Devotion for today: the woman with the alabaster jar

This week we continue our study of “the people of the passion” by concentrating on the women who accompanied Christ on His journey to the cross. Let us go back in time to a few days before the Last Supper. We accompany Jesus to dinner at the home of Simon the leper.

 Scripture for meditation: Mark 14:3-8

 While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head. But some were indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted? For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they were scolding her. But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me. She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial. Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”

Scripture for reflection: 1 Samuel 10:1

Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his (David’s) head and kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over his heritage.

We learn at www.lectionarystudies.com: She did the right thing at the right moment. The unnamed woman who anointed Jesus remains a mystery to us. Not only do we not know her name, probably because the disciples never knew it… but we know nothing of her motives. Did she understand the full significance of her act of love toward Jesus? Jesus knew his passion was imminent, but his disciples were blind to the gathering storm, so there is probably little chance that this unnamed woman understood that the anointing prefigured Jesus' death, a death of a common criminal where anointing for burial is not an option. Some commentators suggest she was anointing Jesus the messiah in preparation for his enthronement in Jerusalem, but again, we don't know. What we can say is that it was an act of selfless love toward the person of Jesus - an act of faith, generosity, acceptance, recognition - an act, says Jesus, which will be remembered throughout time. In the midst of deception and disloyalty we find an act of dedication. In the journey of life, circumstances will often conspire and we will find ourselves with a momentary opportunity to act in accord with the passion of Christ. Someone is sick and in hospital and just for one moment we get the feeling that we should do something, visit, send some flowers. The moment quickly passes and the rush of life takes over. The crazy thing is that often the gut feeling, that left-of-field prompt is right on the money. A momentary act of love, seemingly unimportant, prompted by a gut feeling, can have enormous consequences when it taps into the sovereign will of God. When we place ourselves within God's intentions, what was of little consequence can be carried through to a wondrous end. Doing the right thing at the right moment is rarely our normal practice. For most of us life is filled with lost opportunities. None-the-less, next time a situation arises that is overshadowed by the passion of Christ, take it with both hands and let the oil flow.

Prayer: Psalm 23:1-6: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

My thoughts: There is a very powerful lesson to be learned in the story of the woman with the alabaster jar. The men mocking this woman were judging her on face value. They were condemning her for wasting her money and time on what they considered a silly action. Let us be very careful before we judge and evaluate others. We see here that the woman, who was only following a desire to comfort and show her love for Jesus, was actually performing an action directed by God. Her actions anointed Christ as priest, prophet and king (shown many times in the Old Testament as done with perfumed oil), and prepared His body for the burial which soon awaited Him. We do not know why people do what they do, but we must be slow to think we have all the right interpretations on other people’s lives. My mother taught me never to write the script on other people. Paul Harvey loved to say, “And now you know the rest of the story.”  

 

Our prayer to God: As we walk through Lent with Christ, let us look for opportunities to be the woman with the alabaster jar. Part of the tripod of Lent, along with prayer and fasting, is almsgiving. Why don’t we carry a jar of “comforting oil” with us as we “anoint the heads” of others so that their cups may overflow with our mercy?  It may cost us some time and effort, but only God knows what the effect will be. Maybe when we get to heaven He will tell us!