There was a book, later made into a movie called “Lone Survivor”. It was about a Navy Seal team in Afghanistan who were eventually surrounded by Taliban fighters. As the title indicates only one Navy seal survived. The reason he survived is because he sought and was guaranteed protection by nearby villagers. They had no reason to risk their own lives, except according to an unwritten rule of the Middle East: if someone is your guest, you will do all in your power to protect that person, even if they are your enemy. Hospitality is more than just courtesy: it is required by custom, stronger than law, in order to make survival possible in a hostile environment.

The Middle East – or, more properly Western Asia, has always been a dangerous place. The land itself is harsh and hostile: there are – or were – countless dangerous animals: and terrible conflict is constant.

This is the cultural context of today’s gospel. In one form or another, all 4 gospels include a story of a “sinful woman” who anoints Jesus. Never is that woman identified, except somewhere in history the name Mary Magdalene was wrongly attached. That’s not true – Mary Magdalene is a different person and was an early follower of Jesus and the 1^st person to see the Risen Christ. She was not the “sinful woman” of this story, or any story.

Jesus has been invited to dine at the house of a man named Simon. As his guest, Simon was required to show courtesy and hospitality. But he doesn’t. As a respected leader, he knew very well that he treated Jesus disrespectfully.

A woman, whose sins were evidently well known, has been forgiven – either before her encounter with Jesus or after. In any case, she was not invited to the dinner.

Men and women did not dine in public, nor did they touch one another in any way in public, and women were not permitted to let their hair down in public. All these things the woman did, yet none of them was worse than Simon’s inhospitality.

So it is Simon who is rebuked by Jesus, not the woman.

Because of her demonstration of gratitude to God for forgiveness; because of her love, Jesus sends her away by saying, “go in peace,” a common expression then and now in that part of the world.

The woman is oriented forward; the man named Simon thinks only negative judgements against his guest.

Jesus came to preach the kingdom and forgiveness. It’s not a complicated message. But it always challenges especially those who think they’re better than even a public sinner. It’s the effort to hide ones faults and pretend to be better than others that merits Jesus’ rebuke.

Throughout the gospels, it is the holier-than thou who are constantly treat Jesus with contempt- even risking breaking the paramount law of hospitality.

A word I have heard hundreds of times in the Holy Land is the Arabic word “Allen” it means welcome. And it is not just a polite, empty greeting. It means, I will honor you even with my life as long as you are my guest.

It’s how we are to treat one another- for it has been known that people have entertained angels without realizing that their guests have been sent from God.

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