Luke 7:36-50
“ 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.’”
(Luke
7:39)
A closed mind is a tragic misuse of a precious gift. The ability
to think and reason is a treasure bestowed by the Creator. Too often we
diminish this gift by foolishly allowing ritual, tradition, and the intoxicating
influence of the crowd to narrow our perspective. It is much
easier to stay the course or follow the crowd than it is to consider the
possibilities of revelation.
In Luke’s story, Jesus was invited to dinner in the home of a Pharisee
named Simon.
The evening took a turn when a woman Simon later
identified as a “sinner,” was overwhelmed in Jesus’ presence, washing his feet
with her tears, pouring perfume, and using her hair as a towel. Simon muttered
his disapproval of the woman and Jesus. No
self-respecting prophet would allow a sinful woman to do such scandalous things!
Jesus opened his heart to a broken, repentant sinner. Simon closed
his mind to the possibility of redemption for one unworthy. The
comparison was striking.
King David wrote of his own brokenness, “The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken
spirit; a broken and contrite
heart...” Ritual or brokenness…closed mind or contrite
heart? The choice must still be made.
Prayer: May my heart be open to your redemptive grace, O God. And may I
extend that grace to others in Jesus’
name.
Jim Abernathy
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