Not Just Any Perfume

I love my church here. Wouldn’t you know that God worked it out so that I would love my family not to mention love the church that my family attends? The Pastor of the church knows these random, little phrases in English and busts them out ever so often. Like one Sunday he was giving his sermon and he shouts, “NO WAY!” (in English) to emphasize his point. My American friend next to me and I laughed so loudly that 1/3 of the congregation turned around to scrutinize the wild, little gringas.

This past Sunday, Pastor had me chewing intensely on some meat, aka his sermon. He read one of my absolute favorite passages and BOOM my mind started rolling. I tend to get distracted with bunny trails in church. Confession made. The passage is from Luke 7:36-50, beautiful story. (the first part of the passage is posted at the very end of the blog, take a look) I have read this passage many times before; however, with any great piece of literature [especially the Bible], something new is always concocted the more thoroughly read it is.

He read how the sinner woman purchases this very expensive perfume. But where did she get the money to buy it? BOOM. I'd never thought of that (bunny trail commences). The prostitute had this luxurious perfume which she had bought with the money gained by her sinful acts of prostitution … and then is gutsy enough to wipe the holy feet of Jesus with this tainted liquid. WOWZERS. The Pharisee is probably thinkin' that Jesus has gone off the deep end, the beaten path by not asking any questions. But, Jesus saw more than just the tainted liquid. He saw her humility, faith, and heart in this daring act.


Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 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. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is — that she is a sinner."

I am not sure; it is possible that she had renounced the prostitution for quite some time, but nonetheless what an interesting thought.