Devotion in Unexpected Places
Sunday, September 14, 2025
Scriptures: Luke 7:36-47
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Summary: In the second sermon of our series, Grounded, Scott explores the narrative in Luke where Jesus is invited to Simon the Pharisee’s home and encounters a woman with a undesirable reputation. She anoints Jesus' feet with her tears and perfume, an act that disturbs Simon. Jesus responds by telling a brief parable about debt forgiveness, pointing out that her great love is a response to the forgiveness she has already received. Scott highlights how Luke uniquely frames the story as a bold expression of gratitude, not an attempt at repentance. Scott reiterates Jesus’ question, “Do you see this woman?” Challenging us to notice and learn from the faith expressions of others. Scott reflects on the particularity of the woman’s story, how our own context, history, and lived experiences shape our devotion—and affirms the diverse ways we contribute to the spiritual life of our Commons community.
Luke’s Perspective: Luke emphasizes Jesus’ radical inclusion of those on the margins: outsiders, sinners, and skeptics. No one is beyond the reach of grace. Scott invites listeners to recognize how devotion can take many forms, especially when shaped by experiences of healing and welcome. He encourages us to see ourselves and others as already included in God’s expansive kindness.Jesus’ Point: Scott unpacks Jesus’ parable about debt forgiveness, clarifying that the woman’s actions are not a request for grace but a response to it—she is already forgiven. This reframes the story from one of repentance to one of gratitude and expressive love. Scott affirms the role of our emotions in faith, noting that spiritual experiences can, and should, engage our whole selves. Our theological understandings and emotional expressions are not opposed but deeply connected in the life of faith.
A Key Question: Scott focuses on Jesus’ question to Simon: “Do you see this woman?” He notes how Jesus turns to face the woman when addressing Simon. Scott encourages us to pay attention to the faith of others as a way of learning and growing in their own spiritual journey. The pastoral move here is to foster humility and openness to the surprising ways faith is formed and expressed in our communities.
Particularity: Scott invites us to imagine the unnamed woman’s life in its full humanity—her relationships, her pain, her everyday routines. He reminds us that faith is always formed in the context of our lived experiences. Scott extends this to our Commons community, affirming that each of our personal histories, passions, and faith practices make us a vital part of the church.
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Community is shaped by the conversations we share. These questions and reflections are a tool to help you meaningfully engage with the themes of this week's teaching.
Connect: Scott’s sermon explores Jesus’ radical inclusion and all the uniquenesses that we bring to community.
Q: Who is someone in your life that surprised you with their kindness, wisdom, or faith? What was unexpected about it?
Share: Share how the “gap in the narrative” that Scott pointed out changes how you might read the woman’s actions. The “clear language” that Scott mentioned is present in the Greek points us to see the woman as already forgiven—leading her to express herself in the way she does and Jesus to defend her actions.
Q: What do you think about this gap in the narrative and Jesus’ point in defending the unnamed woman against Simon’s complaints?
Q: Does Luke’s emphasis on Jesus’ choice to engage with the woman in the story irrespective of how others view her change how you see others in the community—both the new and fresh, and the long-term and mature.Reflect: Reflect on Scott’s words regarding Jesus’ question to Simon, “do you see this woman?”
“It’s not hard to imagine Simon staying silent here because his assumptions about her are being exposed.
But that’s not all. Luke imagines Jesus making a kind of comparison here.
In effect, Jesus is saying to the Pharisee, ‘look, do you see this woman’s response to me; to my way; to the audacity of this good news I’m announcing; to the ridiculousness of debts forgiven?’
Do you see her extravagance; how visible it is; how embodied it is; how it reveals profound theological understanding.And that’s why I don’t think comparison is the lesson here.
It’s as if Jesus is asking,
‘Simon, what does your devotion looks like? Do you see this women? Do you see what she can teach you?’”
Q: What might be the assumptions that you hold about people around you or in our community that inhibit you from being able to learn from them as unexpected spiritual teachers?Engage: Engage with the idea that our individual stories, relationships, passions, wounds, and backgrounds can be a place where our faith grows from. Scott emphasized that this emergence of faith is informed by one another, in our seeing, doing, and interacting; in our spiritual practices, activism, peace-making, and our seeking wholeness.
Q: What then does this story mean for you as you build community, live out your faith, or understand who God is? What does this story mean for how you see others doing the same—with all their uniquenesses?
Q: How then might we live together, turning to see each other, informing and encouraging, and affirming one another to that end?Take away: What is your takeaway from the message or today’s conversation?
Benediction based on the sermon
As we find ourselves located in a specific time, in a specific city, and in a specific neighbourhood,
As our faith journeys grow by our unique histories, influences, and personal experiences,
May we, like the unnamed woman, bring our whole story with us.
Jesus, may we find ourselves seen by you—already forgiven, using our gifts and proclivities to honour you, even when it goes against the grain.
And in so doing, learn to see others in their stories, forgiven and growing.
Together, we hope to participate in all that you invite us into.
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CALL TO WORSHIP Psalm 71
MUSIC Curated by Kevin Borst
Phil Wickham - Battle Belongs
Mission House - I Don't Have Much
All Sons & Daughters - Great Are You Lord
Chris Tomlin - Holy Forever
SERIES BUMPER
Grounded
