This Holy Week, I’m going to be blogging each day, tracing the tears Jesus shed for Jerusalem to the tear filled eyes who first saw the Risen Christ. Throughout I’ll be following prompts from #OurHolyWeek
Love.
It can make us do strange things, can’t it? Things that to the outside world look strange, even laughable.
Many movies document people doing crazy things out of love; from Sam in Love, Actually leaping airport security to declare his love for Joanne before she leaves for America, to Rachel gate-crashing Ross’ wedding Friends (and Rachel getting off a flight that’s about to board whilst we’re on the Friends theme).
And even by these standards, the way Jesus’ is anointed with perfume on two different occasions in the gospels, might be considered a little extreme.
There are two different accounts of Jesus being anointed. Luke writes of a sinful woman who weeps at Jesus’ feet, washes them with her hair and then pours expensive perfume over him – whilst the other gospel writers mention a similar event when Mary of Bethany anoints Jesus during Holy Week, again pouring expensive perfume over Jesus, but this time Jesus marks it out as a preparation for his coming death.
When the women anointed Jesus they demonstrated wholehearted love and devotion.
For the unnamed sinful woman, her act of devotion prompts Jesus to forgive her sins- whereas in John 12 Mary is chastised by Judas for wasting the money for the perfume to anoint Jesus – but Jesus calls it “a beautiful thing.”
These extravagant acts of love were not only monetarily costly, they humbled themselves. These women gave up their dignity as well as their money to show their love of Jesus.
They did a beautiful thing.
And it leaves with me a question.
When did you last do a beautiful thing for the Lord out of your love for Him?
“There is a sacredness in tears….They are the messengers of …unspeakable love.”
Washington Irving
Rachael Newham 
Leave a Reply