Latest / Chapel Talks / What are we praying for our students? | Luke 7:36-50 | Revd Dr James Robson

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What are we praying for our students? | Luke 7:36-50 | Revd Dr James Robson · Chapel Talks

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Welcome back some. Welcome for the first time,
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everyone else. Lovely to have you back here.
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It's an incredible joy. The college has been
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very empty for quite a long time. I came across
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a thought -provoking quotation recently. This
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is what it says. Victoria is in on Augustine's
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secret. I'm going to give you 30 seconds to think
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for yourself what that is all about. Victoria
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is in on Augustine's secret. Down to talk to
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each other. You can think on your own or talk
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to a neighbour. Okay, I can see some laughter.
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Let me put this quotation in its wider context.
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First of all, St. Augustine, he made the point
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that human beings are creatures of desire. What
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or whom do we long for? Famously, you made us
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for yourself and our heart is restless until
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it finds its rest in you. And then there's the
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quotations context. The marketing industry is
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able to capture, form and direct our desires
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precisely because it has rightly discerned that
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we're embodied, desiring creatures whose being
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in the world is governed by the imagination.
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Marketers have figured out the way to our heart
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because they get it. They rightly understand
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that at root we are creatures who are orientated
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primarily by love and passion and desire. In
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sum, I think Victoria is in on Augustine's secret.
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It's a quotation from a book by James K .A. Smith.
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I guess many of you have come across him, or
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if you haven't, you will be. In another of his
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books, You Are What You Love, he said, what if
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instead of starting from the assumption that
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human beings are thinking things, we started
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from the conviction that human beings are first
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and foremost lovers? His point then, he said,
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Christian discipleship frequently starts off
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on the wrong foot here as we preach and educate
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and train and do youth work and even parent according
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to the wrong model. We assume that people change
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through learning different things, whereas actually
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they grow through loving different things. And
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so he protests about a model of ministry narrowly
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focused on filling heads. So we're like heads
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with on legs like that. And we stuff our heads
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full of knowledge, convinced we can think our
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way to holiness. It's like brains on stalks.
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You know, I'm thinking at this moment, is Oak
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Hill telling me on my very first day that thinking.
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There's no value in learning things. Are you
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kidding me? Of course not. Just to be clear,
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of course not. Learning and knowing are fundamental
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to loving in that sense. We come to love someone
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by learning about them, by getting to know them.
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Unless you go on one of these TV programmes in
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which case you get married at first sight. But
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our hearts, our love, our desires are foundational.
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And we're going to see that no clearer than Luke
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chapter 7. So if you've got a Bible accessible,
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we're in Luke chapter 7, verses 36 to 50. Luke
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7, 36 to 50. Let me read it. When one of the
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Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him,
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he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined
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at the table. A woman in that town who lived
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a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at
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the Pharisee's house, so she came there with
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an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind
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him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his
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feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with
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her hair. kissed them and poured perfume on them.
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When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this,
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he said to himself, if this man were a prophet,
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he would know who's touching him, what kind of
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woman she is, that she's a sinner. Jesus answered
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him, Simon, I have something to tell you. Tell
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me, teacher, he said. Two people owed money to
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a certain moneylender. One owed him 500 denarii
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and the other 50. Neither of them had the money
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to pay him back, so he gave the debts of both.
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Now which of them will love him more? Simon replied,
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I suppose the one with the bigger debt forgiven.
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You have judged correctly, Jesus said. Then he
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turned towards the woman and said to Simon, Do
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you see this woman? I came into your house. You
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did not give me any water for my feet, but she
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wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with
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her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this
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woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped
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kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head,
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but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore
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I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven,
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as her great love has shown. But whoever has
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been forgiven little, loves little. Then Jesus
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said to her, Your sins are forgiven. The other
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guests began to say among themselves, Who is
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this who even forgives sins? And Jesus said to
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the woman, Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.
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So Jesus is invited to the house. At this point,
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we don't know his name, an unnamed Pharisee.
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Pharisees have made quite an appearance in Luke's
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gospel up to this moment. Back in chapter five,
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they frogged to hear Jesus. They came not just
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from Galilee, but also from Judea and from Jerusalem.
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You could imagine they were intrigued. But when
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what they found was deeply challenging and deeply
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troubling. They were troubled by his claims.
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So do you remember when Jesus said to the paralysed
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man, friend, your sins are forgiven? They began
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thinking to themselves, who is this who speaks
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blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?
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It wasn't just his claims. It was who he ate
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with. And later in chapter five, when Jesus went
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to the Levi, the tax collector's house, there
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were lots of tax collectors and others that were
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there. And then Luke tells us the Pharisees,
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the teachers of the law who belong to their sect,
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complained to Jesus' disciples. Why do you eat
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and drink with tax collectors and sinners? And
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then, of course, there was his lack of observance,
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his lack of fasting. They didn't like the fact
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Jesus' disciples weren't fasting and praying.
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And they weren't often, but instead they were
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eating and drinking. And then there was, of course,
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his Sabbath observance. As Jesus' disciples went
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through the cornfields, disciples began to rub
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the ears of corn. And some of the Pharisees asked,
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why are you doing what's unlawful on the Sabbath?
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And Jesus answered them again. And so they watch
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his every move in chapter six. They were looking
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for a reason, says Luke in chapter 6, verse 7.
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The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were
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looking for a reason to accuse Jesus. So they
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watched him closely to see if he would heal on
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the Sabbath. Sure enough, he did. So the result,
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6 .11. But the Pharisees and the teachers of
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the law were furious and began to discuss with
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one another what they might do to Jesus. She's
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got that backdrop as the Pharisee, we don't know
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his name yet, invites Jesus to his house for
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a meal. What do you make of that? Is he intrigued?
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Is he trying to trap Jesus? Is he curious? It
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was a big deal to get someone over for a meal.
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Hospitality? We don't really quite know. We've
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got that kind of shadow in the background. But
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what about the other person here, the woman?
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Well, she'd obviously got quite a background,
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hadn't she? We get that very clearly. The language
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of being a sinner, probably a prostitute. I don't
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know, I've got quite a number of questions here.
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How did she get in? Did she kind of tailgate
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the stewards? Don't do that with the library,
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incidentally, and academic centre. No tailgating.
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How did she get the perfume? Was it part of her
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profession? Pretty awkward. Not that surprising,
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was it? The Simon was really put out. After all,
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the Pharisees really cared who they act with.
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That was precisely the complaint about Jesus
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earlier on. Look at her devotion. She bought
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an alabaster jar of perfume. I don't know what
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alabaster was. Do you know what alabaster is?
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maybe you've done some speaking on this and thought
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about it it's just let me this is a little bit
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of research a soft translucent gypsum stone historically
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used to hold expensive ointments perfumes and
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oils and of course remember in that day they
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would recline to eat and so prop themselves up
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on one elbow and she wets his jesus feet with
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her tears and she wipes them with her care she
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kisses them and pours perfume on them It's pretty
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embarrassing, wouldn't you feel? Certainly for
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Simon. Awkward, but incredibly beautiful. She
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risked ridicule and more beside. And the Pharisee,
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he's still, of course, the Pharisee. He's trying
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to get his head around this. How do I make sense
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of this? So I know the teacher. He's supposed
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to be a prophet, but he doesn't seem to be aware
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of who this woman is. And then he thinks, I kind
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of want to say something, but I can't really
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as the host. I can't be rude to my guest. So
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instead, he thinks to himself. He knows who the
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woman is. He's sure as anything Jesus doesn't.
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So he ends up muttering almost under his breath.
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If this man were a prophet, he would know who
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is touching him and what kind of woman she is,
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that she's a sinner. I love Luke's little irony
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here when he puts in what happened to that. Do
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you notice what he says next? Jesus answered
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him. He knows exactly what's going on in his
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head and answers what is going on in his head.
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This so -called prophet who can't be a prophet
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because he doesn't know. Simon, I have something
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to say to you. Two people owed money to a certain
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money lender. One owed him 500 denarii, about
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75k on today's terms, we think, something like
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that. 75 ,000, quite a lot. The other 50. Neither
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of them had the money to pay him back, so he
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cancelled the debts of both. Now, which of them
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will love him more? Have you ever, in your life,
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confronted a host? When you've been around for
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a meal, invited around for a meal, have you ever
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confronted your host? Have you ever been confronted?
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You just don't do this, do you? But Jesus is
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extraordinary. Do you see this woman? Of course
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he does. Everyone does. I mean, you can't miss
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her. Who couldn't perfume the smell filling the
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air? The crying, the sobs, you can imagine punctuating
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the conversation. There's that awkward silence.
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The sounds. He calls out the host. And this is
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one of the fundamental things that are going
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on here. What a difference it was between the
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woman and Simon. So Jesus comes into Simon's
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house. Simon doesn't give him any water at all.
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not even for his feet. But the woman wet his
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feet with her tears, wiped them with her hair.
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I know some of you have been to Uzbekistan or
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that central Asia over the summer. I don't know
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if any of you have been to Middle Eastern cities
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where you have open -toed sandals and your feet
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get pretty dirty, don't they? Not a thing you
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did. Done. But she with tears of repentance.
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And then Jesus... So Simon didn't give Jesus
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a kiss. Well, kissing was customary. Greet one
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another with a holy kiss. And she kissed his
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feet, not his cheek. And she kept on doing so.
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This was, again, this was dirt. He didn't do
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that. Or Simon didn't put oil on Jesus' head.
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Sometimes hosts did it. It wasn't that common
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to do, but of course, sometimes some hosts did
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it. But she takes his alabaster perfume on her
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feet and doused it. So you see, Simon, The host
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does nothing that a host should do, a good host.
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Who is the real host who's offering hospitality?
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It's the woman. Which of them will love him more?
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Jesus makes it very, very clear. The right response
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is extravagant love for Jesus. So the heart of
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our discipleship, back to that early quotation,
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is love. It is love for Jesus Christ. Yes, we
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care here massively about our understanding,
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our knowing, our learning, our thinking, our
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studies. We want you to be better equipped to
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serve the Lord and we need to, as Andrew so rightly
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said, we learn so much from you. But more than
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anything else, we want to grow in our love for
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Jesus Christ, don't we? That's the heart. That's
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everything. We get to know Christ better through
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our studies, through our conversations, through
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one another. We grow in our love for him and
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this passionate devotion seen in action. And
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you notice it's not. conscious and sort of self
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-conscious it's heartfelt one of the strange
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things about being in a college like this is
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we can you can gradually conform to what everyone
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else does because that's what peer pressure does
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but you notice this extravagant devotion was
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entirely unselfconscious desires reordered heartfelt
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love for the person But this isn't self -generated
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love from the inside. What's the engine for that
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love? Look at verse 47. I tell you, her many
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sins have been forgiven as her great love has
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shown. But whoever's been forgiven little loves
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little. So the woman loves much because she's
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been forgiven much. You'll know this so well,
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going in many of our ministry situations, people
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think, if only I do these things, if I only love
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Jesus a lot and show I really love him, then
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perhaps he might accept me. And of course, that's
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exactly 100 % the opposite way around. It's precisely
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because we know what Jesus Christ has done for
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us that we love him. He makes the point very
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plainly. It's the one who has had the bigger
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debts cancelled who will then love him more.
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So it's not love then cancelled, it's cancelled
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then loved. Forgiveness is the engine for that
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love. So we don't love to be forgiven, but because
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we are forgiven. This also makes a very striking
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point. Everyone needs forgiveness. It's easy
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to kind of think, ah, well, I may not be the
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500 denarii person, but maybe I'm a bit like
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Simon, I'm the 50 denarii person. Maybe Simon
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was forgiven a little bit. He's quite a good
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person, really. He's respectable. But there's
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no indication Simon's forgiven at all. All of
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us are 500 denarii people. And again, you arrive
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new in a college like this and we can project
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our upright image that we're basically got it.
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We're sorted. We're on the Simon's side in that
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sense. But there's far from the reality. Simon
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was entirely unable to see the scale of that
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sin. And maybe that's true of us. We may not
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have the history of the woman, but we play out
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our sins in other ways. I was just reflecting
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on this. There's the kind of self -righteousness
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that Pharisees are legendarily known for. That
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sense of pride. I'm an Oak Hill student now.
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I'm an Oak Hill faculty member now. I've somehow
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made it. I've arrived in the hierarchy of religious.
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Pecking order, for want of a better word. I'm
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self -important. I'm now a somebody and will
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those nobodies. I don't have to associate with
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them anymore. Or selfish ambition. It's my agenda,
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my ways, the sacrifices on the way and the sacrifices
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that other people have had to have. Or the raw
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greed, the lust for more and enslaving addictions.
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Or we can have all these things under the veneer
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of religious respectability. So let me push it
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a bit further. Imagine if someone like this woman
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turned up in our churches. Would they say, here
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is a place where I'm accepted, welcomed and loved?
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Or would they say, that's the last place I'd
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go. I'd feel worse if I went there. And if that's
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the reality, maybe our church is a bit more like
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Simon than we'd like to admit. The church is
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a hospital for sinners, not an exhibition for
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saints. It's not a place where the righteous
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come to display their righteousness with the
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pastor or vicar or worker being the exhibition
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organiser or leader or the centre of the exhibit.
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But it's a different way. It's not like there
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are some people who've got the white coats on
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dispensing medicine and someone else who are
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receiving the treatment. We're all receiving
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that. We all need that forgiveness. I'd love
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to tell you a little story about a bit of WhatsApp
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from a friend, Rob. Rob came to preach here in
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chapel last year. He was involved with church
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planting on an estate in Plymouth. And it really
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was a place for those right on the edges. In
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Whitley, on the edge of Plymouth, it was one
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of those. um post -second world war where the
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whole place had been raised because it was a
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naval base concrete monstrosities 8 000 people
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in this sink estate two people with meaningful
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contact with the church you enter church plant
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on the estate and this is one of his whatsapps
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a little group of people were praying for him
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i thought it really struck me hi everyone It
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was a privilege to baptise more friends on Sunday,
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plus two more people came to faith this week.
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Please pray for Jade and Jackie. Like all of
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us, there's a road ahead of them. So we pray
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the seed find good soil. Jackie, three months
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sober, is already helping a friend of hers see
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who is now seven days off heroin and coming again
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this Sunday with two kids. We've been praying
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together over the phone. Please join me in those
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prayers. As a church, we're cranking up the dial
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on freedom and changing, starting with the power
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of the sower. Please pray for guidance for me
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in how and what to teach and how we as a church
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support one another. I would hope that having
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more openly messy lives in the middle of the
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church encourages, capital letters, everyone
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to see their need. But do please pray that the
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more sorted folk don't just focus on helping
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those poor, sick other people. The constant fight
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is against churchiness. Please pray I won't get
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distracted from what Jesus is doing. And please
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protect us all from trying to get new life to
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conform. I become more like us when we all need
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to be more like Jesus. Thank you. Isn't that
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right? It's in a nutshell. Goodness me, I feel
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in the nursery slopes for this. forgiven much,
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loves much. The forgiveness that we have in Christ,
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the forgiveness we're going to become more richly
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aware of over the next weeks, months, years,
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as our studies, with our church history classes,
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our doctrine classes, our biblical languages,
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New Testament, just part of the community life
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and everything else. The forgiveness that proclaims
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who Jesus is, the one who forgives us, is the
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beautiful person of Jesus Christ. And so if we
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come to know him better, as we come to know ourselves
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better, we're going to realise how much. We're
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500 denarii and some people. And it's a prayer
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that whatever else goes on, when we finish here,
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we'll love him more. Let's pray. Lord Jesus Christ,
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we do thank you and praise you. your uncomfortable
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guest, but a truth -telling, loving, kind, welcoming,
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forgiving guest, one who calls out but also welcomes.
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Lord, we know that in a place like this, there
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are unique pressures. May we not experience other
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contexts, whether it be to be self -conscious,
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rather than showing unbridled devotion, but to
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be respectable rather than to be, like everyone
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else here, sick and in need of healing, sinners
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in need of forgiveness. So do pray by your Holy
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Spirit. Help us to love you more. Have you right
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first and foremost in our hearts and our minds.
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We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.