This is My Heart

Rev. Dr. Diane Jacobsen was one of my profs at Luthersem. She gets it. She totally gets it. Diane has been writing the daily devo I subscribe to from the sem throughout March. I really hope she continues to do so in April. Anyway.

Her devos have touched my heart so many times as she’s written about water. Today’s especially touches my heart. I identify so closely with this woman. Here it is:

 

Luke 7:37-38, 44, 48, 50 (NRSV)

37 And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment.
38 She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment.
44 Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.
48 Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

A Woman Washes Jesus? Feet This story of the woman with the alabaster jar is among the most moving in the Gospels. A woman with a questionable past enters uninvited into a community leader’s house. She is so driven by her faith in and love for Jesus that she cannot be restrained. Her actions—from washing Jesus’ feet with her tears to drying them with her hair to anointing them with costly oil—are so lavish that she, this unnamed intruder, becomes the true host of the feast. With her tears and anointing, this woman foreshadows Christ’s death. Her hospitality becomes the rites of burial. I can think of no better model for us in our devotional lives. We too should be undeterred by false boundaries. Confession of sins and devotion to Christ, rather than respectability, are our preludes to the banqueting table. We could do no better than to gather up our past sins, regrets and tears and look to exchange them for service of extraordinary hospitality and welcome. Remembering and marking the death of Christ in the midst of life is a central part of our calling. Christ, our Lord, may our tears be put to your service no matter the cost. Amen. Diane Jacobson Professor Emerita, Luther Seminary; Director of the ELCA Book of Faith Initiative