March 19, 2008 – Holy Week Wednesday Morning Worship
Matthew 26:6-13
Paradox. This week is full of paradox. We started the week on Sunday with a celebration and crowds of people shouting “Hosanna!”, only to have the crowds turn and shout “Crucify him!” The palm branches that we waved so proudly will be burned to ash in only a year as symbols of our mortality. We will be marked with an ash cross with the words "Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return." Jesus dies a humiliating death on the cross. And then his Resurrection.
This morning’s Gospel lesson is a little relief in the midst of the week. Today we do just as the Gospel says, we remember the unnamed woman who performed a gift of love for our Lord Jesus. In this little snippit we get the central theme of the Gospel: Jesus’ identity and the meaning of discipleship. This unnamed woman represents the ideal disciple; one who recognizes a suffering and dying messiah, and the one who without thought to the cost of the perfume willingly gave it away.
As we enter today’s lesson, the priests, the scribes and the elders were gathering with the high priest to plot Jesus’ arrest and death while Jesus is sitting at the table with his disciples at the home of Simon the Leper in Bethany.
As he was sitting there, a woman came in and poured oil (or perfume, depending on the translation) on his head. To us today, that sounds strange, but to the early hearers of this story this would a compliment, done with great respect for the person. They would also know the multiple meanings of the oil.
Traditionally, expensive oil or perfume would be given at formal banquets as a gift; instead, this was a common meal at Simon’s house.
The anointing may also allude to the anointing of Israel’s kings. As the kings are crowned, prophets or priests also anoint them with oil. The paradox is that later in the week we will see Jesus’ mock coronation.
This unnamed woman was looked at as a prophet. Her actions pointed toward the death of Jesus. While the others were baffled, Jesus and the woman saw a connection between the anointing and his messiahship of suffering. She recognized what the others did not.
The disciples had been paying attention to Jesus. Only the day before they heard him say that they should provide food, clothing, water, and shelter for those in need. Now when they suggest that the perfume should have been sold and the money used to help the poor, Jesus corrected their distorted thinking. They had listened intently to the parables but had missed the bigger picture, the symbolic meaning of the woman’s anointing.
He reminded them that the poor will always be with them, but he would not. He elaborated on what this woman did for him, that it was not a waste but a beautiful gift. Not only was it beautiful, it was perfectly timed. The poor would always be here but only one time in history could the Savior be anointed for burial. This anointing foreshadowed his path to death. He would be buried in a hurry without proper preparation, which typically would include spices and anointing of the body.
That moment had struck, and one lone woman seized it. Believing the Lord’s predictions concerning his death, she must have believed that it was now or never.
This moment was a special one for Jesus. We know that there will always be poor people on the earth and we will always have the opportunity to show kindness and mercy to them. He was getting closer to the moment when he was going to be crucified, and this woman knowingly or unknowingly was preparing his body for his burial.
This woman gave the right gift to Jesus at the right time. Sometimes, we are part of a story where we see a person give a special, unforgettable gift at the right time, and that special, unforgettable gift is remembered fondly. We all have our stories when we have been the recipients of a special gift at the right time. For me it came last week and it was as simple as the offer of a meal. The person who sent that emailed invitation didn’t know how my week had been going but had offered this gift of hospitality. It was an oasis in my week. It was the right gift at the right time.
Following the death of Jesus, upper-class Hellenistic Jewish women in Jerusalem would pour out good things like sweets and nuts over the head of a guest to honor that person. How do we honor another? Better question, who do we honor? Do we include the outsider and the marginalized?
Throughout Matthew’s Gospel, outsiders like this unnamed woman are insiders who never quite lost their status as outsiders. The issue is not that they are perfect models of disciples but that their experience and history are honored. This gives us a unique understanding of the Gospel message. We all play a part in the kingdom of God. How can we learn from these outsiders and work for the inclusion of those who are marginalized?
The real challenge for them and for us today is to assume, recognize, and promote equality among the disciples without losing sensitivity to the experience and insights of outsiders. If that is so, they will be no longer victims or mere survivors but active participants in the kingdom of God. Through the passion of Jesus we see many outsiders who are brought in as disciples and that we are each important to God.
As this week continues, we will again see our minds twisted and confused by the ironies and paradoxes of our faith. This week we remember the heart and soul of our faith, the reason for our being and the purposes to which we have been called. This week we will discover again the power in the stories of our faith, the simplicity of Jesus’ faith to us, and the depth of God’s love for us.
Amen.
