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Topic: Oops (01/14/10)
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TITLE: In the Eyes of the Beholders | Previous Challenge Entry
By Karen Pourbabaee
01/20/10 -
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Shadows dance upon the earthen floor while the gentle rhythm of breezes give flight to auburn wisps of hair. A porcelain hand reaches up to grasp a treasure held so dear, now carefully slipped into the amber leather bag.
She pauses at the door, wondering. Has my dream deceived me? Or is it really God who spoke to my spirit in the night?
The door closes as if in final confirmation; the woman knows that now there is no turning back. Her dream has become a mission she must complete. Perhaps it will bring her redemption as well.
“Guide me, Lord, to the home where the Master dines tonight,” she prays silently as her footsteps follow the glowing lantern light. She strides down the narrow streets leading east then the Spirit bids her to veer north.
Soon she hears a hushed whisper…”Stop!”
A wooden door in view beckons her. “Oh, God help me to accomplish your will,” she prays once again.
Her knock at the door is met by one of His disciples. Bowing in respect, she tells Simon of God’s dream. Then she is led to Him, Jesus, now relining at the table, flanked by His faithful followers. When at once their eyes meet, He nods as if in approval. She kneels before Him, eyes lowered, then slowly arises.
Removing the alabaster vial from the leather bag, she opens it and pours the fragrant contents over His head. The droplets cascade over His eyes, trickle down His cheeks, and slowly descend to His garments, baptizing Him in opulent aroma.
Peacefulness is discerned in His eyes and disperses within her own heart.
But she sees anger emanating from the eyes of the disciples.
“What is the point of this waste?” cries one disciple. “For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.”(1)
The woman questions herself. Are they right? Am I in error? She feels the current of condemnation around the table.
Then Jesus turns to them and says, “…Why do you bother this woman?
For she has done a good deed to Me.” (2)
Some of them gasp in disbelief.
Jesus continues, “For the poor you have with you always but you do not always have Me.” (3)
Others begin to question Him.
“But we don’t understand, Master? How can this be a good deed?”
“What do you mean that we will not always have You?”
Jesus replied, “For when she poured the perfume upon My body, she did it to prepare for My burial. Truly I say to you, wherever this Gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done shall also be spoken in memory of her. “ (4)
The woman slips out into the night as quickly as she came,sauntering southward then west, arriving at her home. Shutting the door securely, she takes a deep breath and drops to her feet.
Embracing the now empty alabaster vial, she relives the scene at Simon’s home. Some eyes saw error,misjudgment, even lunacy. But one pair of eyes saw the plan of the Father and received her luxurious gift.
Scriptures taken from the New American Standard: (1) Mathew 26:8-9
(2) Mathew 26:10 (3) Mathew 26:11 (4) Mathew 26:12-13
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