My apologies to the Young Living crowd, for you will soon discover this article to be not at all what you expected. But hopefully you’ll reach the end not rolling your eyes at my wacky antics, but instead, truly in awe of two women who poured out oils of the greatest price to show the world what was most essential.
And by “show the world,” I mean literally, because Jesus said her story would be told everywhere the gospel is proclaimed until the end of time.
Perhaps you’ve heard of her: the woman with the alabaster flask.
I doubt she contemplated her plan for long. She had been a dear friend of Jesus for years, so such an extravagant display of love and devotion shouldn’t have been so surprising. Perhaps she had saved every penny all her life for this jar of oil, or perhaps it had been passed on to her from wealthy ancestors. But when she broke the outrageously valuable bottle over Jesus’ head, she was scolded for wasting what would have been her future financial security and what could have surely been invested in holy, worthy ways! How dare she!
They couldn’t see it, but she did. She knew what was truly essential.
Such an encounter was not the first for Jesus. Just months before, a similar dinner was hosted. But the woman wasn’t so welcome.
Perhaps you’ve heard of her: the woman with the alabaster flask.
Only, this woman was a “woman of the city.” A prostitute. One can only imagine how or why this profligate owned a jar of perfume.
She likely questioned again and again her decision to even approach Jesus. But when she found him, oh the brokenness and oh the joy! She dared not show her face or look into his eyes, but kept her head bowed low, smothering his feet with kisses, and drowning them in her tears. Finally, she fumbled the jar of oil out of her dress and poured it out, this symbol and prize of her promiscuous days.
But the Pharisees didn’t scold her.
Instead, they scolded Jesus, for how dare he dine with a sinner!
So he, the Friend of sinners, turned to the woman with the alabaster flask and granted her the most essential and the costliest of gifts: forgiveness.
[image credit: unsplash.com]
Journey of the Word 