Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Holy Wednesday
Holy Wednesday
A few key things happened to Jesus on the Wednesday before his death. One of those
things was the anointing of his feet by a woman named Mary who broke open her
valuable alabaster oil box for him.
She wiped his feet with nothing more than her hair and tears.
“And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was
reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment,”
Luke 7:37 states.
Pastor Troy Brewer of Troy Brewer ministries dives deep into the story of this
woman, offering a unique teaching.
“I’ve done a lot of studying of what an alabaster box is. An alabaster box was
typically something that identified a prostitute,” Brewer revealed, digging deep into
the study. “..She broke the alabaster box. Why? She’s showing him you gave me a
new identity.”
Luke 7:36-50
March 5, 2006
Feet. We don’t think too much about our feet, do we? We pretty much take them for
granted…that is unless they start to cause us trouble…blister on our heel, a corn on our
little toe, an ingrown toenail. Pretty much though, we don’t think about our feet. They are
just there, doing their job, helping us get through the day. We’re glad we’ve got them, but
we just don’t think too much about them.
I’ve been trying for awhile to think about the feet of Jesus. That’s been hard for me. You
see, it is difficult to imagine the Lord of the universe having feet like mine. It is easier for
me to think about the disciples’ feet…Peter’s feet which walked back and forth across rough
planks of his fishing boat, Matthew’s feet which he tucked under himself as he was
collecting the taxes from his fellow citizens, Simon the Zealot’s feet which were in constant
motion as he tried to mobilize popular resistance to the Roman occupation.
Still, Jesus had feet as well. These were the feet which Mary played with while he was still in
diapers. I don’t know if she knew the rhyme that we all say to our children… ”This little
piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home. This little piggy had roast beef. This little
piggy had none. And this little piggy went wee wee wee all the way home.” There was no
doubt some first century equivalent.
These were the feet on which he ran and played with his friends as a young boy from
Nazareth. These were the feet that carried him to the synagogue each Sabbath to worship
God. These were the feet that stood among the sawdust and wood shavings in his father’s
workshop. These were the feet that stepped into the Jordan River at his baptism. These
were the feet that walked the dusty roads of Galilee and Judea as he ministered to his
people. These were the feet that even walked on the surface of the water of the Sea of
Galilee. These were feet that were used to walking. They were tough feet. They were
calloused feet. They were busy feet. They were dirty feet.
These were the feet that took him to the home of Simon the Pharisee one day for dinner.
They were all there, reclining at the table, an elbow resting on a pillow with their feet
stretched out behind them.
And then entered the woman…the sinful woman…by implication, a harlot. Private dinner
parties in that day and age were different than private parties with which we are familiar. It
would not have been unusual at all to have uninvited townsfolk out on the fringes of the
dinner party in order to stare and gawk at all of the important citizens of the city gathered
in one place.
For some reason, celebrities attract gawkers. I think that is what was going on at Simon the
Pharisee’s house that day, at least for many of the people. They wanted to get close to the
town’s elite. In that culture, it wouldn’t have been all that unusual to have lookers-on.
Back in chapter 7, verse 34, Jesus declared himself to be a friend of tax collectors and
sinners, which sets up the scene which is about to unfold. In the crowd of lookers and
celebrity seekers that day was a woman…a sinner…a harlot. She had obviously gotten an
advance look at the guest list somehow and knew beforehand that Jesus was going to be
there. This was not just a chance encounter.
She came prepared. In her hand was a jar of ointment. Somehow, she made her way
through the crowd and into the house. Suddenly she found herself standing and weeping
at the feet of Jesus. She came to anoint him, but aware of the state of her life she wept at
missed opportunities, at her sinful past, and at the thought of what he must think of her.
Her tears flowed and washed the dust and grime from his feet. Seeing nothing else, she let
down her hair and dried his feet with her flowing locks. If that is not a great enough sign of
devotion, she began kissing his feet and then proceeded to anoint them with the oil which
she had brought.
“Ang bayang ito'y iginagalang ako ng kanilang mga labi; Datapuwa't ang
kanilang puso ay malayo sa akin” (Mateo 15:8). Kung gayon, ang Diyos ay
hindi nakikinig sa mga panalangin na ginagawa ng mga tao na walang
wastong mga layunin.
Ikatlo, taglay ba ng iglesia natin ang gawain ng Banal
na Espiritu?
“At akin namang pinigil ang ulan sa inyo, nang tatlong buwan na lamang
at pagaani na: at aking pinaulan sa isang bayan, at hindi ko pinaulan sa
kabilang bayan: isang bahagi ay inulanan, at ang bahagi na hindi
inulanan ay natuyo. Sa gayo’y dalawa o tatlong bayan ay nagsigala sa
ibang bayan upang magsiinom ng tubig, ngunit hindi nangapawi ang
uhaw: gayon ma’y hindi kayo nanganumbalik sa akin, sabi ni Jehova”
(Amos 4:7–8). Ang totoo, iniwan ng Diyos ang iglesia ng Kapanahunan ng
Biyaya. Maraming mga kapatid ang malinaw na nakadadama na hindi na
taglay ng iglesia ang gawain ng Banal na Espiritu at ikinubli na ng Diyos ang
Kanyang mukha sa atin. Kaya paanong naging posible na ang ating mga
espiritu ay hindi pa nalanta? Paano makikinig ang Diyos sa ating mga
panalangin?
Bukod diyan, kapag tayo ay nananalangin, dapat nating payapain ang ating
mga sarili sa harap ng Diyos. Dapat tayong manalangin sa Diyos gamit ang
pusong tiwasay. Hindi tayo dapat mag-alinlangan o magkaroon ng mga
salitang walang puso. Kapag nakikipag-usap tayo sa ating mga magulang,
nagagawa nating igalang sila. Ang ating asal tungo sa kanila ay tapat. Hindi ba
dahil sa sila ay nakakatandaat nagpalaki sa atin? Nilalang tayo ng Diyos,
ipinagkaloob ang buhay sa atin, inilaan sa atin ang lahat ng ating kailangan
upang mabuhay at ipinagkaloob Niya ang katotohanan sa atin. Hindi ba dapat
lalong mas mahalaga kung gayon na manalangin tayo sa Diyos gamit ang
isang pusong gumagalang? Maging anuman ang ating idinadalangin sa Diyos,
dapat magkaroon ng isang pusong nakatalaga at hangarin ang mga layunin
ng Diyos at sabihin sa Kanya nang tapatan ang tungkol sa ating sariling mga
saloobin, mga kahirapan at dapat tayong matiyagang maghintay para sa oras
ng Diyos. Sa paraan lamang na ito natin matatamo ang pagliliwanag at
paggabay ng Diyos, at mauunawaan ang Kanyang mga layunin. Sa gayon ang
ating mga kahirapan ay malulutas sa lalong madaling panahon.
Ikalawa, dapat tayong tumayo sa lugar ng isang nilalang at huwag
magkaroon ng mga kahilingan para sa Diyos; dapat tayong manalangin
gamit ang isang puso na nagpapasakop sa Diyos.
Ikatlo, kung hindi taglay ng ating iglesia ang gawain ng Banal na Espiritu,
dapat tayong magkaroon ng mga panalangin ng paghahangad.