearby). When he is not actively engaged in husbanding, fathering, pastoring and blogging he confesses to spending far too much time trying to move objects with his mind...a practice he picked up at church as a kid. To date, it has not worked...but he isn’t giving up. His blog can be found at http://provokelove.net and he can be followed on Twitter @michaeldanner
