41 There was a certain
creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other
fifty. 42 And when
they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which
of them will love him most? 43 Simon
answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto
him, Thou hast
rightly judged. (Luke 7:41-43)
The
Collect
Third
Sunday after Trinity
|
O
|
LORD, we beseech thee mercifully to
hear us; and grant that we, to whom thou hast given an hearty desire to pray,
may, by thy mighty aid, be defended and comforted in all dangers and
adversities; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
When I
was a small boy, our nation was just recovering from the Second World War and
the depression that preceded it. There were many very poor vagrants who
wondered from place to place looking for a meal. I remember my mother preparing
warm meals for some of those beggars. She would ask them to wait a bit while
she "put something on the stove." When a meal was ready, she would
bring it out onto the porch where the beggar would sit and relish the hot meal –
my mom was a wonderful cook. These beggars were very dirty men with unkempt
hair and rough, dirty hands. I watched carefully as they ate (from a discreet
distance) and was always amazed that my mother fed them their meals from the
same table service from which the family ate our own meals. I tried to remember
which plate, saucer, or cup they used so that I could avoid eating from those
at dinner time. I believed that the unsanitary hands and lips of the beggar
would pollute, permanently, those vessels. Of course, I had nothing to worry
about because my mom used good detergent in washing the dishes – the same
detergent she used in washing the dishes from which we all ate. In the end,
every dish, regardless of its state of cleanliness at the beginning, wound up being
just as clean as the other. This may seem an unrelated story from the parable
that we study today, but I believe I can draw the parallel if you will
patiently bide with me.
41 There was a certain
creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other
fifty. May I
suggest that the Creditor is none other than the LORD Himself? But who are the
debtors? Every man, woman and child who comes into the world by the grace of
God. The unsaved of the world are a diverse lot – some are so mean and evil,
that the mention of their very name causes us to recoil. Others are fine,
upstanding and moral people who are generous to others and polite under even
trying circumstances. Even if they have never mentioned the name of Christ, we
might presume that they epitomize the devoted and ideal Christian, but we would
be mistaken for there are none righteous, no, not one. Apart from the saving
grace of Christ, there are none called Christian in truth. In essence, these
two diverse characters are of the same mold – both are lost and damned to the
fires of Hell except they throw themselves on the mercy of the Crown Sovereign
of Heaven. So, we are all alike, debtors. And we have the great blessing and
privilege to be forgiven that debt if we are so compelled to receive that free
grace made available in Christ. We are all dirty dishes in the eyes of God even
if some have accrued more filth than others but, when washed by the blood of
Christ, we become pure and clean in His sight.
42 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave
them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? If
we are honest with our hearts, each of us is the one who was forgiven most by
the loving Creditor. We have taken our breath of life from His very lips, we
have occupied the body that He so freely gave us, and we have lived riotously
in a far country – far removed from the Fountain of Love and Truth in Him. Now,
we come before Him as grievous debtors. The one next to us owes far less than
we owe. We are forgiven ALL because we have owed ALL. How grateful should we be
to the Creditor who gave His life to pay for our lifetime extravagance in sin
and debauchery? He has taken our dirty hearts and souls and washed them
in the detergent of His Blood. How can any be unclean from that washing? How
much should we love one who has bought our souls from the fires of Hell at so
great an expense?
43 Simon
answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he
said unto him, Thou
hast rightly judged. Simon, the Pharisee, at whose house Jesus is
guest, gives a tentative response for he does not wish to acknowledge that a
dreadful sinner can be made every whit as clean as he, himself, by the
Creditor. He responds with a `supposition' and not a certainty. A woman whose
sins were many came to Christ at Simon's house with an expensive alabaster box
of ointment and, with hot tears of repentance, anointed the head and feet of
Christ after bathing His feet with her tears and drying them with her very
hair. Jesus, knowing the thoughts of Simon and others, told the parable under
discussion. In fact, this woman, though she had been an egregious sinner, was
made pure and clean while Simon remained a dirty vessel in the greatest need of
washing. The woman left Simon's house forgiven of all her debts yet Simon
remained in his house owing the greater debt for which he had not been granted
forgiveness.
Simon, though tentative in his judgment, had judged rightly according to the
Lord. How sad that we may judge rightly and not respond to the change that such
judgment warrants. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it
not, to him it is sin. (James 4:17) My good friends, have you known to
do good and failed in the doing? Have you been washed thoroughly or do you
remain a dirty vessel apart from the cleansing available in Christ. Your debt
owed can never be too great for His grace (which is boundless). Though you may
come in from the street of life reeking and stinking of your sins, you may be
made clean before the Master's Table.
