FEBRUARY 22nd, 2026 PASTOR DON PIEPER
A GOSPEL OF GRACE LUKE 6:12-19; 7:36-50
“WHAT DO YOU SEE?”
Has anyone gone out to eat lately (Valentine's Day)? Hope you had a reservation! I've noticed some places have an etiquette requisite. You know, a sign on the door: No shirt, no shoes, no service! Could be a suit and tie, formal dress place. What's needed is an etiquette assessment. Grab a pen/pencil
Q # 1: At a formal dinner, when should you start eating the main course: a.) after the hostess sits down; b.) after the hostess lifts her fork; c.) after blowing your nose; or d.) ASAP – immediately?! Q # 2: What do you do if you're still hungry after the main course: a.) humbly ask for a second helping? b.) loudly demand: ‘Is that all there is?’; c.) secretly call Domino’s Pizza; or d.) yell, ‘Hey, what’s that?!’ and grab your neighbors’ food from their plate while their distracted?
Q # 3: What is the correct response if your cell phone goes off in church: a.) raise your hands and shout Hallelujah until it stops ringing; b.) give a larger than usual offering; c.) answer the phone: Oh my, that's terrible, now get off the line!, or d.) drop it in your neighbor's lap and give 'em the look?!
Those of you who answered ‘a' or 'b’ to more than one question are truly refined; if 'c', we need
to talk; and if you answered ‘d’ to more than one question – you are my kind of people!
In chapter 7, Luke offers a lesson in first century etiquette, when he informs us that “One of the pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him so Jesus went to his home...” As a visiting rabbi, he was to be the guest of honor, and certain rules of etiquette would’ve been taken for granted.
(Luke 7:36)
For example, the customary greeting would’ve been a kiss. Ooh! Now before y’all get excited keep in mind that a kiss was a gesture of respect in the ancient world. If the guest was a person of equal social rank, the host would kiss him on the cheek... If a child were greeting a parent or a student his rabbi, a kiss on the hand was in order. To neglect this ritual was at best equivalent to ignoring them or at worst, insulting them. As Jesus noted: “You didn't even greet me with a kiss...” (Luke 7:45)
It could be likened to an experience Claudia and I had once visiting one of our relatives. We arrived on time, knocked on the door, and nothing happened. We tried the doorbell and a voice from within shouted, “Come in!” So we did. We entered an empty entreway, walked through a dark hallway, then through an empty kitchen before we came into the living room. There we found everyone in front of the T.V. No one got up and only one person bothered to say ‘hi’. To do this to family is rude; to do it to a guest of honor is a deliberate insult. To fail to greet a guest with a kiss of welcome was insulting
Consider as well the etiquette of foot washing. In Jesus’ day the washing of the feet was crucial before a meal. In the dung-filled streets...sandles did little to protect one’s feet. If you think foot odor today is nasty, back then it was a real appetite killer, as people ate lying down! The ultimate humilia-tion was for a vanquished foe to be made a footstool for their victor, a reminder of one's defeat.
So if a guest was of high status, the host would wash their feet himself, an honor Jesus later gave his students... Usually a servant would do it. A particularly lazy or arrogant host might simply give the guests some water and a towel – kind of like having your guests wash their own dishes. But Simon didn't even offer that! “When I entered your home, you didn't offer me water to wash my feet”
(Luke 7:44)
Ouch! What did that communicate? And such dinners were a public event!
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A thoughtful host would also give his guests some olive oil to help cool them off. In a country that had a surplus of heat and a scarcity of deodorant, not to mention fans or air-conditioners, such a gesture was refreshing – not only for the guests but for those sitting near them...! But again, Jesus' needs are ignored: “You neglected the common courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head...” (Luke 7:46)
But Jesus is offered no such gestures.... Keep in mind that by this point Jesus has become quite renown, being addressed even by his adversaries as rabbi, he's traveled extensively both in and beyond his country’s borders, where hundreds and thousands of people flock to hear him. As Luke observes: “People from all over Judea...and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon had come to hear him and be healed...” (Luke 6:17-18) He has acquired an international following and yet at Simon's home he's given no greeting, no water for his feet, and no anointing for his hot and sweaty head. These are no subtle omissions, easily over-looked, this is a deliberate slap in the face.
The woman in question is speechless. She watches as the one who has given her hope is ignored and insulted, and not a soul present stands up for him. She knows she cannot give him a kiss of greeting. It would be presumptuous. Think of how those around the room would interpret that! So instead she kept kissing Jesus’ feet. Yuck! I mean think about that. They smell like animal poop! To wash someone’s feet was an act of complete humility but to kiss them was an act of total abasement.
(Luke 7:38)
She pauses and looks up at Jesus. Is he pleased or put off? Will he accept or rebuke her? She looks up and he meets her eyes with his own. He smiles. It is a look of love. He sees not an object, but a daughter. He sees not a reject but a loyal subject... For the first time, she is truly seen.
It’s at that moment that the flood banks open. Tears flow – tears of sadness for what she has done, tears of gratitude because of his love, tears of joy because something new and wonderful has sprung to life within her. Her tears land on his feet. She looks around for a towel. She looks to the host, then to his servants, but no one moves. Impulsively she lets down her hair to dry his feet.
A gasp ripples through the room. It's another shocking breach of etiquette. A woman always wears her hair up in public. Fact is, in the darkness of the night, she has let her hair down many times before, with a great many men. But now she is doing it one final time in broad daylight. This time she is getting it right. This time it's an act of adoration and worship.
Before anyone can say a word she is pouring out her expensive perfume over his feet. The use of perfume has always helped make her work less unpleasant, but now she empties the flask. This is an act of great significance. It shows her new heart. She will need the perfume no longer. She is pouring out her old way of life. She is stained and he is holy so she pours it on his feet!
All the while Simon is looking on and grimacing. His party is not going at all as planned.“What is this? I knew it. He’s no prophet. He doesn’t even know this woman’s reputation!” (Luke 7:39)
But Jesus does know. He sees her clearly, and Simon as well. And he loves him as much as he does her. He wants to awaken the sleeper and so he tells a story, for him, and all his guests...
“There once were two gamblers indebted to a bookie named Fast Freddie. One of these guys hopes that he can still pay off his debt but the other was up a creek without a paddle... They knew that Fast Freddie could have them both locked up, or worse, send them swimming with a ton of blicks. The situation was grim, to say the least, especially for the guy buried deep in debt!
One day, Fast Freddie called the two men in. Knees knocking, faces pale, their jaws dropped as Fast Freddie announced with a smile that he was canceling their debt. They were off the hook.”
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Jesus turns to Simon: “Which one is more likely to have his world rocked by this experience? Who'll be so filled with relief and gratitude and joy that he'll be seized with love for ole Fast Freddie?”
Simon pauses. He’s headed down a very short cul-de-sac and he doesn’t like it at all, so he pretends it’s a tough call: “Well,...I suppose it would be the big debt guy.” (Luke 7:43)
Ever wonder if Jesus had a sense of humor? “You have judged rightly.” (Luke 7:44) Give the boy a cigar, (preferably the exploding kind)! Hold on, James, I was just kidding!
Did you notice what Jesus does next? Luke tells us he turns to the woman, and while looking at her, continues to talk to Simon. Usually, you’d face the person you’re talking to, right? So what is he doing here? If you’re talking with a friend, and then while still talking to them turn to look at someone else and talk about what this other person has done, what is your friend's natural inclination...?
Jesus is compelling Simon to look where he looks, to see what he sees. He invites Simon to see her the way he does - as one of God’s priceless treasures.
The scene reminds me of a story I read about man who was sight seeing in San Francisco and wandered into a small antique shop. The place is cluttered with knick-knacks and, well, junk. On the floor, however, he notices what looks like an ancient Chinese vase. On closer inspection it turns out to be a priceless relic from the Ming dynasty whose value is priceless. It is worth more than everything else in the store put together – and then some! The owner clearly has no idea about the value of this possession, because it’s filled with milk and a cat sits there nonchalantly drinking from it.
The man sees an opportunity for the deal of a lifetime. “That’s an extraordinary cat you have,” he says to the owner. “How much would you sell her for?”
‘Oh, the cat’s not really for sale. She keeps the store free of mice.’
“Oh, I really must have her. Tell you what – I’ll give you a hundred dollars for her.”
‘She’s not really worth it,’ laughed the owner, ‘but if you want her that badly…’
“Wonderful!” the tourist exclaimed. “Tell you what, tho', I’m going to need something to feed her from as well. Let me throw in another ten dollars for that saucer she’s drinking out of as well.”
‘Oh, I could never do that. That saucer is actually an ancient Chinese vase from the Ming dynasty. It's my prized possession, a truly priceless treasure. It's value is beyond calculation. Funny thing, though, since we’ve had it, I’ve sold seventeen cats.’
The ability to accurately assign value is a rare gift. People who awaken with Jesus' Spirit alive within them, learn to discern and appreciate the value of others. They come to love what God loves. They come to truly see others as though God had attached a sticker to each one that read: Made in My image - worth the life of my Son - My prized possession whose value is beyond calculation.
Jesus compelled Simon to look where he looks, to see what he sees, just as he does with you and me today. I’ll never forget the unexpected gift God gave me in the weeks after I was filled with His Spirit at that first Alpha retreat. It felt like scales falling from my eyes – I could see people...!
As Jesus looked into the eyes of this woman, awakened by grace, made whole by His love, he draws the gaze of everyone in that room to her. In that moment Jesus not only forgives her he becomes her advocate. She was going to be his champion; now he is hers. “Do you see this woman?” (Lk 7:44)
Sadly, Simon had not. What he saw filled him with contempt. He wanted to make clear by his disdain that Jesus had allowed great sin to defile his house. Sin had but it's not the sin Simon thinks. It's the sin of lips that won’t kiss, knees that won’t bend, eyes that won't weep, hands that won't serve, perfume that never leaves the jar. It's the sin of eyes that cast condemnation instead of compassion.
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If only Simon could see it... that he and this prostitute are just a couple of bookies in the family of forgiven debtors – two more members in the Fellowship of the Rug! She needs grace for a heart that is broken. He needs grace for a heart that is hard. So it is that Jesus turns to the woman and says, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” The prostitute has known many things: fear, guilt, hurt, desire, shame, despair – but peace? Not likely! Jesus says in effect, “Walk in the kind peace that all these people judging and condemning you cannot touch. Walk out of here as a daughter of the king.”
(Luke 7:50)
Such is the power of love. Such is the depth of God’s grace. Such is the power that Christ is eager to release into your life, and through you, into the lives of those around you...if you will but seek to see what he sees – treasures beyond calculation! My friends, we need his perspective and peace!