He goes along, but gets a rather cool reception. Normally there would be social niceties observed. An attentive host would welcome his guest with a kiss, offer water to wash the dust of the road from his feet, and oil to anoint his head. Simon the pharisee seemed to have forgotten about this.
No matter, there was someone else there to give Jesus an extravagant welcome. A prostitute.
Maybe you're wondering how a prostitute could just walk in to a dinner party. I used to.
Apparently, meals would be taken in a courtyard that was open on at least one side to the street. In a hot climate, that made sense - the cool evening air would circulate and keep the guests comfortable. But passers by could see what was going on, and come easily up to the table.
Ah yes, the table. That would be rather different too. It was probably no higher than a modern coffee table, so you didn't want to sit on an upright chair, like we might imagine. People reclined around the table on couches or cushions, propping themselves up on their left elbow, so their right hand was free to eat with. They'd stretch their legs out behind them, away from the table. So it wasn't so hard for this woman to get near to Jesus, especially his feet.
Jesus can easily guess Simon's thoughts. A "respectable" rabbi would draw away from the attentions of a sinful female, so either Jesus didn't know what sort of woman this was, or he had a poor grasp of social graces.
So he tells Simon a little story. Who loves more - someone forgiven a little, or someone forgiven a lot?
This is another example of Jesus' care. He cares for the woman who is treated as trash by others, he notices her, and values her. He's prepared to invest in her redemption.
If even a sparrow never falls to the ground without God's notice, what does that mean for me?
Sometimes I feel like a sparrow in a nosedive, but please help me to remember, Lord Jesus, that I do not plummet alone.
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