Alabaster.

It came to mind yesterday when a friend mentioned the story of the woman who anointed Jesus.  I went through the four gospels this morning, three of which were very similar, the Luke passage standing out as different:

Matthew 26:6-13

While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, 7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9 “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor. Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 The poor you will always have with you,[a] but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.

Mark 14:3-9

While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages[a] and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly. “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8 She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Luke 7:36-50

When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 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.” Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,[a] and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

John 12:1-8

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

I will refer to the two different accounts, whether they were actually two different women (as it appears) or not.  One focuses on the great love that comes with great forgiveness and the other deals with the extravagance  shown in Jesus’ anointing by the woman.

I thought that my focus would be on the alabaster jar.  I mean, it just sounds lovely.  It is white and beautiful and costly, but it was only the vessel that the anointing came from.  An expensive perfume (worth about a year’s wages at that time!) that was made of NARD.  A much less pretty word by far, but with great significance.  It is a valuable, essential oil associated with intimacy (as in Song of Solomon).  In both stories this is scandalous – in one, because she is a “sinful” woman and in the other because the “money could have been used to feed the poor”.   What this woman (or women) poured over Jesus was costly – both literally and figuratively.  It cost money, but it also cost pride and reputation.  Those looking on missed the beauty of the love she was lavishing on Jesus and focused only on its  “inappropriate” nature.

I love Jesus’ response in both scenarios.  In one account, He addresses their judgment of this woman when He tells a story giving word pictures to the spiritual truth that great forgiveness induces great love from the forgiven.  He used this tale to shift the focus and perspective of those looking on, to the beauty of her love and devotion.  In the other instance, people were furious that she had “wasted” such expense in her worship of Jesus.  They flaunted their “righteous” indignation by saying that they would have used that money for the poor.  Jesus reminded them that His time with them was short and that what she had done, her “waste” was a beautiful thing.  As He put it, “she did what she could”.  Her great love compelled her, or rather maybe, His great love for her compelled her to worship in such a way.  She had experienced the lavishness of His love and wished to reciprocate in a way that, for her, best demonstrated her heart.

These were religious leaders and Jesus’ own disciples who had these complaints with her show of affection toward Him.  Imagine what their response was when she let down her hair (another no-no in the culture and time) and intimately used it to wipe her tears across Jesus’ feet.  No doubt, they were appalled that she did this and that Jesus allowed her to do this to Him.

They missed the point.  She was not worried about being politically correct and socially acceptable.  She wasn’t concerned that they were whispering and judging her.  She just loved Jesus.  Wholeheartedly.  Passionately.  With great abandon.  And this was something that their hearts had no way of comprehending.  They loved the rules.  She loved the Person.

They were concerned with her past.  She was concerned with the present.  With loving Jesus RIGHT NOW.  There He was right there in the middle of all of them, just days before going to the cross and she was the only one who got it.  Because she had tasted forgiveness and mercy.  She knew her deep need for it and her gratitude overwhelmed her.  She understood amazing grace.

Maybe these were two different women.  Maybe it was only one.  In either case, unabashed thankfulness met with unashamed affection and resulted in a pouring out of something costly onto the One she loved with her whole heart.

May I lose all dignity, pride and selfishness and with abandon empty my heart, my alabaster jar of nard, onto my Lord every minute of every day for the rest of my life…