An Expensive Gift and Soiled Reputation

Submitted to the Hanford Sentinel for the Life Notes column


There is a beautiful account in the gospels of a time when Jesus was having dinner at a religious person’s home. It seems that Jesus would eat with nearly anyone — sinner or saint. I imagine that this religious person was discussing some of the finer points of God’s Law with Jesus.

While they were at the table, a woman came in who was of questionable character. Here is how Luke’s account reads:

When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

Jesus seems nonplussed by this display of emotion and love while the religious leader, on the other hand, gets nervous. He knows this woman’s reputation and he assumes that Jesus must not or else He wouldn’t let such a wretched creature touch Him.

Have you ever noticed that religious people are the ones who seem the most bothered by the sins of others? By religious people, I don’t mean people that believe in God or that have faith, but rather those people that are so into the rules and regulations of their faith that they can’t ever seem to get beyond them. Religious people are more into doing things right then they are doing the right thing. They are more into looking and acting right on the outside then they are being right on the inside.

The woman, on the other hand, does not waste any time worrying about how the religious might judge her. She is interested in Jesus. As soon as she comes into His presence, the tears begin to flow. I imagine that any one of us, if we were truly aware of who we are and of our shortcomings would be reduced to tears in the presence of the Master.

The next thing she does shocks even Jesus' disciples. She takes a very expensive bottle of perfume and uses it to wash His feet. The disciples complain for what they see as a waste of precious resources that could be used to feed the poor. "How silly!" you can see them thinking, "dumping Chanel No. 5 on feet that will be filthy again before the day is over!" The disciples fall prey to the very same trap the religious leader did.

All the religious leader could see was his concern for reputation. All the disciples could see was their concern for the poor. Nothing is wrong with being concerned with either reputation or for the care of the poor, but neither should take precedence over one's concern for Jesus Himself. This is what the woman understood, that everyone else missed — when Jesus is in the room, everything else comes in a distant second.

Why did she bring what was most likely her most valuable possession and dump it on His feet? Why was she unconcerned with the stain of her reputation? Why did she weep when stepping into His presence? Because Jesus is worth everything we have to give and bigger then any ugly reputation we have amassed.

And when we bring Him what we have, even if stained and damaged beyond repair, He will not reject us, but accept our offering and say, as He did to another woman of similar reputation, "Neither do I condemn you, go now and leave your life of sin."

The pastors of Kings County would love the opportunity to share that same love with you this weekend. Will you not bring what you have to the Master and break it over His feet?