THE HUMILIATED - Small Towns

I have lived in small towns almost my entire life. There are many things about small towns that I love: the sense of community, people helping others in times of need, and the sense of pride taken in each other's achievements. However, there is one aspect of the small towns that I have never liked- people knowing my business.
1. Read Luke 7:36-37. How was the woman described?
A sinner, as if that even needed to be stated. What woman in the town, or man for that matter, wasn't a sinner? Yet she is deliberately pointed out as a sinner. I am curious as to what sin she committed that merited such as obvious label.
I can imagine her life. As she walks about town people stare. People whisper as she goes by. Every story told about her includes "Oh you know her she's the girl that..."
The American Heritage dictionary defines humiliated as the following:

to lower the pride or dignity of;mortify

I am going to bet those words aptly described her. I doubt she held her head high as she walked around. I am sure she was mortified when her sin was found out. I know those words have described many of us. One of my most recent humiliations was at the mall. For some reason, I decided that I could carry my toddler, purse, bags, and stroller down the escalator and let my other child go ahead. Well, he went ahead, and I got stuck at the top. He fell and security was quick on him. He was okay, but I was trying to get him to come back up to me (you know climb the stairs). The security guard quickly corrected me and directed me to the elevator. Now I am a grown woman and should have known better. I have absolutely no explanation as to why I thought it was a good idea. I don't think I have felt that, well stupid, in a long time. Even now, I visualize them watching me on the cameras when I go tot the mall saying, " Here comes that lady who lost her kid on the escalator." I teared up, held it together til I got to the car and then I bawled. I was embarrassed and mad at myself for hours.
"I am such an idiot"
"I am the worst mom"
blah blah blah
2.Reflect on a time when you were humiliated (big or small). How did it make you feel emotionally & spiritually?
3. Go back to Luke 7 and read verse 39.
Whatever she had done, it was public knowledge. The Pharisee knew "who and what manner of woman" she was.
4. Read Romans 3:23. What does it tell us?
We have all sinned. However, we tend to get caught up in naming the sin. We, as a society, have a list of minor sins, big sins, and then the REALLY BIG ones. We tend to keep count and as long as we don't have very many of the "really big" ones we are okay. However, sin is sin, all the same to God. Luke could not have made her more relative to us today if he had tried. To say she was a sinner encompasses us all. Had he named her sin (adultery, gossip, murder, or whatever), it would have been easy for us who had not committed that particular sin to glaze over the story and miss the point.
5. Read Isaiah 53:11-12. Who was Isaiah talking about?
Christ was numbered with us, regardless of our sin, for our sin. Yes, we have all experienced sin and humiliation in our lives, but those were both taken care of at the cross. This week we are going to look at a woman who refused to let her humiliation keep her from the One who could restore her dignity.

Psalm 3:3

"But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head"