Simon the leper ( Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9)

 What a day it has been! Talk about eventful!  But then again, I suppose that every day has been pretty eventful since I met Jesus!

Bethany is a small place really.  Certainly small enough for the news of the raising of Lazarus to reach every home within hours of it happening.  News even reached the leper colony in the caves on the edge of town where I had been living for two years. It was hard to believe that someone might have been raised from the dead but the news about Jesus had been so amazing and incredible for so long that we dared to think it might be true.  And then, a few days after we had heard about it I actually saw Lazarus with my own eyes and I have to tell you my heart leaped for joy when I realised it really was true.  I suppose that somewhere deep down inside , for the first time in a long time, I felt a sense of hope.  I mean, if Jesus could reverse the process of death...... well, maybe anything was possible.

It wasnt long after that that Jesus was back in Bethany staying with Lazarus, Mary and Martha. I was at the well in the middle of the afternoon in the baking heat, struggling to raise the bucket with my deformed hands when suddenly a man appeared and offered to help me.  I was taken aback as the man was certainly not a leper and should not have been anywhere near me, or even near the well at that time of day.  I stood back and warned him not to come near but he completely ignored me, reached down to grab the bucket and proceeded to fill my jar for me.  He then smiled and said ' Simon, be healed' and then he turned round and walked back off into town.   I was still trying to work out how he knew my name when I felt this burning sensation in my hands and feet.  When I looked at my fingers I saw them straightening before my eyes, and the darkened skin and lesions disappeared!  My feet changed colour as I watched and all pain left me immediately.  I was so shocked I had to sit down!   I felt amazing.  Not just clear of leprosy but somehow deeply clean inside.  As though someone had plunged me into a bath of ice cold water.   

To make a long story short, I was certified clean by the local priest and was able to go back home to my wife and children and resume my former life.  Everything changed because of Jesus and I was desperate to  tell everyone I knew what had happened to me.  The next time he came to visit Lazarus I made sure I went round to thank him for saving and transforming my life.  And that's when he sort of invited himself round for dinner.

Despite the fact that I had been clear of leprosy for several months it was still unusual for people to actually want to come to my house.  Most were wary and didnt believe that I had been healed. Although many people in Bethany were followers of Jesus and had witnessed Him doing many miracles, some people with whom I had previously associated refused to do business with me and my wife found that friends who had deserted her because of my disease were slow to get reacquainted.  So it was a surprise when Jesus asked if He and His disciples could visit me just a couple of days before Passover.  But it was also an honour and a delight and Lydia and I were excited to open our home.  Lydia spent all day cooking and preparing whilst I rearranged the furniture and went to buy more wine.  We were excited.  Everyone knew that when Jesus came to your house anything could happen!

They arrived at sundown and everyone was in a great mood.  There was lots of excited chat about the Passover and Jesus did a lot of teasing and joking with Lazarus and Peter about something or other.  Mary and Martha had come along to help Lydia with the food and after we had eaten a really fantastic meal everyone settled down to relax and drink wine and tell stories.  The evening grew dark and we lit the torches and the fire.  My friend Matthias had brought his flute and one of the women started singing.  It was a clear, warm night and I was so happy that everything was going so well.

Then, all of a sudden, and I have no idea where she came from or how she got in, a woman I had never seen before burst into our gathering wailing and sobbing and threw herself down in front of Jesus.  The music and the talking and laughter stopped immediately and there was total silence except for the sound of her sobbing.  Nobody knew quite what to do and it seemed like forever before someone said to me ' Simon,  do you know who this woman is?' I shook my head '  Get rid of her!! She's causing  scene!'  A few others agreed and Matthias and Thomas moved forward in an attempt to pick the woman off the floor and try to remover her.  But at that point she reached under her cloak and pulled out a flask.  Jesus was still reclining on a cushion seemingly completely oblivious to the wholly undignified scene that was being played out right in front of Him.  The woman stood up, holding the flask, still sobbing and broke the neck of the sealed flask against the doorframe.  Then with great grace and gentleness she moved towards Jesus and poured the contents of the flask over His head.  It all happened so quickly that none of us had the chance to stop her.  I had no idea what she had just poured on Jesus, whether she was deranged and dangerous or what to do or say.  But even as I was staring at the events unfolding before me I could smell the most amazing perfume and I could see Jesus smiling kindly at the woman as oil ran down His face and into His beard.  He reached out His hand and placed it on her head.  She stopped crying and looked up into His eyes.  I don't think I've ever seen anything so loving and tender and kind in all my life.

All of this took seconds, but it seemed to me to unfold in slow motion.  Then I saw Lydia out of the corner of my eye.  She was looking horrified. I looked round the room and realised that many of my friends were upset by this unseemly intrusion into what had been a very pleasant evening.  Judas, one of Jesus's disciples was muttering something about the waste of a very expensive bottle of perfume.  Others were pointing out that it was highly unorthodox for a woman to get so close to the Rabbi and yet others were asking how she had been able to get in in the first place, uninvited.  I could sense the mood in the room starting to sour.  Matthias asked her who she was and what she thought she was doing.  John, who was trying to pick up small shards of alabaster jar out of a plate of olives, asked her if she had to make such a mess and spoil a perfectly good party.  She started to cry again

Jesus spoke.   He sounded cross.  But not with her.

'Leave her alone.  She hasnt done anything wrong.  In fact she has done everything right.  This evening she knew her need of me and she sought me and found me.  She worshipped me with the most beautiful and costly thing she had, pouring it out on me to prepare me for what is coming - my burial. Yes, she could have donated that oil to the common fund and we could have sold it to provide food for the poor.  But you can feed the poor after I'm gone.  There are always going to be poor to feed.  There won't always be me.  This woman chose to spend the moments she had with me tonight worshipping and anointing and blessing me.  With love and gratitude. And God loves her for doing that. It might sound far fetched to say it now, but she is actually going to go down in history for what she has done here this evening'   And he looked at her and smiled, touched her face and then signalled for her to leave.  Which she did. Martha brought Jesus a towel and He wiped the dripping oil from His beard and then raised a cup and thanked Lydia and me for hosting a lovely meal.

Jesus always has a way of taking the tension out of a moment and within a few minutes of the woman leaving He had got everyone laughing and chatting and filling up their cups again.  Everyone except for Judas who looked very glum and disappeared shortly afterwards.  Im not sure what his problem was.

So, I've met Jesus twice and both times have been.....eventful.  The first time I met Him I didnt even know who He was.  The second time, I thought I did know who He was, but in the light of what happened just a few days later I realise that I didnt really.  Im only just starting to get to grips with it all now, years later.  I think I understand more now.

He was right though.  Every time I tell that story the woman who interrupted my dinner party gets top billing.  And I didnt even get her name.