Anointing 1

Mark 14:8

I never found out who it was, but someone at our previous church always made certain that there was a glass of ice water in the pulpit for whoever was preaching that Sunday. Somehow, in the midst of all the hubbub of preparing for the service, that person slipped in with the water and slipped back out. There was also an older couple who came to church in the middle of the week and made certain all the pencils in the pews were sharpened, all the old bulletins were taken out and thrown away, and all the hymnals were put neatly in the racks.

These individuals did not do major works for the kingdom of God. What they did were small things, but very important for those who received the benefits. We are all called to do what we can for God.

During Holy Week Jesus went to the home of a man named Simon, and while he was there a woman came in and with a jar of expensive perfume. Much to the upset of some of those watching she poured it on Jesus, anointing him with the costly substance. What does Jesus say of this?

The act of anointing – pouring oil, perfume, wine or water on a person – sets that person apart as someone special and blessed. The woman who came to the house where Jesus was eating anointed him with expensive perfume. The act was meant to honor Jesus. It set him apart as someone blessed and special.

Her action could be considered to be inconsequential. It didn’t change much. But, as Jesus pointed out, she did what she could for him.

It is not important what the act was. It is not important how expensive the perfume was. What is important is that this woman valued Jesus, recognizing him as the Son of God and as someone incredibly important.

Sometimes we can get caught up in what we do for our religion or for our church, and we lose sight of why we are doing this. We can get into the habit of doing something but not realizing we need to value Jesus, recognizing him as the very Son of God, our Savior, our Lord. We can attend times of worship and forget that we need to remember Jesus is the center of our faith, the cornerstone and foundation of our faith and the reason we do what we do.

We must keep Christ as the focus and central point of our faith.

DAILY CHALLENGE: What can you do to keep Jesus at the center of your faith life?