In a conversation, What is the best balance of sharing and listening?
What have you read that caused the biggest reaction in you?
What lessons have changed from when you were a child, teen, and into adulthood?
What are your favorite ice-breakers? How do you get conversations started?
Who is more grateful?
In the last part of Luke Chapter 7, there is a question posed by Jesus: A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?
There is a similar story in the books of Mark and John. the details can be combined to provide a fair assessment of the of the scene. Some have even said this might be separate events. For this discussion, I think Luke’s account invites us to look deeper into the details, past the scene, and into the hearts of the characters.
Simon, the host, is wanting to be seen with the potential Messiah, whether for personal gain, political leverage, or simply to fulfill a curiosity. From what I see of reading this story on its own, I see Simon representing a self-righteous person; focused on the actions of others, specifically their rightness or wrongness.
The woman, identified as a ‘sinner’, implies to me that she was better known for her reputation than her name.
Jumping to the end of the story, I realize Jesus is comparing forgiveness of sins to forgiveness of monetary debts. While the offer to forgive the debt is made to both, I see only the woman is actually forgiven. I see Simon as being blinded to his need of forgiveness.
My conclusion is the heart that is drawn to relationship is better off than the person who wants to prove their heart is right; the woman expressed the status of relationship through her actions, while Simon expressed his status through his attitude.
What are your thoughts?