Luke 7:36-8:3

Pentecost +4 - Year C

Luke 7:36-8:3

"She is a sinner!", comes the complaint as though she were somehow or other not one of us.

The image of a contorted woman — standing behind and yet twisting around the one in front to cry on their feet — is nothing like the contortions necessary to dismiss another for not being a one-to-one correspondence of myself.

Into this contorted scene Jesus brings a question. This question is not to further confuse things, but to straighten out that which is so twisted upon itself that life is denied. Of course the question depended upon the responder having projected themselves into the outline of the story. If they had a large debt cancelled they would be more grateful than if a smaller debt had been taken from them. Having identified themselves with money, they could respond in no other way. There wasn't time for them to note that having a great resources they could handle paying a large debt and so being forgiven or not is a relatively little thing. They couldn't imagine that they were so poor that a large debt was unimaginable and so the forgiveness of their smallest debt would be a big deal.

In falling into the trap of projection the judgers found the screen of themselves turned into a mirror. Bottom line became, "She is forgiven!" And disciples who happened to be female increased in number. And so it has ever been — judged and exiled sinners turn out to be included and forgiven disciples who will support and travel to invite other transformations.

Settled faith needs projection and passive aggression to cover and deny any growing edge that would reveal we are still on a journey.