TEXT: LUKE 7:36-50 #2895 PENTECOST 4THEME: "THE SWEETEST WORDS EVER SPOKEN" I. A MESSAGE OF GRACE. II. ARESPONSE OF GRATITUDE. Phoenix - 6/12/16My dear fellow redeemed,

A few years ago Barbara Walters did a story for television's 20120 about gender rolesover in Afghanistan. While there, she noted that women customarily walked five pacesbehind their husbands. (And contrary to what some may have heard, this is not a mandatedpractice in our Wisconsin Synod. Some of our men might think it is, but it's not. However, Idigress.) Anyway, sometime later Ms Walters went back to Kabul, Afghanistan, and sheobserved that the women were still walking behind their husbands. In fact, now the womenseemed to walk even farther behind their husbands than before. So Barbara approached oneof the Afghani women and asked her, "Why do you now seem happy with this old customthat just a few years ago you desperately wanted to get rid of?" The woman looked her rightin the eye and without any hesitation said, "Land mines." "The moral of the story is simple,"said Barbara Walters' producer. "No matter what language you speak or where you go,behind every man, there's a smart woman."

In a way, that was true in this account which is now before us. Two people had anencounter with a man named Jesus, who as known as ''the carpenter's son from Nazareth"and who was causing quite a stir with his teaching and because of some the miracles He hadperformed. One of them was named Simon, who was a Pharisee - a BMITT .... a Big Man InThe Temple. He had invited Jesus to have dinner with him. Standing behind Simon in theshadows was a woman whose name we aren't even told. Yet when all was said and done thatday, she was "the smart one," so to speak, because she heard from Jesus and applied toherself some of the sweetest words ever spoken. And today we're going to focus on thisthought, namely, "THE SWEETEST WORDS EVER SPOKEN." First, we will hear I AMESSAGE OF GRACE. And then we will also see II. A RESPONSE OF GRATITUDE. I

I. I

"Your sins are forgiven," Jesus told this unnamed woman. "Your faith has saved you;'go in peace," v.48,50. These are some of the sweetest words ever spoken because they are AMESSAGE OF GRACE. Here our Lord is emphasizing to us that the forgiveness of our sinsand our eternal salvation are a gift of His grace - the undeserved love that He has for us. Atone time there was a young man who had just graduated from the seminary and wasbeginning to serve his first congregation. This congregation had traditionally included aConfession of Sins in their worship service, but his predecessor had eliminated that. When hetried to reinstate it, he was met with fierce resistance. Some members thought that aconfession of sins was just too morbid a thing to do in church - that the church 'was supposedto be a place to lift up the spirits of people, not drag them down with the guilt of sins. Duringthe heat of the debate, a member of the congregation's Board of Elders even when so far asto say, "I don't need a Confession of Sins because I don't need to apologize to God foranything."

Apparently, Simon the Pharisee felt pretty much the same way. "I don't need to apologizeto God for anything: ... or at least certainly not like this woman behind me does." And bycomparison, he seemed to have a point. I mean, Simon was a very reputable person in thecommunity, an outstanding member of the local church .... someone other people looked up towith admiration and respect. This woman who had crashed his dinner party, on the otherhand, was something else. She "had lived a sinful life in that town," we are told, v.37. Theterm Simon used for her was "sinner," which in his day commonly referred to someone whowas engaged in what has been called "the oldest profession in the world" - prostitution. "Shehas a lot to apologize to God for," Simon thought, "not me." But Jesus showed Simon that hewas wrong with the little parable He told about two men who owed money to a moneylender.

The one owed quite a sum, and the other not so much. But the bottom line was that neither ofthem could repay their debt. So the moneylender simply canceled the debt of both of them.

The point Jesus was making, my friends, is that the forgiveness of sins and eternalsalvation are a gift of God's grace - a free gift of His unconditional love - and that Godoffers this to everyone regardless of how much or how little they "have to apologize to Himfor" - regardless of whether their lives have been characterized by sordid sins or whetherthey are relatively pristine when compared to someone else's. This gift of forgiveness andsalvation comes by trusting in Jesus as the Savior sent by God to pay the debt for all humansin and set every sinner free from the eternal damnation of their sins. This woman believedthat Jesus was her Savior. ... Simon didn't. This woman then heard the sweetest words everspoken. "Your sins are forgiven," Jesus told her. In essence, He was saying, "Now youreally don't have to apologize to God for anything because 'as far as the east is from thewest, that's how far He has removed your transgressions from you. ' Your sins are gone.Your debt has been canceled. Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

The sweetest words ever spoken. As a believer in Jesus, my friends, you can also applythem to yourself. "Your sins are forgiven," our Savior says to you. "Your faith has savedyou; go in peace." You can be certain of this because your forgiveness and your eternalsalvation are a gift of God's grace, which became your very own when God also gave youthe gift of faith in Jesus as your Savior from sin. These are gifts of God's unconditional love,but 'unconditional love" is a problem for some people. You see, they're just not used to"unconditional love." In our world, people are used to the premise of earning love based ontheir ability to perform, conform, or reform. They are used to the constant, subtle messagethat they will be loved IF they measure up -IF they do this or don't do that...JF they trytheir hardest to be their best and do their best. We need to remind ourselves again and againthat God's love for us in unconditional- that His love for us doesn't have any "ifs" attachedto it. We are loved by God.... period! "God demonstrates His own love for us in this:" th~Apostle Paul told the Christian in Rome, "while we were still sinners, Christ diedfor us. "

Many people today are also like Simon the Pharisee in that they thin they will findacceptance by God based on the kind of people they are and the kind of things they do in life.Having you been reading all of the hoopla in the paper following the death of MuhammadAli? Column after column, story after story have lauded and praised him. He was the greatestboxer of all times. Maybe that's true. He helped raise millions of dollars for the research ofParkinson's Disease. You can't dispute that - he did. He was an international humanitarian.Probably so. Steve Benson even had a cartoon in the paper last Monday. It showed Ali in theboxing ring with his arms upraised and proclaiming, "I'm a prophet! I'm a resurrector! I'mthe Savior of the boxing world!" And over here in the comer at ringside sits a man with ahalo over his head, which is obviously meant to be Jesus, and He is saying, "Well,OK.... He's the greatest of all times."

This reflects the thinking of Simon the Pharisee, doesn't it? Ali was a good man. Ali didgreat things. So it only stands to reason, some think, that when Ali died, God had good thingswaiting for him and will now do great things for him. But the truth is, if Ali died believingwhat his Muslim religion maintains, namely, that Jesus Christ is not the eternal Son of Godand Savior of the world, then the Prince of hell welcomed still another of his roommates forall of eternity. It's sad, but true. In our Second Lesson this morning we heard the ApostlePaul say, "A person is not justified by the works of the law (that is, on the basis of our ownperformance in life), but by faith in Jesus Christ. " And this is based on the words of ourSavior/God Himself. "I am the way and the truth and the life, " Jesus says. "No one comes tothe Father except thru me." Thank God for your faith in Jesus, my friends. Thank God thattoday you can apply to yourself the sweetest words ever spoken. "Your sins are forgiven,"Jesus assures you. "Your faith has saved you' go in peace."

II.

And not only that. As you live your life here on earth, let people see A RESPONSE OFGRATITUDE for the grace God has shown to you in Jesus. Let me tell you about a youngChristian from the Island of Madagascar. He was always very eager to tell people about whathe had found in Jesus. In fact, whenever he spoke the name of Jesus, his bright eyes wouldfill with tears. "Why do you do that?" people would often ask him. "How can I not do that?!"this young man would reply. "Jesus <lied for me! He suffered the hell that I deserved.Because of what He did for me, my every sin has been forgiven, and the kingdom of heavenis now open to receive me when I die." In like manner, that's very much the way it was withthis woman in Simon's house too. She also knew who Jesus was and what she would find inHim, even before she heard the sweetest words that were ever spoken. Listen, we are told,"She brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind Him at His feetweeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair,kissed them and poured perfume on them," v.37b,38.

This woman didn't respond the way she <lid to draw attention to herself or to try toimpress anybody, not even our Lord Himself. No, her response was simply the response oflove and gratitude from a grateful sinner because of what she had found in Jesus. "She lovedmuch," Jesus told Simon the Pharisee, and she showed it. She "loved much" because fromJesus she had ''received much." How is it in our own lives, my friends? Is a response ofgratitude for what we have received from Jesus also evident? To the best of my knowledge,none of us here this morning are engaged in ''the oldest profession in the world," and yetfrom God's point of view our own lives are also pretty shabby, shady, and seedy. They areoften stained with unholy thoughts and loveless words; soiled with petty squabbles andquarreling; sometimes even spotted with hatred and bitterness - plus a host of other thingsthat we would prefer not to mention or maybe even think about. In God's sight, all of theseare sins that are just as despicable and just as damnable as those of this unnamed woman inSimon's house.

Yet from Jesus we have also received "much." I can bring you the same comforting'assurance this morning that the prophet Nathan gave King David in our First Lesson. "The'Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. " If you have any doubt about this,listen again carefully to what Jesus Himself says. "Your sins are forgiven," He tells all ofyou who trust in Him as your Savior. "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." There's nodoubt about it. Our sins are forgiven - all ofthem .... totally and completely. And since theyare forgiven because Jesus lived, <lied,and rose again to pay that debt, we now live with thesure and certain promise of eternal salvation in heaven. In connection with this, I amreminded of the classic story about a noted conductor who was taking his choir and orchestrathru their final rehearsal of Handel's beautiful and inspiring "Messiah." When the sopranosoloist came in with the refrain, "I know that my Redeemer lives," she sang it with flawlesstechnique, perfect breathing, and clear enunciation. After she had completed her part,everyone looked at the conductor, expecting to see his nod of approval.

But they didn't. Instead, with a wave of his baton for silence, he walked over to the soloistand said, "Young lady, you really don't know that your Redeemer lives, do you?" "Why,yes," she stammered; somewhat embarrassed, " I do." "Then sing it!" the conductor said."Tell me in a way that shows you have experienced the joy and comfort of it." Then hemotioned for the orchestra to begin, and this time the soloist sang with a fervor that reallyconveyed her faith in Jesus. When she had finished, the old master said, "You do know, andthis time I have seen your joy in Jesus." "She loved much," Jesus said of the sinful womanin Simon's house, and she showed it with a response of gratitude. Do the same, my friends.Show the gratitude you have for Jesus by living in willing obedience to your Lord andSavior. Show your gratitude by humbling yourself at His feet and worshiping Him, bothpublicly here in church and privately in your own home. Show your gratitude by joyfully

giving Him your own "alabaster jar of perfume," so to speak - the gifts of your time, talents,and treasures in His service.

And why? Well, it's simply because this is a very fitting and proper response from everygrateful sinner who hears and believes the sweetest words ever spoken - that message ofgrace in which our Savior says, "Your sins are forgiven. Your faitb bas saved you; go inpeace."

AMEN

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