One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table. And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment.  

Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him - that she is a sinner."  

Jesus spoke up and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you."  

"Teacher," he replied, "speak."  

"A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?"  

Simon answered, "I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt."  

And Jesus said to him, "You have judged rightly." Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little." Then he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."  

But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"  

And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

I wonder about this nameless woman and her life: a mysterious woman who doesn't even dare to face Jesus, but remains behind him, pouring out her grief, pouring out her precious ointment, pouring out her very self. . .all the while hidden from sight. Was her place, hidden from view, one to which she had become accustomed or resigned? Or was her place assigned to her by others?

What was her sin? We assume (because it is a woman?) it was sexual. Yet the story is silent on the details. Did others know the truth, or did they just assume she was a sinner? Was this the first time she had gone public, mingled with others? When did her first name become "Sinner"? Did she call herself by that name, too, or by the name given to her at birth? 

How did this woman dare to approach Jesus? What was in his message, his way of being, that gave her the courage to risk ridicule and rejection, the desire to give a most precious gift of ointment? Did the others in the room, namely the host, forget that he had his own sin, "for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"? How had he moved from "Sinner" to "Righteous One"? Did he have the money, the social standing, to purchase the appropriate offerings?
 
Many questions and few answers surround this woman, except for one: she is welcomed by Jesus. Her extravagant love and remorse are noted; her sin is forgiven through the extravagance of Jesus' love and acceptance. She is restored in relationship to God. However, a question remains in the story. is her community willing to welcome her back with a new name, "Forgiven One". . ."Righteous One"?

We are welcomed into the embrace of Jesus' love and acceptance. Through the power of the Holy Spirit working among us, may we in turn be welcoming communities, open to the name changes that God in Christ so extravagantly provides.