The 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

 

Later the following events took place: Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. 2 And Ahab said to Naboth, "Give me your vineyard, so that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house; I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money." 3 But Naboth said to Ahab, "The LORD forbid that I should give you my ancestral inheritance." 4 Ahab went home resentful and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him; for he had said, "I will not give you my ancestral inheritance." He lay down on his bed, turned away his face, and would not eat. 5 His wife Jezebel came to him and said, "Why are you so depressed that you will not eat?" 6 He said to her, "Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, 'Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard for it'; but he answered, 'I will not give you my vineyard.'" 7 His wife Jezebel said to him, "Do you now govern Israel? Get up, eat some food, and be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite." 8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal; she sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who lived with Naboth in his city. 9 She wrote in the letters, "Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth at the head of the assembly; 10 seat two scoundrels opposite him, and have them bring a charge against him, saying, 'You have cursed God and the king.' Then take him out, and stone him to death." (11 The men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them. Just as it was written in the letters that she had sent to them, 12 they proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth at the head of the assembly. 13 The two scoundrels came in and sat opposite him; and the scoundrels brought a charge against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, "Naboth cursed God and the king." So they took him outside the city, and stoned him to death. 14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, "Naboth has been stoned; he is dead.") 15 As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, "Go, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead." 16 As soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab set out to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it. 17 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: 18 Go down to meet King Ahab of Israel, who rules in Samaria; he is now in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. 19 You shall say to him, "Thus says the LORD: Have you killed, and also taken possession?" You shall say to him, "Thus says the LORD: In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, dogs will also lick up your blood." 20 Ahab said to Elijah, "Have you found me, O my enemy?" He answered, "I have found you. Because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the LORD, 21a I will bring disaster on you.  (1 Kings 21.1-21a NRSV)

 

One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table. 37 And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. 38 She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him-- that she is a sinner." 40 Jesus spoke up and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." "Teacher," he replied, "Speak." 41 "A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?" 43 Simon answered, "I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt." And Jesus said to him, "You have judged rightly." 44 Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little." 48 Then he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." 49 But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" 50 And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." 8:1 Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, 2 as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources.  (Luke 7.36-8.3 NRSV)

 

“FILLING THE ROOM”

 

            Fans of the “Star Wars” movies know about the “Clone Wars”, but before those were the “Cologne Wars”.  Yes, that’s right, the aftershave wars.  Years ago, when I lived in Iowa City, my two roommates were trading insults.  They were good friends and so it was all good natured ribbing.  Well, it crossed the line a little and one took a bottle of some cheap cologne, Brut, as I recall, and flicked some of it at the other as a joke.  The other retaliated with some Pierre Cardin aftershave he had been given and soon it was no longer drops but big splashes all over the place.  There also may have been some Irish Moss involved.  The apartment smelled like too much of two scents mixed together for a week.  Oh, it didn’t help that there was another small battle the next day.  But before long we were laughing about it.

            The Gospel reading this morning is of another scent that filled the room.  It is a familiar story.  A Pharisee invited Jesus to dinner.  While there, a woman from the city, who was some kind of notorious sinner, came and wept on Jesus’ feet and dried them with her hair and then kissed them.  She opened a jar of ointment and put it on them.  It was in an alabaster jar.  This is not a screw cap, once it was opened all of it was used.  So all this ointment perfumed the whole house.  The Pharisee is critical.  Jesus knows what he is thinking and points out that when he came to his house he was not welcomed by having his feet washed or with a kiss, the customary welcome.  The woman has given him these.  He tells a story.  Two men owed a third some money.  The first owed a lot, the second owed a little.  The third man forgave both debts.  Jesus asks which one of the men would love the third more.   Because she is a sinner, and has been forgiven, she loves much.  There is another “scent” in the room, so to speak, it is love.  It is gratitude.

The Old Testament reading is an example of people who are the complete opposite of this.  The king, Ahab, wanted a man’s land for a vegetable garden.  It would mean that he would give up his ancestral land.  He would have some cash, but when that ran out his family would have nothing with which to make a living.  He said no.  The king moped around until the queen, had false accusations brought against the landowner, Naboth, and he was stoned to death.  The king takes possession of the land.  The prophet Elijah meets him in the vineyard and tells him that God.  The conclusion is that he has sold himself for a vegetable garden.  His sin will be remembered. The woman in the Gospel gives, the king takes.  The woman in the Gospel finds forgiveness and freedom. The king and queen find judgment.  The woman loves, the king and queen hate.

            No one knows what the sins were of the woman in the Gospel.  No one knows where the alabaster jar of ointment came from.  But it remains an expression of love and gratitude for what Christ had done in her life.  Around Christmas we sometimes hear the song “The Little Drummer Boy”.  It has this theme, that all he has to give the baby Jesus is his music.  All the woman of the Gospel has to give Jesus is this ointment, this gesture of love.  Maybe Simon, the Pharisee, the host, has no welcome to give.  Maybe he is too worried about his sins, or maybe completely ignorant of them, perhaps he is too wrapped up in pointing out the sins of others, but maybe he has no welcome to give because he does not know for himself God’s welcome. It was given to us in giving us Christ and how he changes our lives.

            The difference between the host and the uninvited guest is their knowledge of who they are.  Simon most likely sees himself as an upstanding citizen.  The woman probably has no illusion about her past.  Lillian Daniel tells the story of her family.  The Southern part of the family had great pride in being descended from John C. Calhoun, a defender of slavery.  She said that her family thought that the term “Civil War” was wrong.  They said that it should be called the War Between the States or the War of Northern Aggression.  This led to Lillian rejecting her heritage and her mother trying even harder to make her appreciate it.  So they went off to Scotland to trace their roots, found their tartan and clan motto something that sounds like “conocolation” which translated to “gather up on the hill.”  After asking a local about the word, they found that their clan was known as the most cowardly clan in Scotland.  They would forge letters to start fights and come down from the hill and gather up the spoils.  It can be surprising to find out who you really are instead of who you think you are.  What the host and the woman have in common is that they both need forgiveness.

            The difference between Simon the host and the unnamed woman of the gospel is their response to hearing that story, that they are both in need of forgiveness.  The woman from the Gospel knows that Jesus cares about her life.  We don’t really know what Simon the Pharisee knows, but he seems to be more interested in judging others than in knowing forgiveness.  Or they both might know forgiveness, but only one of them shows it.

 

            When Jesus was a guest at a dinner, a strange incident occurred.  It was a woman from the town, not the host, who welcomed him.  She did it by giving an extravagant gift which filled the room.  These are signs of a heart that knew who he was, received forgiveness, and loved him.  It was not a joke or prank; it was serious.  It was not cheap perfume, it was a costly sacrifice.  It was not hidden, everyone knew it.  It filled the room.  Who are you?  What is your gift?  What fills your room?

 

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