Woman

Now while Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table. But when the disciples saw it, they were angry and said, ‘Why this waste? For this ointment could have been sold for a large sum, and the money given to the poor.’ But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, ‘Why do you trouble the woman? She has performed a good service for me. Matthew 26:6-10

I am only a woman.

Since the beginning of time
I have been
Servant, mother
Washer woman,
Mistress, some man's property,
A widow
A damsel in distress.

Through much of time I have been
Told where my place is.
I have been abused
And then blamed for it.
I have worked my fingers to the bone
And have not received pay for what the work was worth.
I have been silenced, looked down upon, told that I am worth
Nothing.

This Jesus comes along
And I see things and hear things
That the men who surround him do not understand.
Through my sisters Mary and Martha
He became a friend to me as he was to them.
Through my sister at the well,
He became one who welcomed me, an outcast like her.
Through the woman who grabbed the hem of his garment,
He became my healer.

No, these men do not seem to see what I see,
Or hear what I hear.
Jesus is turning things upside down
Talking about a kingdom
Where the rules are different than what they are now,
Where God reigns with compassion, justice, love, mercy.
Doesn't that sound just like a woman?

The way Jesus talks and the way he treats people - 
I know his life is in danger.
I can sense that he knows this, too.
But, he has changed my life -
Is changing all our lives.
So I do what I can do
And pour the oil on his head
(It is the least I can do)
For someone so precious, so dear to me.

He has changed my life forever.

I know now that I am more than a foolish woman
Pouring expensive oil on my Lord's head -
I am a cherished and loved child of God
More precious than any oil.
I am a woman!