A Woman of Courage (Part 3)
“When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee? 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.” Luke 7: 37-38 (NIV).
What is the woman exactly doing in Simon’s party? Luke reveals to us her remarkable courage to come to Jesus at a place off-limit to her, at Simon?s welcome party for Jesus. She barges the party because she can?t help it. She sees her once-in-a-lifetime chance to good life and she grabs it.
The woman teaches us how to behave when we find ourselves embroiled in sin, when we fail in our moral obligations and expectations. She teaches us to forsake our shame and guilt and come to Jesus. She is broken in every way but her brokenness does not hinder her from coming to God. Rather, it leads her to Him. Her longing for God is stronger than her distress and misery.
What it is in Jesus that she can not resist? She sees in him a tenderness, a compassion, a love that only God can give. She sees in him the embodiment of the messiah that she has been longing for, the divine power that draws people, gives them hope and meaning to existence. She sees in him the power to lift her out of her predicament, the power to give her life. She sees Jesus as the source of the peace she longs for and the confidence she desperately lacks. She is a person with the sense of the knowledge of God.
Her need of God is stronger than her human fears. She leaves her place of security – her house – and she comes to God. As a result she receives what she seeks. She acknowledges her sin and her need of God and community, recognizes God?s appearance, and takes courage to come to Him. Thus, she becomes not only a convert but an evangelist calling people to repentance and to God.
Some people profess they can live outside of God’s domain and try to demonstrate a kind of strength that defies adversaries, failures, frustrations. They act superhuman. It is not hard to see their kind everywhere – in the home, in the marketplace, in the neighborhood. They live without God.
Sometimes we wonder what stuff they are made of. We wonder how they can pull their lives through. Are they the same in their private moment when they are alone? We suspect they also cry and cringe in pain. They are also afraid. They probably hide their fears and insecurity by sporting a flashy car, maintaining a luxurious lifestyle, or by their wee-hour parties. Once they lose these, their world crumbles and all their pretensions collapse.
They would do well to listen to the woman.
Written by Millicent Guarin
