LENT 2016 – GOING TO JERUSALEM

Friday, March 11

The Anointing at Bethany: Matthew 26: 6 – 13

            We bathe Jesus in much adoration – understandably and rightly so.   

            Are we forced to make a choice between loving Jesus and serving those less fortunate than most of us? It is an age old dilemma.  The Church has often struggled with putting Jesus on a pedestal and living out his obvious compassion for the poor, outcast and the people who live on the edges.

            For once, the disciples seem to have learned the lessons that Jesus has been championing. “Why this waste? For this ointment could have been sold for a large sum and the money given to the poor.” Now, to be honest, I have never ever heard a church choose that they should forgo some church expenditure and spend the money on some compassionate enterprise instead. But I have heard of churches and denominations which have received a large bequest and squirreled it away and protected it for some “rainy” day. I have witnessed churches sit on thousands of dollars and not spend one dime on making a difference in people’s lives to reveal the name of Jesus to others in the name of Jesus.

            So, I will be honest. I have some empathy with the disciples’ anger and confusion over the woman’s actions.

            Matthew conveys little about who this woman is. The other gospels portray her as a prostitute and therefore this intimate act is scandalous, to say the least. How dare she intrude? She should know her proper place. She has broken the acceptable, cultural, gendered boundaries of the day. She has upset the social norms.  But she adores Jesus, and is unembarrassed by her brazen demonstration of her desire to treat Jesus with all the love she has to give. It is an very expensive and graphic illustration of the high regard which she has for Jesus.

            Maybe, that is the point in this story, why what she has done will be told in remembrance of her. Wouldn’t we love to know her name?  But what we do for Jesus is not for our personal fame and reputation. It is done for love in love.

            We tend to keep what we hold most precious to ourselves. It is hard to give away that which we feel we cannot afford. This woman portrays a very sharp contrast to the rich young man in chapter 19, a man who couldn’t even contemplate selling his possessions and giving the proceeds to the poor. That made no sense despite his devout religious convictions to the contrary.

            This woman abounds in her unconditional generosity.  She holds nothing back.  She is not ashamed or humiliated by her effusive gesture. Quite the opposite. Her gift acknowledges the importance and significance of Jesus in her life. Jesus also crosses the stereotypical, cultural gaps and accepts the woman and her gift freely, graciously and lovingly. Who could ask for anything more?

            Jesus is about to face death on humanity’s behalf.

            Why cry over a little spilt perfume?