Holy Week Reflections: Wednesday

(from www.lifeandwork.org)

Continuing our daily reflections from the Rev Roddy Hamilton

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 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. 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.”

Mark 14:3-9 (NIV)

Here is the sermon
All of us have waited to hear;
The confirmation
We would imbed in doctrine
And preach from our pulpits.
Here is the creed
We have engraved in liturgy,
And oft repeated in churches.

Yet, there were no words to record.
And time doesn’t record the smell of perfume.

The woman anointing Jesus' feet
Was every response to every word
The word of God had ever uttered.
This was confirmation,
This was canon,
This was credo,
This was doxology,
All rolled into one.

And without a word said
This woman said it all,
In the poured perfume and anointed head,
And no one has quite got it right since,
Because we try too hard
Think we are rather clever
With the word games with which our religions deal.

This nameless woman,
In the house of a leper,
Said all that was needed,
Without a single word spoken.

God,
Holy God,
In a week that runs out of words,
May we be ready to let them go,
Let them be used by those who hide behind them,
Confuse us with them,
Judge us by them.

And rather,
Holy God,
Let the actions talk,
The silence speak,
The aroma express,
All we need to believe
And trust,
This week.

God,
Holy God,
Word of God,
May we follow you closer
Than any creed can bring us.

Holy Week reflections:
Palm Sunday: You Have to Laugh
Monday: Widow's Mite
Tuesday: Mary and Martha