|
On the 4th day of Holy Week, one of my favorite scenes in all of scripture appears: the woman washing Jesus feet! Read about in Mark 14:3–9
3 And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. 4 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? 5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. 6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 9 And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”
I find this passage to be so beautiful. Here in the midst of such a tough week for Jesus, a woman bursts into their room full of pain and struggle and angst, breaks open an expensive flask of ointment and pours it over his feet.
The disciples, of course, just don’t get it, but Jesus does. I find this so refreshing. Jesus knows himself enough to know that he, too, needs the gifts of others. And he also realizes that love isn’t just about giving, it is about receiving love from others.
Have you ever had your grief or struggle interrupted by a gentle gift from a friend or stranger.
One Christmas Eve, just 6 months after my sister, Rachel, died in a car accident, our family grief was suddenly interrupted by a Native American named Orlando Picotte. There on Christmas Eve he knocked on our door. We thought he was going to borrow money, but instead he came in, had us gather and hold hands, and offered up a prayer for us. First in Lakota and then in English. I’ll never forget that moment. He offered us the surprise of grace in a time we just didn’t have the grace to see! I wonder if that’s not what Jesus saw in this woman’s offering.
| 
