What Gets Remembered

"I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman's deed will be remembered and discussed." - Matthew 26:13

Some acts feel more generous than necessary. We show up when we could stay home, pour out time and resources and attention that feel ordinary and small in the moment. What if they carry more weight than we realize?

We're being fitted for something we can't see yet. When God instructed Moses about priestly garments, skilled craftsmen would make them for Aaron to wear in service. He was fitted to serve others, to bring comfort and help through what was given. Paul says the same thing another way: God "comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others" (2 Corinthians 1:4). We're being fitted the same way by pouring out what we've received.

A woman discovered this when she walked into a dinner where Jesus was eating. We don't know what brought her. Had she hit rock bottom? Heard he was different? Found longing outweighing shame? She broke an alabaster jar and poured expensive perfume over Jesus. The disciples saw waste. Religious leaders saw impropriety.

Jesus saw extravagant love and defended her. "Why criticize this woman for doing such a good thing?" (Matthew 26:10). Her deed, he said, would be remembered wherever the gospel is preached. Her past wasn't erased but transformed through Jesus receiving what she poured out. That one act became the comfort passed forward to people she never met. For two thousand years this story has given courage to people with complicated histories. If Jesus received her offering despite what's behind her, we can approach him too. Her example is what we hold onto when shame says stay away.

We're living this same reality. Past behind us but wounds still present, relationships still mending. The psalmist writes "My future is in your hands" (Psalm 31:15). We're already held while we're still growing. We're in that gap right now. And here, something is happening. James says testing produces perseverance making us "mature and complete, not lacking anything" (James 1:4). Being equipped to help others begins now, not after everything is resolved. It's happening in the middle of things.

And in this space, Jesus receives what we pour out despite what's behind us. When we give generously, show up, offer love, even when it seems like too much, he defends it. What felt shameful becomes help for others. Our ordinary acts today carry weight beyond what we can see. Extravagant love, met by grace. That's the gift.

Prayer

Father, give us courage to pour out generously and love extravagantly with all we bring. Transform these ordinary acts into help for others we'll never meet. Fit us for service right where we are. Amen.