Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
"Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so
that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses."
(Mark 11.25
NRSV)
A Pharisee invites Jesus to have dinner with him. A woman who has lived a sinful life invites herself to the Pharisee's house bringing an alabaster jar of perfume. Her tears fall on Jesus' feet. She wipes them with her hair. Then she kisses his feet and pours perfume on them. The Pharisee is offended. "If this man were a prophet, he would know . . . what kind of woman she is." Jesus answered the Pharisee with a parable, "Two men owed money to a certain moneylender." One owed him a great deal; the other, much less. He canceled the debts of both. "Now," he asks, "which of them will love him more?" (Luke 7:36-48) The Pharisee was weighing the woman's past; Jesus was weighing her potential. He knew that generosity could heal that which condemnation could not.
A generous spirit. Sometimes we use the word mercy. You can see it in everything Jesus did. His compassion for the sick as well as the sinner. His gentleness with children. Even as he hung on Golgotha's cross, we see his generosity extended to a dying thief. (Luke 23:43)
Dear God, help me to be a forgiving servant, so broken souls can be healed. Amen.
