In the gospel today, Jesus is invited to the house of Simon, a religious leader. They have a meal and an uninvited person “crashes” the gathering. Jesus finds in this occasion—and in the action of the uninvited person—opportunity to teach important lessons about hospitality and forgiveness.

Some of us Jesuits in Omaha recently moved into a brand new residence. It is a beautiful space in the heart of the Creighton campus. One of the features of this new residence is that it has a lot of glass that allows people outside to see what’s going on in the chapel and in the dining room. Recently at meal time, one of the Jesuits at table noted that, as people walked by and looked into our dining room, they could see us as we sat together and ate in the same way that the people looked on when Jesus went to the house of Simon. “I wonder what they think?” He quipped.

As Jesus eats in the house of Simon, we are given a window view of the action. The host is seated with Jesus; other people are there. An uninvited guest is also present—a woman, who as Simon observes, is a sinner. At this point we are given another “window” into the mind of the host, Simon. He judges the woman as a sinner; he also judges that Jesus must not be a prophet since a real prophet would keep distance from sinners. I can certainly identify with the host: noticing things about people and making judgments about them.

Jesus then addresses Simon with some words that would be hard to accept. The example Jesus gives does not call for much reflection as the meaning of it is readily apparent. If two debtors are both forgiven, the one with the larger debt will be more grateful and loving toward the one who cancels the debt. Simon readily acknowledges this. Perhaps he is on the way to deeper understanding of the mission of Jesus: mercy, forgiveness, and love.

In addition to forgiveness, which Jesus offers freely, there is another important lesson on hospitality. Simon did not offer the hospitality that the woman did: she bathed Jesus feet with her tears and dried them with her hair; she anointed his feet with ointment and kissed his feet. Simon offered none of these. But there is another side to the coin of hospitality, namely that Jesus receives the love and care of the woman. He also assures her of the forgiveness of her sins. And so, we can see that this loving hospitality goes in both directions. The woman offers Jesus her hospitality; Jesus assures her that she is forgiven and loved by God.

Finally, it seems important to note that the example offered by Jesus shows that forgiveness comes first. We are all sinners, and forgiven by God; we love greatly when we acknowledge that forgiveness of God, and offer hospitality and love to one another as a result.