“Jesus… said to his disciples, ‘The Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified’... Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon, a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, ‘Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.’ But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, ‘Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.’
“Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?’ And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.” Matthew 26:1-2,6-16
Matthew leaves unnamed the generous woman who lavished her love on Jesus with the fragrance of extravagant abandon. It is her act of complete selflessness he intends to convey indelibly as a worthy example. But Judas he names, and he will be associated forever with greed and betrayal of the One whom he’d followed for three years. Judas stands out in sad remembrance, while the woman hides behind her Christ. Unnamed and forever noteworthy.
Every day we perform acts large and small, significant and insignificant, some we’d rather undo or forget, others that make a positive difference. If we knew each act were recorded, and one day we’d be held accountable, what would we decide? Where might we hide? Do we behave now as though we will face a reckoning then, or think only for today, and ourselves? God knows the visible and invisible, and will remember everything we have done in the flesh. (Romans 14:10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 20:12; 22:12)
Am I bent on making a name for me, or for Jesus, that He might be acknowledged and adored? What drives my daily choices for expenditure of time, energy, resources? Would I intentionally offer our best to the Savior, and do good unto others in Jesus’s name so that He’s the One seen and praised?
“Only one life, yes only one,
Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet,
And stand before His Judgement seat;
Only one life, the still small voice,
Gently pleads for a better choice,
Bidding me selfish aims to leave,
And to God’s holy will to cleave;
Only one life, a few brief years,
Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its days I must fulfil.
Living for self or in His will;
Oh let my love with fervour burn,
And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone,
Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.” ~C.T.Studd (1860-1931)
Lord, help me live so you are remembered.
As the rain and snow 