The Fragrance of Worship

 There is a story found in Luke 7:35-50 about a dinner party Jesus was invited to attend. What is interesting is that a Pharisee invited Jesus. Jesus often rebuked the Pharisees. He even called them hypocrites repeatedly in Matthew 23. Pharisees were obsessed with being viewed as ceremonially clean at all times. They were religious fanatics about it. They were legalistic. They wanted power and demanded the common people to live in ways they did not live themselves. 

Jesus accepted the invitation. Somebody else heard about this dinner party. A woman labeled as a sinner. She was anything but clean. Tradition says she was a harlot. Everything about her lifestyle was unclean. She was defiled, morally dirty, and desperate for change. I am sure she had a reputation. She is what eighteenth century historians called a "company keeper" in the days of Jonathan Edwards. This woman crashed the party. Imagine the awkward silence when she came into the room. 

I am sure the Pharisee was mortified. Everything that immoral woman touched in his home became unclean. She upset everything. The Pharisee looked at her with condemnation. 

The woman brought a bottle of very expensive perfume. Some say it cost a year worth of wages to purchase. I can't help but wonder if she used the perfume to cover the shame and misery of her sins. If she could not be treated like high society, at least she could smell like it. Perfume is a curious item to bring to a dinner party. She poured out the perfume on the feet of Jesus mixed with tears. The perfume was symbolic of sacrifice and emptying herself. The tears were a sign of her broken heart. She offered no words. Just this simple act of love. The fragrance of worship overwhelmed the room. She did not care what anyone thought except Jesus. 

The Pharisee began judging Jesus for allowing this immoral woman to touch Him. Jesus read his mind and told a parable about two people who owed money. One more and the other less. Jesus asked which one was more appreciative. The Pharisee correctly answered the one who was forgiven more. 

Then Jesus dropped the hammer. He called out the Pharisee for not washing His feet when He arrived. He praised the sinful woman for doing so. Then He spoke these profound words. "The who has been forgiven much loves much. The one who has been forgiven little loves little." Luke 7:47 Jesus also said that her sins which were many were forgiven. She was cleansed in that moment. No longer condemned. She was saved by faith. 

All the while the fragrance of the perfume permeated the air. Her faith, courage, and desperation to pour such extremely valuable perfume to get right with Jesus saved her. She believed Jesus could love her, accept her, and transform her. He can do the same for anyone reading this. If you look closely enough at some of those Sunday morning church goers who look all cleaned up on the outside now, you might be surprised what they used to be like before Jesus transformed them also. Those are the ones who love much because they have been forgiven much. You can experience that too. One act of faith could lead to your own fragrance of worship encounter.