What do you see? (Luke 7:36-50)
This is a beautiful and powerful story. We begin with Jesus at table in the home of a Pharisee. This is not insignificant. At the beginning of the Gospel where Luke sets forth the agenda and program of Jesus, it is clear where Jesus’ focus lies. In the synagogue at Nazareth he defines his ministry in terms of Isaiah 61. He would be about restoring the sight of the blind, setting captives free, liberating the oppressed, announcing good news to the poor, and proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor. This reference to the year of the Lord’s favor is an allusion to the year of Jubilee when financial debts were forgiven and land was restored to those who lost it, thus creating more fair and equitable conditions in the land. Luke makes clear that Jesus’ mission and ministry was concentrated on the poor and the oppressed. And yet here is Jesus sitting at the table of a Pharisee sharing a meal. In fact, on three separate occasions in Luke’s Gospel we find Jesus eating with Pharis...