"A SCANDALOUS GOD"
The Rev. Dr. Bob Butziger ~ June 13, 2010

Acts 16:11-15
Lydia's Conversion in Philippi

11From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day on to Neapolis. 12From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.

13On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. 15When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us.

Luke 7:36-8:3
Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman

36Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 37When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. 39When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner." 40Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you." "Tell me, teacher," he said. 41"Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii (a days wages), and the other fifty. 42Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?" 43Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."
"You have judged correctly," Jesus said. 44Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little." 48Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." 49The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" 50Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

8 1After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, 2and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; 3Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

A Scandalous God

This is the third Sunday since Pentecost! Our lectionary focuses on how Jesus was scandalously inclusive, hanging out with tax collectors, prostitutes, and a variety of other social outcasts. He purposely ignored the purity regulations of the Jewish religion which distinguished clearly among faithful insiders and disobedient outcasts.

In the Jewish world of Jesus day, women were seen primarily as property. It was immoral for men to speak to women in public. Think Taliban! After paying the bride price, a woman belonged to her husband and his extended family. Being a single woman was rare since nearly every family was expected to arrange for the marriage of their female children as soon as she was of child bearing age. A woman’s place was in the home where they were to please their husband and raise his children. When divorce happened, a woman became homeless and was looked down on by the community. With death, a brother of the deceased husband was expected to take the bereaved wife as one of his wives.

Only rarely would a woman have a role in the community outside the home. Women were definitely not supposed to be educated and they certainly held an inferior role in the Jewish community. In the temple, they were not allowed to worship or study with the men. Their witness was considered inadequate in legal matters and they rarely had property in their own right. Homeless or wandering women were considered to live a sinful life since they would either find a man to support them or band together with other wandering women. One of those wandering women shows up in today’s gospel lesson. She had been healed by Jesus and was eternally grateful. On this day, Jesus was having dinner at the home of a Pharisee named Simon. She came in with tears of gratitude which fell on Jesus feet and she wiped his feet with her hair. Finally she poured expensive perfume on his feet.

Simon, the host, was taken aback and said "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner." But Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to for you to learn." "Tell me, teacher," he said. "Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii (a days wages), and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?" Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." "You have judged correctly," Jesus said. Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little." Then Jesus said to the woman, "Your sins are forgiven." The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith continues to save you; go in peace."

We can only assume that Simon caught on that he was the loser! He had been raised as a privileged child and had few opportunities to experience the power of God’s forgiveness! Therefore his ability to know love born of gratitude has been dramatically limited!

The same gospel lesson assigned for today continues by stating that “the twelve disciples were with Jesus, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support the men and women disciples out of their own means.” So now we know where the financial support came from! It was from women who had their own wealth. And notice who they are! Mary Magdalene who had been cured from serious mental illness, and Joanna whose husband managed Herod’s household. I wonder how her husband dealt with her joining Jesus as a student! After all, we certainly know the nature of Herod! Then there was Susanna who along with Mary Magdalene and the others stayed at the cross and followed it to the burial place. It was necessary for the burial preparations to be brief because the Sabbath began at sundown. Jewish custom at the time dictated that mourners return to the tomb every day for three days. Once the Sabbath had passed, the women returned at the earliest possible moment, bringing myrrh to anoint the body. It was at this point that the Resurrection was revealed to them, and they were commissioned to go and tell the apostles . They became, in effect, the apostles to the Apostles.

A new pattern was emerging as the first century church began to grow. Women were prominent in leadership roles as well as those who were slaves and outcasts. We are reminded that on one occasion, the missionaries went to Macedonia and stayed at the leading city called Phillippi, which was a Roman colony. It says that they stayed there several days, during which they went to a place outside the city gate near the river to pray. Yet the women were gathered there, probably to draw water, and they began to speak to them. Among them was a wealthy woman named Lydia who was a business woman who sold expensive purple cloth. She was a devout worshipper of the one God. As she listened, her heart was strangely warmed by Paul’s message as God opened her heart in response. Therefore she had her entire household baptized in this new understanding of God. She also persuaded Paul and his entourage to come and stay at her home.

For some reason, this is rarely talked about in Sunday School. Perhaps we are confused because old patterns die slowly. Paul and the other apostles kept reverting to the old patterns stating that women should not talk in church. Old Testament theology said that the word of a woman was not to be trusted. What a power shift was taking place as the People of the Way spread throughout Europe! They taught what Jesus had taught them about the true nature of God! There’s is a God of love and forgiveness. Their God does not measure worth by status or sex or sinfulness. In fact, it became the opposite. Their God delighted in raising up people the world judged harshly and in making them of equal worth! They came to know what Simon, the Pharisee learned; that the more you experience forgiveness, the more you grow in love.

It has taken nearly two millennium for the people in the West to recognize the validity of the equality of the sexes but we still fail to recognize the power of forgiveness. Like the Jews of 2000 years ago, we have developed a system where people are judged by the degree of their sin! We punish and incarcerate according to sin. Therefore we must believe that God too judges us by our sin: the worse the sin, the more rejected we are by God. We build our systems of justice on the belief that sin can only be countered by punishment. The worse the sin, the worse the punishment must be. Even though we know that punishment is rarely as effective as true forgiveness! In fact, we are so fearful of crime that we punish those politicians who appear to be soft on crime. It would stand to reason that we come to understand God as a punishing parent. Jesus tried again and again to counter this lie! Remember his parable about the Father who rewards and celebrates the return of the prodigal son. The younger son had run off with his inheritance prematurely and squandered it all. Normally, he would not have dared to return but when he was totally outside of all the benefits of his father’s world, he dared to return and ask to be hired as a servant. He must have been amazed by the response of his father who ran to meet him and reinstated him in the family as if nothing had happened. But that was nothing compared to the amazing frustration of the older brother who had always remained faithfully there for him. It happens over and over again! We resent others who have not earned their place in the kingdom. At the very least they should be punished for their criminal behaviors.

It really is all about dropping everything to find that lost sheep. Jesus says to each of us: “Do you love me? Then find and feed my sheep!” God is in charge of the lost and found department not the chief punishing Judge. Is it possible that we might prefer a God who is not so soft on crime?

A good friend of mine who is Catholic priest told me the story of one of his parishioners who was a judge. The judge sentenced another woman from his parish to seven years in prison for her criminal behavior. Following the release of the woman they were both in church and happened to both come to the communion rail at the same time. There was nothing said between the two and later the priest while talking with the judge asked if he noticed who was at his side taking communion. The judge replied that it was nothing short of a miracle. Supposing that the judge was talking about the woman, the priest answered that people do change. “Oh no, I was talking about myself,” said the judge. I was raised in a privileged home and attended Harvard Law School and have been most successful in my career. It was nothing short of a miracle that God could help me see myself as equal to that woman in needing the forgiveness of Christ.”

Like Simon the Pharisee, we often believe that God approves of our rejection of sinners as if we were without sin. We fall into the old belief that God rewards the good and punishes the bad. Yet Jesus dramatically showed us a different way as he dealt with the tax collector, the butcher, and even the shepherds who were told they were too unclean to approach God.

Today it is those who have been punished by incarceration and are homeless or those who are plagued with serious mental illness that we treat as unclean. Do we believe that God rejects them? I hope not! But unless we clearly demonstrate otherwise, they get the message that something is wrong with them. So Jesus final instructions to us were to spend our lives letting people know the good news about the real God of love and forgiveness.

We pray to a God who appears soft on crime but powerful on love. We pray to a God who celebrates finding the lost even at great cost to self. This was especially brought home to me when we lived in Albuquerque and a young Native American was brought to trial for murder. His tribe begged to have him sentenced by the tribal authorities which was granted. They returned him to the reservation and he was sentenced to a vision quest to restore his balance with God and his rightful nature. It was a long and arduous monitored time in the wilderness but he finally came back a new man and a very productive member of the community. The concentration was on restoring him to what God created him to be rather than punishing his sinful behavior. The result was another sheep lost and found. Were they soft on crime or do we need to re-examine the nature of God and take it more seriously?