Matthew 26:10-13
But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? She has performed a good service for me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. By pouring this ointment on my body she has prepared me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.”
The two scenes at the outset of this chapter signal the beginning of Matthew’s account of our Lord’s Passion. Each sets up much of what is to come by naming a significant theme.
The first deals with Jesus’ opponents. It is clear from the opening scene that Jesus faces significant opposition from the political and religious leadership in Jerusalem, and yet he remains there anyway, fully aware of the danger he faces. He will not be deterred from his mission and destiny.
The second deals with Jesus’ friends. It is equally clear from this second scene that although they may be aware of the danger Jesus is facing, they do not understand what is about to happen. Jesus has, in fact, told his disciples on three different occasions that he will die in Jerusalem and be raised to life again. Yet even with this repeated reminder, they cannot perceive in the actions of the woman anything other than a shamelessly wasteful act rather than see it as an anointing in preparation for Jesus’ death. Yes Jesus knows what it is, and he welcomes the gesture, embracing with it all that is to come.
As it turns out, neither his opponents nor his friends know what is to happen. They may have ideas or expectations, but both will be surprised. For what God has planned simply goes beyond all expectation.
But there is a third, and perhaps more important, theme here as well. For Jesus doesn’t simply rebuke his disciples, he also acknowledges this woman. He sees her, recognizes the valor and beauty of her gesture, and promises that the world will remember her. And it has. We do, even now, as we read the Gospel and recall what she did in remembrance of Jesus.
She is not, as you will have noticed, named in Matthew’s account. Some have thought that this represents the patriarchal bias of the first century, in that while Simon the Leper, a male, is named, this woman is not. That’s certainly a possibility. Others have suggested that Matthew simply did not know her name. Or that these other persons, including perhaps this Simon or the other Simon who will carry Jesus cross, later joined the early Christians and so were remembered by name in the Gospels, while perhaps this woman never did. That’s also a possibility.
But I have wondered if perhaps Matthew’s omission was intentional, not because of a bias against this woman but rather to promise all women and men that those things we may do in remembrance of Jesus have value and significance well beyond what we imagine. I have wondered, that is, whether this woman stands for all who seem of little significance to the world and yet are seen and remembered by Jesus. So as we remember her, we also give thanks for the countless other women and men who have quietly participated in the way of Jesus, gracing this world with quiet acts of valor and beauty and bearing witness to the love and mercy expressed in Jesus’ cross and the hope and redemption expressed in his resurrection.
Prayer: Dear God, let us remember this woman’s act of devotion and be inspired to do likewise, knowing that whenever we honor another’s sacrifice or care for another’s suffering, we are doing these things in remembrance of your Son. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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