Simon the Pharisee invited Jesus to dine, and a woman known as a sinner wet His feet with her tears, wiped them with her hair and anointed them with perfume. The lesson stresses that only the spiritually sick seek a healer, and it sets out the customs for welcoming a guest, water for the feet, oil, perfume and a kiss, to show that her actions spoke louder than words while Simon sat in judgment.
Jesus answered with a parable of two debtors, one owing five hundred denarii and the other fifty, both freely forgiven, and asked which would love more. Then came a solemn rebuke: Simon had given Him no welcome, but she had not stopped kissing His feet. Her many sins were forgiven, for she loved much, and her faith had saved her. The lesson closes with God as the lifter of our heads, who draws near to the humble.