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Gospel Reading - Anointing His Feet

³⁸Going in, she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping, with her tears falling down upon his feet; and she wiped them off with her hair and kissed them and poured the perfume on them.

³⁹When Jesus’ host, a Pharisee, saw what was happening and who the woman was, he said to himself, “This proves that Jesus is no prophet, for if God had really sent him, he would know what kind of woman this one is!” ⁴⁰ Then Jesus spoke up and answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.”

“All right, Teacher,” Simon replied, “go ahead.”

⁴¹Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—$5,000 to one and $500 to the other. ⁴²But neither of them could pay him back, so he kindly forgave them both, letting them keep the money! Which do you suppose loved him most after that?”

⁴³“I suppose the one who had owed him the most,” Simon answered.

“Correct,” Jesus agreed.

⁴⁴Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look! See this woman kneeling here! When I entered your home, you didn’t bother to offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵You refused me the customary kiss of greeting, but she has kissed my feet again and again from the time I first came in. ⁴⁶You neglected the usual courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has covered my feet with rare perfume. ⁴⁷Therefore her sins — and they are many — are forgiven, for she loved me much; but one who is forgiven little, shows little love.”

⁴⁸And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

⁴⁹Then the men at the table said to themselves, “Who does this man think he is, going around forgiving sins?”

⁵⁰And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”