Last Sunday's Gospel provided me with another proof of how Jesus appreciated women and courage in general. The gospel, from Luke chapter 7: 36 and running into chapter 8, speaks of the woman who anoints Jesus' feet while he is at supper in the Pharisee's house. A few things that struck me about the whole scene.
A woman dared to enter the place filled with men (perhaps she was the only woman at that 'party'). Now that's something not very common in Jewish tradition. Yet none seem to be really willing to get her out of that place. Each one was waiting for someone else to do that job of evicting her. Or perhaps, as Fr Maliekal, put it, all knew well that she was a prostitute and therefore wanted Jesus to tell her to get out, in order to uphold his 'sanctity'.
I know not if this whole act of anointing Jesus' feet and then wiping them with her hair was something she invented or something of a common practice. I would rather presume that this was a certain practice, perhaps among the brothels of the time. Whenever a client approached a prostitute, this would be one of the standard procedures of welcoming a customer. So here was a woman doing what she was normally doing in her brothel, perhaps with a slight modification of using her hair, instead of a towel. But the difference is certainly there to see - for sure, Jesus notices it. She does it out of love... genuine, deep and sincere love for Jesus. It is not a formality, nor a random gesture. She expresses her love for Jesus in a way she knows best. Jesus mightily rewards her... "she has loved much!"
Isn't that a compliment worth striving for?
A woman dared to enter the place filled with men (perhaps she was the only woman at that 'party'). Now that's something not very common in Jewish tradition. Yet none seem to be really willing to get her out of that place. Each one was waiting for someone else to do that job of evicting her. Or perhaps, as Fr Maliekal, put it, all knew well that she was a prostitute and therefore wanted Jesus to tell her to get out, in order to uphold his 'sanctity'.I know not if this whole act of anointing Jesus' feet and then wiping them with her hair was something she invented or something of a common practice. I would rather presume that this was a certain practice, perhaps among the brothels of the time. Whenever a client approached a prostitute, this would be one of the standard procedures of welcoming a customer. So here was a woman doing what she was normally doing in her brothel, perhaps with a slight modification of using her hair, instead of a towel. But the difference is certainly there to see - for sure, Jesus notices it. She does it out of love... genuine, deep and sincere love for Jesus. It is not a formality, nor a random gesture. She expresses her love for Jesus in a way she knows best. Jesus mightily rewards her... "she has loved much!"
Isn't that a compliment worth striving for?
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