What a beautiful night it was. The temperature seemed perfect so I invited some of my influential friends over because the great teacher had accepted my invitation to dinner. My friends and I worked hard to make sure everything went perfectly so that the teacher could see that I was a good and important man. People in the neighborhood had heard that he would be at my house and a small group gathered at the park next door. It seemed wherever the teacher went crowds followed close behind and often the teacher would be overrun by their needs and questions.
I placed the guest of honor’s chair next to mine and carefully placed lawn chairs in a circle to promote conversation.
When he arrived there were a few people who also entered my backyard with him and stood behind the circle of chairs. The food was placed on platters and everyone filled their plates with beef, chicken, corn on the cob and iced tea. I sat in the new lawn chair and noticed the teacher sitting down in the oldest and weakest lawn chair I owned. I held my breath as I saw the old folding chair lean to one side and squeak under his weight. I recognized one of the women that arrived after him as one of the prostitutes that work in the area and I was embarrassed that she was bothering him. Just as I was walking over to ask the teacher if he needed anything, I noticed the crowd fall silent as the prostitute removed the teacher’s sandals and began to kiss his feet. Her tears streamed down her face falling on his feet. The dirt from the dusty road mixed with the tears and created a brown water that ran between her fingers and dripped to the ground.
I was totally stunned. How could the teacher allow such a thing? If he was the prophet everyone claimed, he would never allow this unclean woman to touch him. This is the nastiest woman in town. She began to dry his feet with her hair and then poured perfume on them to soothe and comfort him.
We all looked at each other and it was obvious we were all thinking the same thing.
“A true prophet would never allow her to touch him.”
The silence was broken as the prophet spoke to me.
"Larry, I have something to tell you," he said.
"Please, tell me teacher," I said.
He spoke with such authority that everyone anxiously waited to hear what he had to say.
"Two men owed a moneylender. One owed thousands of dollars. The other owed a hundred. Neither man had the money to pay him back, so the moneylender forgave both debts.
Now which one of these two men will love him more?" Asked the prophet.
I answered quickly feeling pretty confident,"I would assume the one who was forgiven of the greatest debt."
"You have assumed correctly," He said.
Then he looked down at the woman and said to me,
"Do you see this woman? I arrived at your place after walking a long distance and you didn’t so much as give me water to wash my feet and hands, but she has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.
Those who have been forgiven much, love much.
Those who have been forgiven little, love little."
I’m not sure what happened next but I felt as though I had been placed in a pestle and thoroughly ground to a powder. Now I was not really embarrassed, because we were all put in our place. I had been looking at this woman as if she was lower than myself. However this prophet Jesus, had lovingly reminded us all that none of us is without sin and all require repentance.
Never had I been corrected with such great love. The rest of the evening was one of listening and learning. My arrogance had been crushed and my eyes opened to my need for a savior.
No matter how good we are, none of us can stand before God. We will all fall to our knees in his presence.
“For all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God.” Romans 3:23
Remember to always ride the narrow road and come back and see us again.
Your traveling companion,
Larry (Skeeter)
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