By Pastor Frank

Luke 7:36-8:3

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Children's moment

True story…Nine year old Bess Lyn Sannino was hurt and confused.  Some older neighborhood children had broken into her house and stolen her favorite things, and vandalized her Virginia Beach home, pelting it with raw eggs and spraying graffiti on the garage door.  Bess’ shock quickly gave way to anger.  Her first reaction was revenge:  “I felt like going over to their houses and doing the same thing or worse to them.”  They had been in her room and gone through her personal things.  It wasn’t right.  With great detail, she could list every item that was taken, including her $17 allowance money, her Valentine’s Day candy, and her cd player.
Her mother, Grace, wrestled with the decision of whether or not to call the police, since the vandals were kids from the neighborhood and not hardened criminals.  She called the father of one of the suspected teens, who identified the others involved.  He encouraged her to work with the police to make this a lesson for the youngsters.
When Grace called the police, a compassionate and understanding officer responded.  He spent a whole week tracking down the parents of all four burglars.  One family was caught up trying to deal with their father who was hospitalized due to his own violent behavior.
The police officer, the parents, the teens, and Bess’ family all agreed to try to avoid having the kids get criminal records.  Curfews were set and other restrictions imposed.  The teens had to “pay back” their neighbors as well.  They returned the stolen property.  They painted over the graffiti.  They scrubbed the splattered egg off the garage door.  They helped out with yard work and chores around the house.  One of the boys even wrote an essay on integrity and read it to Bess.
Bess wasn’t angry anymore, but she still felt unsettled.  In her child’s heart, she struggled with the grown up truth that restitution is not the same as reconciliation.  Though she and her neighbors had gotten to know each other better, she felt there would always be an awkwardness between them.  From her confused feelings, a simple idea was formed.  Bess decided to throw a party, not just any party, but what she called a “Forgiveness Party.”  She decided to host a party for the people who only weeks before had pried open a window to her house and helped themselves to her special things.
The party was a huge success.  Bess made a piñata and decorated the house and yard with balloons and lights.  Not only did the teens from the break-in attend, they brought their families as well.  As people danced to music from the stolen then returned cd player, they moved from anger and shame through understanding and forgiveness to compassion and joy.  That day enemies became friends.
True story…Jesus was having dinner at the house of a Pharisee, a religious leader.  Pharisees were considered the most expert and accurate interpreters of Jewish law.  Jesus and Simon would have had a lively debate about the law.  Simon is well off.  He has a nice home, is respected and well paid for his interpretation of the law.  People look up to him, come to him for advice.  He is considered honest, a real “mensch,” a stand up guy.  He knows right from wrong and always seeks to choose the right path.
Across the city, in a not so great part of the town, a woman hears about Jesus.  She doesn’t have the greatest reputation.  She is a “known sinner,” meaning everybody knows her business.  She has tried to do what is right, but often circumstances get the best of her.  People have taken advantage of her, she has taken advantage of others.  She hears that Jesus is at the house of Simon the Pharisee.  Jesus, the healer, the forgiver of sins, the reconciler, some even call him the Son of God, is in town—in her city! 
She decides that she must see him.  Her friends tell her that she’s crazy, she won’t get within 50 feet of Jesus.  She decides to go anyway, but she can’t go empty handed.  What could she bring Jesus?  She has very little, but she had purchased some ointment for special guests.  It cost a lot, more than she could afford, and she was saving it for a unique time.  She decides this is the time.  She grabs the alabaster jar of ointment and heads in the direction of Simon’s home.  Hopefully, Jesus will be there by the time she arrives. 
She arrives at the spectacular home of Simon.  It is quite the place.  It is obvious that he is a very important person in many people’s eyes.  Somehow she bluffs her way past security and ends up next to Jesus.  This is her chance.  She feels a yearning for forgiveness, wants desperately to be accepted, she’s tired of feeling like an outsider.  Can Jesus bring reconciliation to her life?  Can he forgive her sins?  Can he accept her just as she is with all her baggage?  She kneels down and, weeping, she kisses his feet.  She anoints his aching feet with the soothing ointment.  Jesus is silent.  Any reputable rabbi would have yelled at her to stop and shooed her away. 
Out of the corner of his eye Simon sees this shocking scene taking place.  He mutters under his breath, “If Jesus were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.” 
Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I’ve got something to say to you.”
Simon replies, “Teacher, speak.”
Jesus must have smiled when Simon said that--as if Jesus needed his permission to speak!  Jesus proceeds to tell Simon about a banker who had two clients whose homes were in danger of foreclosure.  The owner of one house owed the bank $150,000, the owner of the second house owed the bank $300,000.  The banker decided to cancel the debts of each person.  Jesus asks Simon, “Now which of them will love him more?”
Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he cancelled the greater debt.”  
Jesus said, “You have judged rightly.
He goes on to remind Simon that from the moment he entered his house he has failed to show him hospitality.  Simon did not offer Jesus water for his feet, nor did he greet Jesus with a kiss, nor did he anoint his head with oil.  But from the moment she entered his home, from the very first minute that she “crashed the party,” she welcomed Jesus in extraordinary ways.  She has bathed his feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.  She has kissed him, she has anointed him, she has made him feel welcomed.
Jesus turns to the woman and says, “Your sins are forgiven.”
True story…the church is at its best when it displays the extravagant welcome of Christ.  Jesus lived and breathed gracious hospitality.   Even though there were powerful people, like Simon, who opposed Jesus’ extravagant welcome, he still embraced those who were often shunned.  In the kingdom, or reign, of God that Jesus spoke of, he declared that there is room for all—including the hungry…the thirsty…the homeless…the ill…the poor…those who are grieving…the persecuted…and those in prison.  In fact, Jesus went so far as to put faith and hospitality together when he said, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family (who are members of my family) you did it to me.”
Every ministry that is part of the church, directly or indirectly, has something to do with trying to express the extravagant welcome of Christ.  Our Romanian mission, specifically the Homework Project, which you’ll hear more about next week when Rev. Stroie visits Epiphany, is one example of us trying to share with others Christ’s hospitality.  It is a statement to the Roma people that God loves them, cares for them and wants the best for their children.  The Heifer Project which the Sunday School and this church has generously supported is a way that we express Jesus’ welcome to people that we will never meet.  Each gift of cows, sheep, rabbits, etc. is an expression of Jesus’ hospitality.  The Welcome Meal is a way that we seek to let our neighbors know that at Epiphany there is at least one open table on Wednesday nights, and it is here.  You help provide people with a warm meal, but more importantly with a place to feel welcome and as part of the family of God.  The social services that are provided here on Wednesday afternoons have given tremendous hope to people who need to know that there is help, there are people who care what happens to them.  If you have some time this summer on a Wednesday around noon, I invite you to stop by the fellowship hall and see what a grace-filled environment you are helping to provide here.  It is truly amazing.  You can almost tangibly feel the presence of the Spirit here. 
Likewise, we see the Common Pantry as an extension of our commitment to being a church that seeks to extravagantly welcome everyone.  When you hear the numbers of people that have been helped by the Common Pantry it is both sad and hopeful.  It is sad that there are so many people that are in need of help, who can’t find work, or who don’t make enough to live in this city.  But behind the numbers hope is also present.  There is hope when so many people from a variety of backgrounds are willing to give food, money, and their time to the Pantry.  There is only one reason people do all this—it is to express their love and caring to others. 
So, Scott, please let everyone know who is a part of the Common Pantry, those who work there, those who volunteer their time, those who collect the food, those who give it, those who give some of their resource to buy the food, to those who work security, to the Common Pantry Board—pleas express our thanks to them all for helping us share an extravagant welcome. 
May God bless your ministry at the Common Pantry and all ministries that seek to welcome people with the love of God.  Amen.