I believe in the hearts of every woman lies a desire to be
brave. When I was little, I wanted badly
to live in times where war consisted of archery, swords, armor and
adventure. I wanted to be a secret
warrior who went to battle and live to tell about it. (Kelly actually means maiden warrior)
As a 36-year-old woman, it’s safe to say that dream no
longer exist. Okay, maybe every now and
then when I get caught up in a good book, but for the most part, I’m good.
Before I mention who I think the bravest woman is I must say,
I am not she. Oh, I wish I was. I’ve had many people tell me throughout the
years of motherhood how strong or brave I am.
When all my kids get sick at once and I have no help whatsoever, I’m now
deemed brave or strong or amazing. Truth
is, doing what I must doesn’t qualify me for bravery. It does, however, reveal that when a
situation in life occurs, I rise to its challenge.
No, bravery comes from doing something that is out of the
box. It’s original; done with guts. The woman who I am referring to is found in
Luke 7: 36-50. (I highly recommend you read this story for yourself). I am sure
many of us have all heard her story. Sinful
woman, anoint Jesus with tears, wipe tears with hair, sins are forgiven. But there is so much more to this woman than
we realize.
First off, eating in those days consisted laying along the
side of a low table with your left hand propped up and your right hand used for
eating. Which left the feet
exposed. So, picture Jesus reclining,
left hand used for keeping head up and right hand used for eating, feet
stretched out.
In the first century culture, a respectable woman always
wore her hair up. It was proper, dignified
and honorable. However, we have this “sinful
woman” squeeze her way through the paparazzi and began to wet Jesus’ feet with
her tears. Her hair was down, loose
around her face, shoulders and back. Oh,
the humanity!!! So right then, just by
looking at her we know what kind of woman she is. What her story is. What she’s labeled as. I want to remind you that Jesus was at the
house of a Pharisee. The religious people
of that day. They made sure the people
where held in bondage to the rules and regulations of the law. So many dos and don’ts. And this right here, was a major don’t. “Don’t interrupt my dinner party so you can
make a show of yourself.” “I bet she wants to take Jesus back to her place
tonight.” “She is repulsive, undignified
and disgusting.” However, there were probably
several men in that room either dining with Jesus or watching him eat like a spectator
at a football game who “knew” this woman.
I wonder if any of them were afraid she would point them out. “Hey Jonah, see you tomorrow.” “Hey John,
last week was amazing.” “Simon, Joseph, Matthew,” You get the picture. But instead of exposing their sins, she
addressed her own.
She saw the need for a savior above culture protocol. She didn’t care what they were thinking. And they were thinking. In fact, the bible actually records the
thoughts of the host, Simon. Side note,
Simon’s name was never mentioned until his ungodly thoughts were recorded. The first few verses of this passage identity
him as the Pharisee who invited Jesus.
Check this out, verse 39 “when the Pharisee who had invited [Jesus] saw
this, he said to himself (or thought it)”….. But Jesus responds to his thoughts
like this: “Simon, I have something to tell you.” Burn….
It’s said that Jesus finally turned to the woman and said to
Simon, “do you see this woman?” That
word see is translated as to gaze with wide-open eyes as at something
remarkable. He was saying, “look at what
she went through to come to me. She laid
aside her cloak of humility, sin, shame, ungodly reputation and came to me.”
She didn’t care what others thought. No, this woman was brave. She defied regulations of the time. She would not let her so called identity keep
her from coming to Jesus. She didn’t
come for a quick fix, she came for a life altering change. She knew she needed a savior. And she was unwilling to let the opportunity
slip by.
I want to be like her in so many ways. I need Jesus, daily. I need his comfort, peace, strength,
compassion, tender mercies, forgiveness, security. He is the only one who can supply these
needs. For me, I have not been this
brave in a long time. I have not abandoned
stipulations placed on me as a stay home mom.
I have not let go of hurtful words spoken to me. Wrongs committed against me. Let’s be honest: what are we still hung up on? Most of the time, we are attacked in what we
think is our identity. Like this woman: “does
Jesus even know what she does, who she is, that she is a sinner?” Labeling at its finest. Still, her bravery won that day and because of
that she was forgiven. Her bravery
changed her life. It got her an audience
with Jesus= something we need every day.
