Imagine that you are at a
party. Better yet, imagine that you are
at an important work party. Perhaps it is the house of your boss’ boss or at an
event for an important client. You have
just bought a new outfit. It was a
pretty pricey outfit, so you feel pretty good about yourself. You are walking with your chin a bit higher. You see everyone looking at you, and you
think how envious they must be of you.
Then, you see a person in the corner who looks a little shabby. In your mind, you think that they should be
more like you. You pity the person. How awful it must be to only be able to wear
those shabby garments. Furthermore, how
dare they show up to such an important event looking like that? If they didn't have decent clothes it would
have been better if they had stayed home.
Just then, someone taps you on the shoulder. The person looks a little squeamish. They are not making eye contact. How intimidating you must be to then. The person says, “I don’t know how to tell
you this…” then proceeds to tell you that you have been walking around all
evening with an embarrassing wardrobe situation.
In today’s gospel, we see Jesus
interacting with two people. They are as
different as can be. In fact, it would
be rare for these two characters to cross paths. Let’s take a look at these two people.
In this passage, we see Jesus at a
dinner with a Pharisee. It was a more
formal dinner. It might have been a case
of inviting Jesus over after he spoke in the synagogue, much like one might
invite an important visiting speaker out for dinner afterwards. It might have been a banquet for Jesus who
might have been seen as a local celebrity.
At any rate, this was more than having Jesus over for a little KFC. It was a big t’do.
The Pharisee was cordial, but did
not go out of his way to be extra courteous.
He did not wash Jesus feet, which would have been a relief after a day
on the dusty roads. He did not give
Jesus a kiss, which would have been like a hearty handshake. He did not anoint Jesus head with oil, which
would have been a symbol of blessing.
These were not required. He was
not being rude by not doing these things.
He had thrown a dinner for Jesus after all. He just was not taking those extra steps to
show respect to Jesus.
Perhaps he was skeptical. Jesus was viewed as a prophet, but was he
really? In the following events he
seemed rather unaware.
We don’t know much about the woman,
aside from the fact that she was called a great sinner. Some have speculated that she could have been
a prostitute, but she could just as well been in some other business that would
have been seen as less than righteous. Remember
that tax collectors were also seen as being closely tied to sinners. Whatever it was, it might not have seemed
that great to many of us. The reality of
it was though that she was subject to intense shame, both personal and from
others. She would have been restricted
from going certain places. She would not
be allowed so socialize with the “holy people.”
Perhaps now, you are thinking about
Hawthorne’s novel, the scarlet letter. In that book, a woman, Hester Prynne,
is found to be pregnant as a result of an extra-marital affair. She is condemned by the town to wear a
scarlet letter “A” on her dress for adulteress.
This woman in our story today may not have had a big red letter on her
chest, but she was known for what she was in the town. The Pharisee knew her and her story.
But, something had happened. We
don’t know where or when, but she had met Jesus and he had changed her
life. This woman crashed the party. For a woman considered to be a sinner to
enter a Pharisee’s house was just not done.
It would have been unthinkable.
She says nothing. As she fell at
Jesus’ feet, the scriptures say that she wet his feet with her tears. In the original language it literally meant
that her tears fell like a drenching rain on Jesus’ feet. She then let down her hair, which would have
been most inappropriate for a woman of that day. She dried her tears from his feet, kissing
them repeatedly - kisses full of emotion, like the father who welcomes home his
prodigal son. She then broke open a
bottle of very expensive perfume and poured it on Jesus’ feet.
To Be Continued
