The Sinful Woman Forgiven

A Pharisee named Simon has invited Jesus to dinner at his house. A woman of the city, a sinner, brings an alabaster jar of perfume. Standing behind him, she weeps, wets his feet with her tears, wipes them with her hair, kisses them, and anoints them with the perfume. Simon thinks, “This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is . . . for she is a sinner.” Jesus tells him a story about two debtors, one who owed five hundred denarii and the other fifty, and their creditor forgave them both. “Which of them will love him most?” Simon answers: the one who was forgiven more. Jesus contrasts his host’s welcome, with no water, no kiss, no oil, with the woman’s love: “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much.” Then: “Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.”