Lent Day 27: The Women Who Anointed Jesus Part 2

Anointing the feet of Jesus in the house of Simon, the Pharisee [1]

Today I will be looking at the Lukan version of the story of Jesus being anointed. This version stands in sharp relief to the other three versions in several ways.

1. This story takes place in the north, the city of Nain in the region of Galilee rather than in Bethany (in the southern region of Judea). 

2. It takes place in the home of Simon the Pharisee (rather than Simon the leper). Pharisees make up a group often identified in the gospels as being intellectual sparring partners with Jesus.

3. The woman who anoints Jesus here is neither simply an unnamed woman nor identified as Mary of Bethany (as in John's version). She is identified as a sinner. It's hard to know exactly what is meant by this descriptor. Is she a sex worker? There is an insinuation that she is.

Again, an unnamed woman comes into the place where Jesus is at table. She is carrying an alabaster jar of costly ointment (as in Mark and Matthew). It was common in this place and time for people to recline at low tables, and the description of the woman's location makes it clear that this was the setup. She is described as being behind Jesus, at his feet (which would be difficult if he were seated on a bench or in a chair). She is weeping, and begins to bathe Jesus' feet with her tears, and wipe them dry with her hair. Only then does she anoint Jesus' feet, kissing them as she does.

In Jesus' day and time, it was considered entirely inappropriate for a woman to touch a man to whom she was not married. The Pharisee reacts to the woman's actions with shock and an interior monologue in which he condemns the woman as a sinner, and muses that Jesus must not be a prophet after all--if Jesus were any kind of legitimate prophet, surely he would have know about her? Simon is reading the woman's gestures as erotic, seductive. He is reading them wrong.

Jesus addresses Simon by name, announces his intention to speak, and Simon respectfully urges him to do so: "Teacher [Rabbi], speak."

Jesus tells the parable of the two debtors and the creditor.

A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.” (Luke 7:41-43)

Jesus goes on to point out the difference in the treatment he has received from Simon--in whose home he is a guest--and the unnamed woman. Simon has not fully or appropriately received Jesus: for everything he did not do, Jesus names a parallel thing the woman did do.

Simon did not give Jesus water to wash his feet; the woman washed them with her tears.

Simon did not greet Jesus with a kiss: the woman continually kissed Jesus' feet.

Simon did not anoint Jesus' head with oil: the woman anointed his head with ointment.

"Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
(Luke 7:47-48)

Jesus is shown, not only to be a prophet, but to be a greater prophet than the Pharisee could have imagined. 

This story of anointing is in some ways very like the other stories, but it is still fundamentally different. Gone is the anointing as preparation for burial, replaced with a story of forgiveness and gratitude. Gone is the setting of Holy Week; this story plays out early in Jesus' ministry. Gone is the simple prophetic gesture of a woman anointing Jesus in affirmation of his mission; it is replaced with a powerful gesture of gratitude.

One last thing; this passage is followed immediately by a description of Jesus setting out on a journey with the twelve, and also with several women who are financially supporting them. The women are named as Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and others. The proximity of Mary Magdalene's appearance to the story of the "sinner" who anoints Jesus has been used to suggest that Mary Magdalene anointed Jesus in Simon the Pharisee's house, but there is no evidence to support this. Mary is also described as having had seven demons cast out of her by Jesus. An early medieval pope used this fact to claim that the seven demons represented the seven deadly sins, and therefore Mary Magdalene was a prostitute, and furthermore, the woman who anointed Jesus in this passage. Again, there is no direct evidence of any of this in the gospels. The only Mary who is said to have anointed Jesus in scripture, was Mary of Bethany.

~~~

[1] Campi, Antonio, 1522 or 1523-1587. Anointing the Feet of Jesus in the House of Simon, the Pharisee, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56164 [retrieved March 31, 2022]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Antonio_Campi_001.jpg.

Lent Day 26: The Women Who Anointed Jesus Part 1

Sermon Prep

There are some gospel stories that are one-of-a-kind--the parable of the Prodigal Son comes to mind, a beloved tale that is reported only in the Gospel According to Luke. There are other gospel stories that are told over and over; there is something so essential about them, it seems the gospel wouldn't be the gospel if they were missing.  The feeding of the multitudes is one such story, told six times across the four gospels. Jesus predicts his death three times in the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), and talks about it extensively in the second half of the Gospel According to John. And, of course, the crucifixion and the empty tomb are recounted in all four gospels, with varying details. 

The anointing of Jesus is another such story.  It is told four times, once in each gospel, providing us essentially, three versions of the story. As I prepare to preach on the version found in John's gospel, I thought I'd clarify my thoughts. Today I'll talk about the version found (with only slight differences) in the gospels of Matthew and Mark; tomorrow I will address the version found in the Gospel According to Luke, and on Saturday, I will talk about the version I'll be preaching on this Sunday, as found in the gospel as John.

Again, the versions told in Matthew and Mark are nearly identical, with only a few details changed. The setting is the same--the home of Simon the leper, in Bethany. Both passages take place during Holy Week, most likely on Wednesday. Both passages take place immediately following the news of the religious leaders plotting to kill Jesus, and immediately prior to Judas acting on his decision to betray Jesus--what textual critics call an inclusio, a kind of thematic sandwich. Betrayal is all around this story, but the story itself is about an action that is the opposite of betrayal.

Jesus is dining at Simon's home, and at some point during the evening, an unnamed woman enters. She brings with her a jar of costly ointment, and proceeds to pour it on Jesus' head. 

Matthew and Mark both have the woman anointing Jesus' head (as opposed to his feet, as portrayed in Luke and John). This evokes the anointing of a king, a priest, or a prophet-- all roles associated with the ministry of Jesus and subsequent theological understanding of his role as Messiah. 

Matthew includes the detail that it is Nard, a product of the spikenard plant; he also includes the detail that the woman breaks the jar open.

Immediately anger ensues. In Mark's gospel, it is attributed to "some who were there," but in Matthew, it is the disciples. Why such a waste? This ointment could have been sold for a large amount of money (Matthew: 300 denarii, about a year's wages for a day laborer). The money could have been given to the poor. Matthew has the disciples scolding the woman directly, while in Mark, the comments are all directed at Jesus.

Jesus' response is strong: Leave her alone (Matthew). Why do you trouble her? She has done a good service for me (as so strongly contrasted with the evil service cooked up by the religious leaders and Judas). Jesus identifies this anointing as preparation for his burial. As I mentioned earlier, all four gospels show Jesus predicting his passion and death. The disciples push back on his predictions (especially Peter), Only this unnamed woman acknowledges what he has predicted, and, by his interpretation of her action, ritually prepares for that moment.

A breathtaking statement ends both accounts. The goodness of the woman's action is so profound, Jesus states that it will live on in the memory of the church.

"Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her." (Mark 14:9; Matthew 26:13)

The memory of the unnamed woman lives on.