In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Come to the “mercy-feet.” I’ve been thinking some about some Christians who have developed a habit of saying, “I’m blessed!” when you ask them, “How are you doing?” There’s probably nothing wrong with that, and maybe I’m just a bit paranoid, but some of them seem to be saying, “I’m blessed” in a way that makes me feel as if they’re saying they’re more blessed than I am. Others still add on a full sermon: Question – “How are you doing?” Answer – “I’m blessed, highly favored, blood bought, Spirit-gifted, and glory bound! And you?” Well what do you say after that? “Me, too?”
Yet every time we open up the Word of God, the Word of God finds a way to open us up; and today’s word from Luke is no different as the Spirit opens us up to a deeper understanding of what true faith is, and what it really means to be blessed, and how much the mercy of God cannot be measured. C.F.W. Walther once said, “Faith is nothing else than begging for mercy.” Faith isn’t too proud to beg God or to lay it all on the line at the feet of God’s mercy. Like the faith of this world-worn woman in Luke 7:36- 50, she did not parade around with her head held high; rather, she came in limping, looking, seeking, begging. She responded to the voice of Jesus which said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”
Now Simon, the prestigious and somewhat pompous host of this exclusive dinner party, was neither poor financially nor poor in spirit. In fact, if you were to ask him, he’d consider himself “super blessed.” But it seems like he still needed redirection, because Simon was very much like most of the very religious Pharisees. They were puritanical purists who looked down their noses with their hands on their hips, as this impure, unblessed, unprestigious woman with her head held low and her spirit bowed down, made her way directly past Simon and his gang of Pharisaical friends to the feet of Jesus. Come to the mercy-feet. This shameful woman is nameless here; yet, she was the talk of the town. And Simon, the highly blessed religious leader, was the toast of the town, because he invited the increasingly popular Jesus to his home. Sadly, as refined as Simon was on the outside, he was such a holier-than-thou law-thumping thug on the inside that he didn’t know who Jesus really was. And he didn’t understand why sinful people would flock to the feet of Jesus in the first place.
Not St. Cyril, that feisty African bishop who died in 444 A.D., and whom we remember on June 27 every year. Bishop Cyril used this story from Luke 7 to help prove that Jesus Christ was more than a mere man. He writes, “As a pledge and plain example of His grace, Jesus freed that unclean woman from her many iniquities by saying, ‘Your sins are forgiven you.'” Cyril continues, “Jesus immediately both set the woman free, and redirected the attention of that Pharisee and those who were dining with him to more excellent things.”
Sisters and brothers in Christ, we all need this spiritual redirecting to more excellent things; from overlooking who Jesus is, to the excellent thing of worshiping Him as God of God and very God of very God–redirecting from our un-faith with our false claims of holiness, to claiming by faith the righteousness that comes only from God in Christ; redirecting from our perfectly manicured Sunday morning cover-up, “How ya doing?” “Oh, I’m wonderfully blessed” to being the people of truth. And the truth is, some us pretend to be like this Simon “the saint” on the outside, but we are way more like this sinful woman on the inside–emotionally burnt out, psychologically stressed out, mentally exhausted, spiritually fatigued, relationally at the end of our ropes, and needing refreshing and redirecting and the Holy Spirit redirected this woman to the feet of mercy – to Jesus. Will your pride prevent you from being redirected today? Beggars or panhandlers or street people are often seen as an eyesore or a public nuisance. But God, on the other hand, is actually pleased when we come humbly begging to the feet of mercy, looking for forgiveness.
One night in a garden called Gethsemane, Jesus himself begged God so hard that He sweated blood and bled sweat at the same time. He begged his Father to take away this cup of suffering. Jesus wasn’t too proud to beg and wasn’t too proud to die for us on a cross because He knew He needed to heal us from what plagues us from the top of our heads to the tip of our toes. And He came to heal me and to redirect me and to heal this woman and to help you and anyone who comes to the feet of mercy.
Here at Simon’s dinner party, Luke gives us a front row seat to see a raw confession and to hear God’s real absolution. There are no words like God’s refreshing life-giving forgiveness. In the Lutheran tradition, we use some rather raw words to describe individual and corporate confession, like “poor miserable sinner,” like “heartily sorry,” like “sincerely repent.” And then we use refreshing words to describe what God gives to those who truly confess Christ, like “boundless mercy,” “For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime.” That’s what this woman was looking for–the weight of her spiritual condition drove her to her knees. She knew her shortcomings far too well. The townspeople knew all about her, but really didn’t take the time to know her. Her bloodied reputation was proof of how sin had kicked her in the face. But the old saying is true, “When life knocks you to your knees, you’re in a good position to pray.” So here she comes, on her knees to Jesus’ feet, not to make excuses or to look for loopholes. In fact, she used no words, and yet her love spoke volumes. She brought all her dirt to the dusty feet of Jesus. With her best oil and her worst brokenness, she “goes for broke.” Years of fears and flaws and tears and failures – all absorbed into these feet of mercy.
Martin Luther, the spiritual father of Lutheranism, puts it like this: When God begins to save individuals, He begins by condemning them. When He wants to build them up, He first tears them down. When God wants to heal, He must first break into pieces; whom God wants to bring to life, He first kills. This woman knew who she was. And she knew who alone could save her, build her up, heal her, and bring life to her. Today you can be sure, that no matter how perverted you’ve behaved, no matter how far you’ve strayed, no matter how much hidden anger you’ve got against God, God sent Jesus to save you and to build you up and to heal you–and to bring you life.
Sometimes these blessings don’t come instantly. Sometimes the answers aren’t short and pat and quick with e-mail efficiency, or six purposeful points, or five quick tips, or four easy steps. Sometimes weeping may last for a night, but God promises you, joy will come in the morning. This woman was full of so much joy that she kisses Jesus’ feet. I bet she bubbled up on the inside, “How beautiful are these feet that bring good news to people like me.”
I like jazz music in worship. Jazz is born out of a suffering and an oppression I can appreciate. As such, jazz music laughs and dances and swings and sometimes even moans or groans. But there are some who say that jazz music is too sensual, too earthy, too rhythmic a music form for worship. I brought this concern to Pastor Dale Lind, the pastor to the jazz community in New York at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Manhattan. He pointed me to this very text as an answer: “Well,” he said, “what do you make of the woman here, who came to Jesus in Luke 7?” She, like jazz, brought all she had and did the best she could with what she had. And Jesus as God, who knows our hearts and who forgives our sins, receives our worship and the worship of this faith-filled sister. I love the way Jesus affirms her dignity, accepts her sacred act of devotion, and treats her like a person who has made mistakes, but is not herself, a mistake.
Outside of Christ, all of us are more sin-wrecked than what’s imaginable and that’s why these same feet that the woman kissed were bloodied through with nails and spiked to a cross, so that Jesus could forgive her sin. That’s what He does for us Sunday after Sunday, when we come to worship; and day after day, as we patiently wait at His feet. I promise you, if you let the Spirit redirect you to Jesus, your faith will receive more purifying forgiveness than can ever be comprehended.
Oh, I’m not expecting to have my feet kissed or oiled down anytime soon. But what a raw and refreshing example this sinner sets! Come to the mercy-feet. Scrape up your worst misery. Dig deeply. Bring Jesus your worst, He can handle it. Confess your worst from the gut, He can forgive it. Then hear Jesus say, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Now that’s what it truly means to say, “I’m blessed.”
In closing, Donald Coggan, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, tells the story of a sculptor who created a masterpiece. It captured in a rare combination, the strength of Jesus as a carpenter and fishermen, and His tenderness with love and mercy. It was majesty and intimacy together, and those who came from far and wide to see this statue were confused. It didn’t appear so great to them. Its alleged grandeur eluded them. And time after time the tour guide would let group after group wrestle for a while checking out the statue from every angle, until the tour guide finally said, “There’s only one angle from which the statue can truly be seen. You must redirect your sight – you must kneel.” In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Lutheran Hour Mailbox (Questions & Answers) for June 27, 2004
Topic: Breaking Down the Barriers
ANNOUNCER: Now Pastor Ken Klaus answers questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer.
KLAUS: Hi, Mark. What’s before us today?
ANNOUNCER: Someone called into our Response Center recently and said she wants to be closer to God but she doesn’t know where to start. She says she has “issues” that keep her from being close to God. Some might say she’s living an immoral life, and she doesn’t know how to break down the barriers.
KLAUS: There are two ways to answer that question, Mark. The simple answer is this: Our listener said she wanted to be closer to God. That’s a good thing. Amazingly, God wants exactly the same thing. As a loving Father, the Lord wants us to be close to Him. So that we might be His children, He sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to redeem us; that is, to buy us back from the slavery of sin, death, and Satan. He did that at the price of His own blood.
ANNOUNCER: That’s a good simple answer.
KLAUS: But wait. Our listener also said she doesn’t know how to break down the barriers. My comment to that would be, “Of course you don’t. You don’t know how because there is no earthly way a human being can break down the barriers that separate us from God.” If we had the ability to do that, we wouldn’t need a Savior. We’ve said it before – it’s worth mentioning – Christianity is unique among the world’s religions. It is unique because it acknowledges our total helplessness in bridging the gulf that keeps us from forgiveness and salvation. Every other religion says we have to keep on trying to save ourselves. Christianity says that Jesus came and He paid the price for our redemption.
ANNOUNCER: Now I think you’ve covered our listener’s problem, but you suggested there might be a more complicated answer as well.
KLAUS: Scripture is clear, Mark, that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He came to call us out of darkness and into the light. Scripture is equally clear that when Christ is in your heart, you are converted, changed. In Jesus, you’re reborn. I like to think of it as God “recycling” us. God takes that which is worthless and gives it value.
ANNOUNCER: I understand so far.
KLAUS: The problem for our listener comes from the middle part of what she said.
ANNOUNCER: Without mentioning specifically what they are, she says she has issues that keep her from being close to the Lord.
KLAUS: Bingo. She wants to be close to the Lord, but she can’t. She’s between a rock and a hard place. To be closer to God, she can’t stay where she is and keep doing what she’s doing. At the same time, she doesn’t sound like she wants to give up what she’s doing.
ANNOUNCER: Does the Bible ever talk about this type of situation?
KLAUS: The Bible talks about little else. Adam and Eve wanted all the benefits of living in the Garden of Eden. At the same time, they wanted to do it on their own terms. God said, right at the beginning of time, you can’t have it both ways. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or will be devoted to the one and despise the other” (Matt. 6:24). He was saying, you can’t have it both ways. St. Paul wrote to the Ephesian Church, “Once you were in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; live as children of light. For the fruit of light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth” (Eph. 5:8-9). I could come up with a great many passages that say the same thing. They all say, “You can’t have it both ways.”
ANNOUNCER: Which is what our listener wants to do, apparently.
KLAUS: From the limited amount of information we’ve been given, that is what I think is happening. There’s an old story about the comedian, WC Fields. A friend came by to visit one day, and was shocked to find Fields reading the Bible, a book he usually had little use for. So surprised was the friend, he asked, “What are you doing, Bill?” WC Fields replied, “Looking for loopholes.” I think our listener is asking me to find some kind of loophole for her.
ANNOUNCER: Well, is there a loophole?
KLAUS: Is there a way you can follow the Savior and still have things your own way? No. But we can say this; we can tell her, “Ma’am, we at “The Lutheran Hour” are honored that you entrusted this most important question to us. We’ll pray the Holy Spirit grants you the gift to go a different way of repentance, to turn from your old life and embrace the life Christ has won for you. It may be painful, it may be hard, but it is right. If we can give you a word of encouragement, it would come from the book of Hebrews. It says, ‘Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith'” (Heb. 12:1-2).