Series: Short Stories with Jesus
Message: Feet Kisser
Preacher: Jessyka Albert
Reflection: Jessyka Albert
Live Wonder: Zan Long
Live Adventure: Zan Long
Live Purpose: Vanessa Rivera
Editor: Becky De Oliveira
Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.
Read: Luke 7:36-48 in the New Living Translation (NLT). Note 1–3 insights or questions.
Reflect: There are a few houses around the world that feel like home to me. I love to travel, but I am also a real home body. I love to feel like I have a base. A place where I belong. Have you ever experienced such hospitality that you feel completely at home in a place that is not your own? Some people truly have the gift of making others comfortable.
During Jesus’ time, there was a huge emphasis placed on being a hospitable host. As we read through this story, hospitality doesn’t enter the picture until the woman does. In his commentary on Luke, Fred Craddock makes this observation:
The irony here is that even though Jesus is a guest in Simon’s home, it is a diner that extends hospitality . . . it is clear in Luke’s telling that she is extending the hospitality that Simon had withheld. This is Jesus’ interpretation of her actions: water for the feet (tears), the kiss of welcome, and the anointing for one coming in from a journey exposed to the heat of the day. (p. 105)
Of course this causes us to question why Simon didn’t extend hospitality to Jesus in the first place. Was Simon just not a naturally hospitable person? Did he intentionally not welcome Jesus with foot washing, a kiss, and anointing? Did he not see Jesus as worthy?
It is easy for us to go out of our way to make someone we care about or someone important feel at home. Growing up, I could always tell when my grandpa would be visiting from Switzerland. My mom would dust places that hadn’t been dusted since his last visit. Fresh linens were put out. The fridge was stocked with all of his favorites. The problem is that hospitality comes easy to those whom we hold in high regard. The sinful woman knew who Jesus was. She knew He was Lord. Hospitality flowed out of her whereas Simon withheld it.
We can so often prioritize people on a scale of importance in our lives. In Matthew Chapter 25, which describes the second coming of Jesus, we are reminded that what we do for “the least” we do for God. Our hospitality should never be withheld. The sinful woman couldn’t help but wash, kiss, and anoint the feet of Jesus. We should be people who can’t help but show hospitality to everyone, from the greatest all the way to the least.
Recalibrate: Do you believe we as Christians are called to extend hospitality to all people?
Respond: Pray for someone in your live that you find it hard to be kind to.
Research: What were some of the traditions and customs of hospitality during Jesus’ time?
Remember: “She has been forgiven of all her many sins. This is why she has shown me such extravagant love.” —Luke 7:46 (TPT)
Jessyka Albert is a graduate of Union College and a native of Washington State. She has been the associate pastor at Boulder Adventist Church since 2016. She serves over three branches of faith development, Wonder, Adventure and Purpose.
Having a good cry, pouring out your pain, is always good when it’s at Jesus’ feet. Pour it out like the woman in our story. Start today freshly forgiven and full of faith.
Imagine that you were at the dinner party that Jesus was attending. The woman who poured out the perfume was crying all over Jesus’ feet. How do you feel when someone starts to cry? What do you do? What did Jesus do?
The Pharisee was surprised that Jesus let the woman near Him—so surprised that he doubted Jesus was even a prophet! Have you ever kept your distance from someone because you thought you were better? Has anyone ever distanced themselves from you because he or she thought they were better? How did that feel? What does Jesus’ acceptance of the woman tell you about Him?