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Touch and Tenderness, no 6  The Gospel relates an incident in Jesus’ life that tells us much about touch. A Pharisee invited Jesus to have dinner with him and Jesus went to his house and sat down to eat. In that town was a woman who lived a sinful life. She had heard that Jesus was eating in he Pharisee’s house, so she brought an alabaster jar full of perfume and stood behind jesus, by his feet, crying and wetting his feet with her tears. Then she dried his feet on her hair, kissed them and poured the perfume on them. When the Phariee saw this he said to himself, “If this man really were a prophet, he would know who this woman is who is touching him; he would know what kind of sinful life she leads!” Jesus spoke up and said to him, Simon, I have something to tell you”. “Yes,teacher,” he said,”tell me.” “There were two men who owed money to a moneylender”, Jesus began. “One owed him 500 silver coins, and the other one 50. Neither of them could pay him back so he cancelled the debts of both. Which one, then, will love him more?” “I suppose”, answered Simon, “that it would be the one who was forgiven more.” “You are right,” Jesus said.” The he turned to the woman and said to Simon: “Do you see this woman? I came into your home, and you gave me no water for my feet, but she has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You did not welcome me with a kiss, but he has not stopped kissing my feet since I came. You provided no oil for my head, but he has coveed my feet with perfume. I tell you, then, the great love she has shown proves that her many sins have been forgiven. But whoever has been forgiven little show only a little love.” Then Jesus said to the woman: “Your sins are forgiven”. (Luke 7,36-50) Not only did Jesus repay her confident touch with great sensitivity, he gave her the great compliment of saying she was a person who has ‘loved much’. Even though she had sinned, Jesus said she would be forgiven because she was capable of true love. John Wijngaards |