In Remembrance

Matthew 26:6  Now while Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, 7  a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table. 8  But when the disciples saw it, they were angry and said, "Why this waste? 9  For this ointment could have been sold for a large sum, and the money given to the poor." 10  But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman? She has performed a good service for me. 11  For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. 12  By pouring this ointment on my body she has prepared me for burial. 13  Truly I tell you, wherever this good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her."

Jesus is publicly anointed by a woman at the house of Simon the leper. She has no name, no history, and no reason is given for her action. But “what she has done will be told in remembrance of her”.   The core of the life and teaching of Jesus had to do with affirming the no-bodies of life. He is to be found at the house of a leper, he allows a woman with ‘no name’ to find affirmation – and he hangs out with people like you and me. Jesus-followers do not find their affirmation in fame or wealth or power. We find our worth in this one thing: that we are loved by God.   

Last Sunday after Pentecost

56 Christ the King

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 341.

This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.