Resurrection Lutheran Church, St Catharines

Thank goodness for the Lectionary (the prescribed readings), and for the Lutheran principle of sticking to them. It is tempting to shorten up the Gospel reading for today, and indeed there is a modern option to limit the Passion reading to just those verses from when Jesus stood before Pilate until His burial. But then what of Jesus’ words in the opening verses of the lengthier reading, saying of the woman who poured out the expensive ointment upon His head, “wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her” (Matthew 26:13)?

 

I suppose we could excuse ourselves in that the account of her act of adoration is included in the Bible, whether it is read aloud along with the rest of the Passion of Jesus Christ or not. Indeed, where I go to see how the text has been preached by others, in the sermons of Martin Luther, Johann Gerhard, and C.F.W. Walther (the historic heads of the Lutheran Church), there is nary a sermon on this part of the Passion Reading, at least not in the published works that contain all of their other sermons on the Lectionary readings.

 

Likewise, in my files of sermons preached over 25 years, not one on this account of this woman. There is a similar incident where a sinful woman came into the house of Simon, not the leper but the Pharisee, and she knelt at Jesus’ feet and wet them with her tears and wiped them with her hair (Luke 7), but that seems to be a different woman on a different occasion. No mention is made of this woman’s past, sinful or otherwise. Jesus does not speak a word of forgiveness to her. His host here does not complain like the other Pharisaic Simon who then needed a lesson on love.

 

This woman’s act with her very expensive perfumed ointment is criticized not by the host, but by the disciples of Jesus. And with no public sins waving in her wake, it is not a word of forgiveness that she received from Jesus, but an enduring legacy beginning with His most solemn preface, “Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

 

So to add to the collection of sermons on the Passion that focus on Peter’s denials, and Judas’ betrayal, and Pilate’s proclamations, and Simon of Cyrene helping to carry the cross, and the thief asking to be remembered in paradise, and even the Roman centurion who declared “Truly, this was the Son of God”, we will now have one in memory of this unnamed woman and what she has done. And, as with all the others, what we learn of Jesus from it.

 

Some people begin to act strange around people who are dying. Sometimes they become so attentive that they cannot seem to stop stroking the dying person’s hair and holding their hand, things which they didn’t do before death approached so near. Some people act as if the person is not really dying. They go about the regular routine as if it was any other day in the life: talking about the news or the sports team, making plans and appointments for the week, laughing and carrying on in their normal way, which becomes somewhat inappropriate when the person is clearly on their death bed. And then there are those who behave as though the dying person were already dead. They are dividing up the belongings and calling the funeral home and the family lawyer, and so forth, and perhaps we find this the most reprehensible.

 

Jesus had already made the death announcement. Immediately prior to this account, in the first verses of Matthew 26, Jesus said to His disciples, “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified” (Matthew 26:2). That seems to have been on Tuesday of the week. Throughout the week it was Jesus’ practice to be in the city of Jerusalem during the day and then to go out to the suburb of Bethany at night. And so it was likely Tuesday evening when He had supper at the house of Simon, known as ‘the leper.’ For, traditionally it is held that Judas made arrangements to betray Jesus on the Wednesday.

 

In any case, this woman comes in during the supper while they are eating and pours out a jar of very costly, perfumed oil on Jesus’ head. To the indignation of the disciples, Jesus explained, “In pouring this ointment on My body, she has done it to prepare Me for burial” (Matthew 26:12). Even Jesus’ explanation hits us as a little strange. The woman, whether she knew it or not, was treating Jesus as if He was already dead.

 

When He was finally hastily taken to the tomb late on Friday as the sun was setting, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemas quickly wrapped the body in spices. And so as soon as the Sabbath Saturday was over, the women were on their way to the tomb at sunrise to fix up the men’s work and wrap Jesus’ body properly.

 

Perhaps in knowing all that would happen, Jesus pointed out that this woman from our text was getting a proper head start on what there would not be time to do on Friday as the beginning of the Sabbath quickly closed in. In any case, her actions are strange as Jesus interpreted them, in treating Him as if He were already dead when there was three days yet to go.

 

It was not at all strange to Jesus. He accepted it as the natural and appropriate thing for her to do. He had told His disciples that His death was at hand. And it was such His will to carry out the plan for our salvation that it was as sure as if it had already happened. That is the way it is with God’s Word, isn’t it? His Word is so sure that you can depend on the fact that if He says it, it is so. We cling to God’s promises for us in Jesus Christ on that basis. So, although the woman acted as if Jesus was already dead, it was in accord with His Word and His will and so it was a pleasing and good work of faith in His eyes.

 

The disciples did not see it that way. They were angry. They muttered among themselves about the waste of it. Surely the appropriate thing to do would be to sell your possessions and give to the poor, as Jesus Himself told the rich young man who wanted to know what to do to inherit eternal life (Mark 10:21). That would definitely be the correct thing to do... if Jesus was not dying. It is the imminence of Jesus’ death that made the difference. It is the imminence of death that makes sitting at the bedside, holding the hand and stroking the hair appropriate and the right thing to do when it would be inappropriate and strange otherwise.

 

Although Jesus had told the disciples, “the Son of Man will be delivered up and be crucified,” they had not taken it to heart. They were not acting as if Jesus was going to fufill that Word. They were acting as if His words were not going to come true. And isn’t that they way they acted all throughout the week—arguing over who is the greatest; telling Jesus that such a thing would never happen to Him; sleeping while Jesus was praying in agony in the garden; and swinging their swords to try to prevent His arrest? The disciples did not believe Jesus’ words and so their actions for the occasion were inappropriate.

 

What about our actions? Do they betray that we also have ignored the words of Jesus? Are we acting as if it is business as usual in the world, as if Jesus did not have to die upon the cross to save us from our sins? Are we acting like the words of Jesus concerning His bodily presence with us in the Sacrament of the Altar were just some philosophical poetic phrases about the Church?

 

What are appropriate actions if we do indeed believe the words of Jesus, “This is My body given for you... This is My blood of the new testament, shed for you for the forgiveness of all your sins”? Would we find reason to be angry about wastage, or reason to bring out the very expensive in adoration of the crucified body of our Saviour?

 

How does the truth of Jesus, sacrificed for the sins of the world, affect what you say and what you do, or does it at all? Is it business as usual, or is it appropriate to say and do things in Church and in the world that may seem strange to others who do not take the words of Jesus to heart? Can you take the opportunity to explain, as Jesus did for the woman, that you say and do these things because of Jesus’ death for the forgiveness of your sins?

 

You see, even the things that you do that may seem quite regular take on rich significance because of the fact that Jesus died and rose again for your salvation. The care for your children, your relationship with your spouse, your attitude at work, and your general demeanour of compassion take on heavenly meaning because of your life united to the death and resurrection of Jesus.

 

In addition to explaining the strange things we do in Church out of adoring love for our Saviour, it also explains why we give to the poor and do other acts of love and charity to our neighbours. It is for us, the explanation of why we care for the dying, sitting at their bedside holding their hand as they face the last enemy and are brought to the church triumphant by the victory of Jesus. It is the explanation for why we show reverence and care even for the bodies of those who have died, preserving them from indignity and laying them reverently to rest to await the day of their resurrection.

 

“Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” Her actions are part of the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus’ saving death for you. What a great honour bestowed on some nameless woman. May we also have reverence for this woman who is part of the passion history of our Lord Jesus. And may her act, appropriate only in the truth of the death of the Son of God, be an inspiration for acts of adoration and charity throughout the whole world, wherever this gospel is proclaimed—a gospel focused on the death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to save us from our sins.