In the episode of the woman with the perfume, the dissatisfaction and resistance of women arises

Good morning, happy Thursday, and many blessings.

Today’s Gospel (Luke 7:36-50) presents the episode of the woman with the perfume who was accepted by Jesus during a feast in house of Simon the Pharisee. One of the aspects of the novelty of the Good News of Jesus is the surprising attitude of Jesus toward women. At the time of the New Testament women lived marginalized. In the Synagogue they could not participate in the public life and they could not be witnesses. Many women, though, resisted this exclusion.

From the time of Ezra, the marginalization of women had been increasing on the part of the religious authority (Ezra 9:‪1 to 10:44‬), and the resistance of women against their exclusion, also increased, as we can see in the stories of Judith, Esther, Ruth, Noemi, Suzanne, and others. This resistance found echo and acceptance in Jesus. In the episode of the woman with the perfume there is inconformity which springs up and the resistance of the women in the life of every day and the acceptance of Jesus.

For a moment, picture the scene with Jesus lying on his side at the table, since the text tells us the woman was standing behind him at his feet. She was weeping; her tears fell on Jesus’ feet. She wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with ointment. Shocking behavior! But what shocked folks even more was the reaction of the rabbi from Nazareth. He did not recoil in horror, although it was a grave breach of etiquette for a woman even to greet a strange man in public, to even talk to him. To touch a man was much worse, and to touch him in this intimate way was simply unthinkable.

Why did the woman put herself through all this? Surely, she knew that her appearance would scandalize the host and his guests. She not only risked being thrown out of the house or possibly arrested but risked the one thing that would have crushed her completely – the rejection of Jesus. She was used to the sneers of the Pharisees and the others. She could handle that. But could she have coped with having Jesus turn away from her?

I wonder if it may be that the woman who washed Jesus’ feet had seen him showing love to the “unlovely” people around him. It may be that this love opened her up, for the first time, to the possibility of forgiving herself. That made her risk everything. And so, Jesus says of her, “Her many sins have been forgiven–for she loved much.” But that was not the end of it. Jesus told the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” That word of blessing is possible for each of us as well. Hear it again as you come to the table. “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Today I want you to remember this: The kind of person Jesus welcomes is one who has self-awareness rather than self-righteousness (Luke 7:39-43). The more we realize the depth of our sin, the more we are growing in Christ. And the kind of person Jesus welcomes is one who loves Him in gratitude for His forgiveness (Luke 7:44-50).

Blessings

Fr. Luis+