The basic plot of the episode is this: Ray's wife, Deborah, is overwhelmed after a long and rough day at home with the kids. She pulls everyone together, and remembers to bring snack for her daughter's t-ball team. Upon arriving at the game, the neurotic parent in charge of snacks checks her snacks, and immediately deems them unworthy. He repeatedly explains to her, growing more and more agitated, that "they aren't on the list". He pulls out a "healthy" snack for the kids, and tells her that she can redeem herself the next week. A week later, Deborah and Ray fight over whether or not they should bring a better, healthier snack for the kids, even though their snack was rejected the week before. Ray secretly prepares the snack exactly from the list, and Deborah becomes angry and upset because he doesn't defend her and take her side. It leads to a meltdown at the game when Ray finally defends his wife, and her snack preparations.
As I was watching this, I realized that this is often the story of the modern day church, this is often the story of me. I am both the neurotic snack Nazi, and the desperate mom, struggling to make it through the day.
People bring what they can, or at least they try to. Stressed out, overwhelmed, alone, abandoned, heartbroken people - people struggling just to make it through another day bring all that they can to God, even when it's only a broken hallelujah.
Just like the man rejected Deborah's pretzels, so we as a church also too often reject people's humble offerings. When we decide it isn't enough, we tell them to take it back until they can offer something better. We are the obnoxious face telling people that they can only offer what's "on the list", whatever that might be. We basically tell people that if they can't offer something worthy, than don't offer anything at all. But what is worthy? Who are we to decided this? Who are we to stand between another person and God? Jesus is the only priest! He is the only one standing between any one of us and the Holy of Holies! Who are we to deny somebody's offering?
In the Bible, Jesus accepted an offering rejected by the religious experts the world had to offer. In Luke 7:36, we see the story of another broken princess. She was a whore, and a prostitute. It's interesting how the Bible throws this label out there. There's no explanation about her story, about how or why she ended up on the streets, but that's another post altogether haha!
So enter whore, stage right. Just imagine it. Jesus is eating at a Pharisee's house, when a common whore comes in, somebody dirty and sinful, beyond redemption, certainly beyond God, and beyond a relationship with Jesus. But without hesitation, she falls to his feet and begins weeping. She weeps for the pain of her life, for the rejection, the abuse, the loneliness. She weeps for her last chance, she weeps because she hears that this man is different. She weeps because she thinks this might change things for her. She weeps, and as her tears fall, she uses them to wash his filthy feet. Once she has cried his feet clean, she leans over and dries those same dirty feet with her long hair, not once hesitating. Then she massages them with nothing less than the most expensive lotion. Then she stays bowed at his feet, afraid to look up.
She knows what she's done, and she knows who he is. What if she was wrong, and he's just like all the other religious leaders? The ones who have scorned her and cast her out. The ones who called her dirty and sinful. But then she feels his eyes on her, and her curiosity is too great, so she looks up. Her eyes meet his, and her life is changed forever. In those eyes she sees love, all the love she's ever wanted, all the love she's ever lacked. She sees that he understands her, that he doesn't condemn her. She sees that he is pleased with what she has done, and it makes it all worth it. She feels a peace wash over her for the first time, and she knows she is enough.
And then she hears it: the whispering. She remembers all the religious leaders, and realizes that they are talking about her. She looks away from Him, and looks again at her hands in shame. Just then, something happens. He starts talking, and he stands up for her. He says to them, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she washed my feet with her tears. You gave me no kiss, but from the time she entered, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with lotion. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven because she has loved much."
This woman was nothing in the eyes of those Pharisees. She was less than human, less than even a dog. She was sinful, dirty, unclean - they rejected her using every excuse they could think of. They scorned her and abandoned her, and then Jesus tells them that they are to follow her example.
She did not bring much. She brought Jesus her tears, her hair, some lotion. She brought him her pain, her very self, her possessions, and most importantly, her heart. Her offering was meager, and it was certainly less than the religious people thought Jesus deserved, but she gave him everything that she could. She humbled herself and threw away the remaining shreds of her dignity to serve him.
Though the religious teachers rejected her, Jesus accepted her. Though they thought she didn't have enough to offer, he did. It is the same for us. Whatever anybody wants to bring to God, let them bring it. We have no right to deny somebody, to reject what they can bring.
Remember this week what Jesus said to those teachers, "Her sins, which are many, are forgiven because she has loved much."
