{"id":7157,"date":"2022-11-01T08:00:50","date_gmt":"2022-11-01T00:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=7157"},"modified":"2022-10-31T05:33:25","modified_gmt":"2022-10-30T21:33:25","slug":"307-that-fragrance-may-flow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=7157","title":{"rendered":"307. That Fragrance May Flow"},"content":{"rendered":"

36\u00a0<\/sup>One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee\u2019s house and took his place at the table.\u00a037\u00a0<\/sup>And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee\u2019s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment.\u00a038\u00a0<\/sup>She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment\u2026 44\u00a0<\/sup>Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, \u201cDo you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.\u00a045\u00a0<\/sup>You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet.\u00a046\u00a0<\/sup>You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.\u00a047\u00a0<\/sup>Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.\u201d\u00a048\u00a0<\/sup>Then he said to her, \u201cYour sins are forgiven.\u201d\u00a049\u00a0<\/sup>But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, \u201cWho is this who even forgives sins?\u201d\u00a050\u00a0<\/sup>And he said to the woman, \u201cYour faith has saved you; go in peace.\u201d<\/span><\/strong> [Luke 7:36-5<\/span>0, NRSV<\/em>]<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\u00a0<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Simon the Pharisee had invited Jesus to dine in his house. Hearing the \u201cnews\u201d, an unnamed woman of the city, apparently known for her \u201csins\u201d whatever those might be, came with an alabaster jar of ointment intending to anoint Jesus with it. But imagine the ruckus she must have caused: a woman, and a known sinner for that matter, gate-crushed at the dinner party hosted by a strict Jew; she would go on to bathe the famous guest\u2019s feet with her tears, dry them with her hair, kiss his feet and anoint them with her expensive perfume. All that love-display and physical contact by a woman of sin with a man, a rabbi, who is not her husband, would certainly be the subject of a great scandal! But the aroma from the perfume would also have filled the whole house, thus drawing attention to her weird intrusion and perplexing drama.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Issues from this story have driven engaging discussion down the ages. Our interest here is to reflect on the persistent aromatic fragrance from the woman\u2019s cracked jar.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Fragrance came through her brokenness<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The only way the\u00a0perfume\u00a0could be released to anoint the Messiah was if the\u00a0jar\u00a0was\u00a0broken. One imagines the woman cracking open her alabaster\u00a0jar\u00a0of\u00a0perfume\u00a0much like an act of worship in order to pour out its contents. This action is rich in symbols.<\/span><\/p>\n

Just as the fragrance of the perfume\u00a0symbolises the spirit or the inner self, the alabaster\u00a0jar symbolises the outer person, the outer shell that contains the inner person. An interiority that carries a contrite heart will manifest in exterior brokenness. God in the story uses a broken person and a broken jar. Both person and thing are broken which means they are no longer complete, arrogant in self-sufficiency, and needing no one, not even God. God works quietly in brokenness. So broken soil produces crop, broken clouds give rain, bread is broken to be passed round and shared for community-building and to give strength. And right here in the story, it takes a broken woman to anoint Jesus, to decide to break her alabaster jar to give forth fragrance that fills the entire house. Truly, fragrance comes through brokenness<\/em><\/strong> when one is liberated from a pent-up, self-damaging lock-down.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her tears have never stopped flowing ever since she entered the house and met Jesus. That points to a contrite heart, and tells of sorrows that work repentance and turn the person totally around. With brokenness, we respond to God calling us back to where we belong. Jesus forgave her who was broken.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Psalmist knows it well: The Lord is near to the brokenhearted; and saves the crushed in spirit (Ps. 34:18). The woman\u2019s brokenness exudes from her deliberate act of humility, her deep respect for Jesus, even her self-humiliation in foot-washing and foot-kissing. Perceiving the host\u2019s silent grumble\u00a0and muffled hostility, Jesus reminds him of his lack of courtesy to a welcomed guest, and that the woman\u2019s devotion contrasts sharply with his insolence in violating the rules of hospitality [1]. This Gospel story exposes for our instruction two contrasting attitudes of mind and heart and which of these meets with the Lord\u2019s approval.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Fragrance came through her sacrifice<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

To make a sacrifice, we normally offers up a gift of something precious, meaningful, even the best we own. In the Old Testament, God\u2019s people gave the first and the best from among their flock as an offering to God. When the Lord smelled Noah\u2019s offerings, they were a scent of satisfaction to His heart, and caused Him to have mercy on His people (Gen. 8:21). Fragrance, humanity has long understood, comes through sacrifice.<\/span><\/p>\n

The woman in the story worshipped the one who had set her free by giving herself and her precious possession \u2013 her most expensive jar of perfumed ointment. Jesus smelled the sacrifice that the woman gave him on that memorable day. His heart was turned towards this broken woman. He not only accepted her sacrifice, but he turned her act of giving into a learning point for all those who looked on.<\/span><\/p>\n

Notice the symbolic value of the woman anointing Jesus. Her sacrifice represents our human affirmation and grateful acceptance of Jesus, the Anointed One who came to make the ultimate sacrifice for the salvation of sinning humanity. Her pouring forth her sacrificial love met with the anointed message of Jesus to all. It is his fragrance, his anointing, his chrism oil, his balm of compassion and mercy that will fill the earth.<\/span><\/p>\n