37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was

reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and

standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and

wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the

ointment. (Luke 7:36-38)

Can you picture it? Can you see her in your mind? Can you visualize the sinful woman

showing up to the house of Simon the Pharisee, alabaster flask in hand? Somehow she

makes her way through the threshold of the house and heads towards the back patio

where the guests are dining. Maybe it’s her beauty…maybe it’s the expensive gift that

she has in her hand that some assume has been prepared for the man of the house.

However she got in, if eyes were daggers and looks could kill, this woman would never

have made it more than a few steps into the home of Simon the Pharisee.

And yet, this sinful woman…this professional sinner makes her way through the

crowded room of judgmental onlookers like they were all store front mannequins. And

herein lies the first main point in this powerful text:

Peace comes by living to please Jesus, instead of pleasing others.

The house may be full of prominent community leaders and influential guests, but in this

woman’s mind, there is only one individual whose time she wants. There is only one

person she is interested in engaging. She is not there to try and repair her broken

reputation. She has not come with gifts to curry favor with the social power brokers of

the community. There is no attempt to win friends and influence people. In her mind,

there is only one person at the party with whom she hopes to please. There is only one

set of eyes she is concerned about. The tears, the show of affection, the expensive

ointment…all of it are reserved for Jesus.

Can I ask you something? How much of your time and energy in your daily life is spent

on trying to please people? Parents, children, customers, friends, strangers,

classmates, instagram followers…the list is endless for whom we could spend our entire

lives trying to please. Paul gets to the heart of the matter when he writes in Galatians

1:10 “If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

By Jimmy Carter