Pouring Your Heart out as Caregiver. What to do with your Oil. Matthew 26. Sunday Musings

Pouring your heart out as Caregiver Mt 26:6-13 

An unknown woman enters a room of religious men. What she does inside is memorialized in the Bible. Not her name, but what she does--meaning we too can be memorialized by our actions. 

Jesus’ teaching ministry is finished. His healings and miracles are done. He made clear he will die by crucifixion. The number of days he has left on earth is low single digits. His disciples still are unaware of this, for they have not been paying attention.

Into the house of a despised and ostracized leper and into this room an unnamed lady enters, without invitation. She is unknown to everyone in the room, all men. She walks to Jesus, opens a box, then pours out its content upon his head, totally silent. No word is spoken by her. Then she leaves, as fast as she came, though Jesus comments upon her action. 

She came and poured, THEY sat and said. She ACTS active tense, they complain in passive voice. She works, they words. She alone, they many. She a woman, they men. She serves,  they criticize. She worships, they whine. She is positive, they are negative. 

A denarius = 1 day of labor. Here 300 days of gross pay, or $48K @$20/hr. 

Spikenard—Amber-colored essential oil from India & China, like honeysuckle, used for perfume + medicine + religious rites. She worked, saved, searched for & preserved this for Jesus. 

Alabaster box—soft, polished stone, typically white and translucent, used for carving, either a type of gypsum or calcite. Carved, filled, sealed—hence representation of Jesus’ burial. 

Cost-less Christianity is worth-less Christianity. A Christianity without cost is a Christianity without value. 

How many times we criticize people for doing what they want with their own things. Like you care? Like it matters to you? Like it impacts you in some way? 

Their response to her worship: indignation, murmuring, rebuke & troubling her 

Consider this: 
Her wordless worship is compelling
Her worship fills the world today, as it did that entire room. 
Her sincerity was too much for Judas to bear, or disciples to swallow 
The beauty of her act is it is purely and simply given to Jesus. 

Hymn: “only one life,” CT Studd: 
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

How important are “they” to you. Every woman has 5 voices in her head she is listening to-who torment her with guilt. As a result, she is held back. She freezes. 

How many people DONT do something, attempt something,—because of ….. roles (she woman, they men), guilt (mine is not enough), shame (look dumb), fear (rebuked).

If you want to do something, nothing can stop you. If you don’t want to do something, any excuse will suffice

Example 2021 bought restaurant at worst time: Biden, Covid, logistics, inflation, supply chain, rural area, no prior experience, reliant on teen labor, in debt, prev owner horrible reputation, extreme bad quality food, 40 miles from my home, nocturnal industry & no weekends, with high standards where previously there were none. 100 things to worry about and deal with before even get to food. With my faith & politics very overt (not hidden). Result: we won Best of Region 2-yrs in row; TV 5-times; 4 food blogs; ; invented everything on menu; welcomed many families into NTX; hosted popular radio program on local station; did much good—1st Responders Meal; kids eat free pizza for reading 10 books at library; veterans get free beer as our way to say thanks; hosted homeschool groups for military history lesson & make own pizza; 100 free pizzas to teachers in 8 school districts. 

Its not just this woman. Simon Leper opened his house and fed so many. Mary in Bethany did similar when she