Outer Rim Territories

Easter 3 Midweek Chapel - Luke 7:36-50

Vicar Christopher Gillespie  Immanuel Lutheran Church of Frankentrost  Saginaw, Michigan  Easter 3 Midweek Chapel (April 9, 2008)  Text: Exodus 34:29-35:21; Luke 7:36-50  Greetings in the name of our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Have you ever done something so bad you were worried that your parents wouldn’t forgive you? Maybe you stole some money from your mom’s purse? Maybe you wrecked the the finish on the car when you hit it with your bike? Worse yet, maybe you said some awful words to them like “I hate you?”  Our nature is to not expect them to forgive us. How do I know this? Because I have peered into my own heart and see the darkness within it.  You too know that you have a hard time forgiving. If someone hits you, do you turn the other cheek so that they can hit it as well? No, instead you harbor a grudge, refusing to forgive them for the wrong they have committed against you. So we are surprised when our parents forgive us. It doesn’t feel natural for we would have not forgiven ourselves. Within the hearts of our parents dwells the love of Christ which forgives all sin, no matter how great or small. Much the same is the case for the woman in our Gospel text. She had sinned much. So much, that the disciple Simon believed see to be unforgivable. Simon does not know that our Lord came to this earth first and foremost to justify the sinner before God, to “make right what had gone wrong.” Sin has cursed through our veins ever since that fatal day in the Garden. Since then “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Our Lord has found righteousness in no one, no, not a single person. Simon is unwilling to forgive his sister in faith because he does not believe he is in need of the same forgiveness. He has a whole scheme worked out. The more the sin, the more the forgiveness. At some point, the forgiveness will be too great for our Lord to offer. But we just saw on the cross, that our Lord bore the great burden of the sin of the WHOLE world. It was not too great to bear for him. He suffered under its curse, even unto death. But grave could not hold him. Death would not conquer him. Christ triumphed over death and rose to new life, that we all might be forgiven. What would seem to us to a horrible and even unforgivable sin, is forgiven by our Lord. This forgiveness is not a quantity or amount. There are no mathematics with forgiveness. For great is our Lord’s compassion and mercy upon us, poor, miserable sinners. How great is His love that he would die for our trespasses!  By this forgiveness, our lives are transformed. We do not live in selfishness but in compassion and mercy for our neighbors. We confess this new life won for us on the cross in the words of the Lord’s Prayer when we say “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  The woman in our text lives in this forgiveness. She comes to our Lord in complete contrition, weeping before His feet. She receives the forgiveness of Christ in faith, without any merit or worthiness in her. In thanksgiving she kisses his feet, anointing them with oil and wiping them with her hair. Her posture before her Lord is one of deep humility. She suffers her ego, acting as one completely unworthy of the great gift of forgiveness, life, and salvation he has offered. Our Lord then speaks to her the great words promised long ago “I forgive you. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” What a model of divine service! We come before our Lord in sacrifice, with our heads bowed, and confess that we do not deserve the forgiveness He offers. He places His hands upon us and says, “I forgive you!” In thanksgiving we cry aloud to our Lord “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; He has come to His people and redeemed them!” Here the whole glory of our Lord is revealed! Here is his countenance, His face shines upon us like the sun. Here the great and mighty deeds are spoken into our wanting ears, pronouncing the forgiveness won for us by Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  Here we of willing hearts bring sacrifices pleasing to our Lord, not to win forgiveness, for Christ has already done so. Here we bring our gifts of thanksgiving, the tears of thanks, the fragrant oil, the fine linen, the gold, silver, and bronze. Here we offer our gifts to support his new tabernacle, the body of Christ. We feed His priests like Moses. We adorn His sanctuary with the fine things of this earth. We spare no expense, for He is our Lord, the one who has triumphed! The one who is victorious!  For the great forgiveness He wrought, all praise and thanksgiving we offer to Him... with heads bowed and arms open to receive His love. These are the great words of Easter! Christ has died for your sins! They have been buried with Him! Death has no sting for it was crucified with Him and is no longer! Your sins are forgiven! Go in peace, in praise and thanksgiving! Amen.