The Gospel reading for this week (Luke 7:36-8:3) occurs in some form or another in all four Gospels of the Bible. In Matthew and Mark, an unnamed woman anoints Jesus’ head, and in John, the woman has a name (Mary, Jesus’ friend). In our account today, the unnamed woman is called a notorious sinner, who weeps over His feet, kisses them, and then rubs them with perfume.

This unnamed woman is only known as a sinner. Although some translations assume that she had lived an immoral life, we don’t know that for sure. Her reputation preceded her. Simon the Pharisee recognised her and thus looked down on her as a “sinner”. Oh, how often we do this ourselves: we righteous people, offended by “her” very presence, call her sinner, whore, temptress, seducer, promiscuous, unmarried mother, unemployed, dole bludger, obese, drug addict, drunkard – and we wrinkle our nose at her. She is a problem to us, not a person. She’s a burden on society, a waste of space, a good-for-nothing.

I wonder why you practise Christianity. Was it a part of your upbringing, and something you chose to continue yourself when you were old enough to make your own decisions? Is it habit? Is it for the social interactions you get at church? Is it, like the unnamed woman, out of profound gratitude for God’s gift of grace that has changed your heart? Or might it sometimes be, as I suspect for all of us, a means of proving personal and social superiority to others who are beneath our level of piety – like Simon the Pharisee?

More often than not, we tend to identify with the “sinners” in the Gospel stories. But if we are honest with ourselves, perhaps we might admit that we all have some of the “Pharisee” in us as well. We all have that part of us that practises our faith because it makes us feel better about ourselves. We all have that part that thinks we deserve a reward for doing the right thing. We all have that part that looks down on certain people as “inferior” and unnamed.

Hear the good news, friends: Jesus offers us all forgiveness and acceptance, whether we’re more “sinners” or “Pharisees”. Jesus calls us by name, calls us Friend, Forgiven, Blessed, Beautiful, Beloved, Welcome, a member of God’s family. He tells us that our faith saves us, not our piety or righteousness or superiority. And then He bids us: go in peace, sinners and Pharisees alike, as a forgiven and a forgiving people.