Luke 7:36-50 

We do not know her name or what motivated her to do what she did. We only know that she was a sinner, and though the gospel does not go so far as to identify her sin, we can guess as to what that means. But the fact that we don't know her name is no matter. What matters is that on that day, she taught through her actions a valuable lesson about the Kingdom of God.

While houses were not particularly private spaces, it would have been extremely unusual for an unaccompanied woman to enter such an exclusively masculine conclave as the dinner table full of Pharisees – a guest list predominately made up of good ole boy types who like to get together to talk about who’s in and who’s out — who’s acceptable in God’s kingdom and who’s not.

So, when this woman enters the room, it’s clearly unacceptable. You can just hear the clatter of cutlery falling on plates as the room slowly grows quiet. Heated arguments dim to murmurs as dinner guests begin to now whisper. It is clear that either by reputation or by the manner in which she is dressed at the time, the dinner guests know exactly who this woman is. But if they are made uncomfortable by her presence, she herself is probably is all too familiar with the company of men. She is a woman, who perhaps not too far into the past, might have been found dancing around the room of some first-century Galilean night club, tossing back her head back in laughter as flirted with men any night of the week.

But she is most certainly not laughing now. What must have started as a trickle of tears running down the sides of her checks when she first enters the room has now become rushing torrent of emotion spilling forth in all its unadulterated messiness as she falls at the feet of Jesus. Sobbing, she is emotionally naked and unashamed by it. Awash in tears, she sets down her alabaster jar of ointment before beginning to bathe Jesus’ feet. Her hair, which perhaps now clings to her tear-streaked face, she uses to dry them.

There are other accounts of Jesus being anointed by an anonymous woman in the Gospels, but they seem so sanitized in comparison. Matthew as well as Mark tell us in a rather matter-of-the-fact way about a woman who comes to anoint Jesus with costly ointment. But if Luke doesn’t mention this woman’s name, Matthew and Mark fail to even given us the smallest of details about the back story of the women in their accounts, let alone their emotional states as they performs these rituals. Matthew and Mark spend most of the story, telling us about the resulting debate that ensues over the ethics of accepting such an extravagant expense.