Luke 7:47-48

“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 her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

Once when Jesus was attending an exclusive dinner party for an elite group of people, an outsider, a woman of ill repute, one of those to be avoided, crashed the party, perhaps slipping in the back door. When the other guests saw her, they shunned her and perhaps whispered about her to each other. How dare she enter here!

She moved behind the seated Jesus and began weeping in contrition, big tears of regret, sadness, and sorrow for her sins poured down her face, falling onto His feet. She wiped the better tears from His feet with her hair and, falling to her knees, she kissed his very feet, then poured her jar of extravagantly expensive oil onto his feet. Her act of worship complete, she lay exhausted at his feet, silently weeping and kissing his feet.

Simon, the host and the other invited guests were indignant. Simon said to himself, “If this Jesus were a prophet, he would know who this sinful woman is and shun her as we do!”

Now Jesus knew Simon’s thoughts.

"Jesus answered him, 'Simon, I have something to tell you. Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, 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 her, '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 has saved you; go in peace.'

Perhaps we have been guilty of comparing ourselves to others, condemning them for the sins we think are so much worse than our own. We may have reassured ourselves with the thought, “Oh, I’m not so bad, compared to him.” Yet we have no right to judge! Instead of comparing and judging, we should keep praying Luke 23:34 – “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do?” And we should remember that Jesus said, “Judge not, that you be not judged.”

Let’s pray together now…

Dear God, please forgive me. I am a sinner, in need of your LOVE and forgiveness. Forgive me for judging my neighbor and for comparing myself to them. Help me to pray for my neighbors and to love them as you do. Teach me to LOVE as you LOVE and to forgive as much as I hope to be forgiven. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Bernice Howard.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

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First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.