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By R.A. Mathews

She felt very, very special. I’ll call her Ruby.

“When I was in maybe the 5th grade, Tiffany, one of the most popular girls in school, asked me to her birthday party.” Ruby said “It was a dinner at her parents’ club and only about seven girls had been invited.”

Ruby recounted that she was so happy. “My mom took me to a very expensive store and bought me a beautiful dress. I can still see it to this day.”

But birthday girl Tiffany didn’t talk to Ruby during the dinner. Later, when Ruby was in the bathroom, Tiffany stepped inside and began laughing as she looked across the mirror at Ruby.

“That dress is for an old lady!” Tiffany shouted at her.

“I couldn’t even talk to my mom when she picked me up after the dinner,” Ruby said. “Why had Tiffany invited me if she only wanted to humiliate me?”

It was a while before Ruby learned that Ginger, a sought-after guest, wouldn’t come to the party unless Ruby was also there. “Tiffany hadn’t wanted me at all,” Ruby said.

In scripture, Jesus was also invited to a dinner party where He wasn’t wanted.

You may recall that hated tax collectors repeatedly hosted Jesus at their homes, but that’s not where Jesus was treated disrespectfully. There’s never any indication that He wasn’t welcome among them.

However, it did happen.

A man named Simon invited Jesus to eat with his friends, and, like Ruby’s experience with Tiffany, Jesus hadn’t really been welcome. Here’s the passage:

“One of the Pharisees asked [Jesus] to eat with him…  And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner… brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and… she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now… the Pharisee… said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would have known… who is touching him, for she is a sinner.’ And Jesus… said to him, ‘Simon, I have something to say to you’” (Luke 7:36-40, ESV).

This is when Jesus tells Simon that Jesus knows He isn’t welcome in Simon’s home.

“Jesus said to him, ‘A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?’ Simon answered, ‘The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.’ And [Jesus] said to him, ‘You have judged rightly… Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment…’ And [Jesus] said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace’” (Luke 7:41-50, ESV).

Did you see it?

Simon had asked Jesus to dinner but then hadn’t shown Him common hospitality of that day. The Lord said, “You gave me no water for my feet… You gave me no kiss… You did not anoint my head with oil.”

So why had Jesus even been invited?

Just as Tiffany had her reasons, Simon had his. The Lord was a specimen. An oddity. Jesus was there to be watched and studied. Moreover, Simon could only eye the woman with disdain, not seeing her gratitude.

Simon missed a huge opportunity that day. Instead of trying to find fault with Jesus, Simon could have placed all his needs at the feet of the Son of God.

Jesus would later say, “Which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you… know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him” (Matthew 7:9-11, ESV).

This is God!

Listen, I can hardly believe all that God has done for me. It staggers my brain. I lift my heart to Him with the same joy as the woman who kissed the Lord’s feet and cleaned them with her tears of happiness.

What is it that you need?

Ask of the Lord, believe in Him, and you shall receive.

The Rev. Mathews (B.A., M.Div., J.D.) is the author of the “Reaching to God” series. Contact her at Hello@RAMathews.com.

Copyright © 2025 R.A. Mathews. All rights reserved.