Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
–Luke 7:50

Our Lenten theme this year is Tell Me Something Good. This Sunday, “The good news is… Great love for God and neighbor.” We’ll be holding together two powerful texts: Luke 7:36–50 and Matthew 25:35–40.

In Luke’s Gospel, a woman enters a Pharisee’s house because she knew Jesus would be there. She brings an alabaster jar. She weeps. She kneels. She anoints Jesus’ feet with extravagant love. The host, Simon, evaluates. Judges. Calculates. Jesus then tells a story about two debtors and then gently exposes the gap between minimal hospitality and abundant love.

Rev. Dr. Brian Blount, in the A Sanctified Art curriculum, reminds us that this story is more than just forgiveness, it is about love that refuses to stay small. He notes that the woman’s actions are not polite, restrained, or respectable. They are excessive. And in that excess, we glimpse the wideness of God’s mercy.

Her love is called “great” not because it is flashy, but because it flows from the deep knowledge of grace.

And then we turn to Matthew 25, where Jesus says that loving him looks like feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned. “Just as you did it to one of the least of these… you did it to me.” Love of God and love of neighbor are inseparable.

If this woman is to “go in peace,” it will require a community that practices Matthew 25 love: the kind of love that feeds, welcomes, and restores dignity. Peace is sustained when neighbors become participants in grace.

I look forward to worshiping with you Sunday on YouTube and in person as we explore what it means to love God and neighbor with a love that is generous, embodied, and brave.

Brett