May: Matthew 26; Mark 14; John 13
Washing children’s hands after eating sticky peanut and jam sandwiches and washing their dusty feet after playing outside is usually a mother’s job. Cleaning up personal, physical messes often becomes a woman’s specialty. Life often contains messes that are opportunities for serving others. At the end of the Savior’s life, women became a part of His physically messy ending through their humble acts of service.
Washing His Feet and Anointing His Head
In Matthew 26, the Savior was eating supper with his disciples two days before the feast of Passover. They were at the home of Simon the leper when an unnamed woman came to anoint the head of the Savior with expensive perfume. Simon was obviously not a leper anymore, having been healed from his infirmities probably by the Savior Himself. Simon and those attending the feast are all believers in the Savior and they were enjoying His company.
In Luke 7, there is a different Simon who is a Pharisee. He also invited Jesus to have dinner with him, along with other guests, but Simon the Pharisee and his other guests have a condescending and disdainful attitude towards Jesus. When a woman came to the Savior’s feet and began to wash his feet with her tears, wiping them with the hairs of her head and anointing his feet with precious ointment. The Simon thought: “This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.”i The use of the word “if” illustrated Simon’s lack of faith in Jesus. He blamed the Savior rather than the woman for ruining his meal. The Savior intuitively knew Simon’s thoughts and told him a parable trying to teach Simon about forgiveness.
Jesus also gave a reprimand to Simon for his lack of hospitality: “Seest thou this woman. I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not annoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.”ii The Savior then turned to the woman and lovingly forgave her of any sins she had committed. Simon and his friends at supper were critical and skeptical thinking to themselves, “Who is this that forgiveth sins also?”iii The dinner guests at Simon the Pharisee’s home did not believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. The focus of their criticism for the washing of the feet event was on the Savior, rather than the woman.
In the Matthew account, the Savior is with His believers, rather than the skeptics. A matter of fact, this event happens so soon before His crucifixion that Simon the Pharisee might have been plotting Jesus’ betrayal and future death at this same time this dinner takes place. Jesus would be reclined at a low dinner table when the woman came to anoint Him. She used expensive, perfumed oil over head as an act of worship and devotion. The disciples were indignant that this woman would waste money on such an extravagant display, even if it was for Jesus. “But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.:”iv The focus of their criticism for this act was not on Jesus, but the woman. Again, the Savior came to the woman’s rescue and said, “Why trouble ye the woman? For she hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.”v Her righteous act of honoring and caring for the Savior became an everlasting memorial of her humble act of service to the Lord when he needed it most.
Righteous Women’s Humble Acts of Service
This switch in focus of who the dinner guests were critical of illustrated a major difference between the people of the dinner groups and their beliefs. The first group was critical of the Savior for forgiving a woman’s sins; the other group believed in Jesus as the Christ but was critical of the woman’s extravagance. But both stories illustrated a similarity in the way women were treated by men – even righteous men – during this period of history. Simon the Pharisee only saw the woman as a sinner. The disciples at Simon the Leper’s home saw the woman as a wasteful spendthrift.
But the Savior’s loving response to the women who physically served His needs in both of the Simons’ homes illustrated His love for women and His elevation of their status in society. To the woman who washed His feet at the home of Simon the Pharisee, the Savior responded to her: “Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.”vi To the woman who anointed His head and whom the disciples indignantly condemned, the Savior mildly rebuked His disciples and elevated the woman for her quiet act of service – so much so that her name would be mentioned in conjunction with His name throughout time.
Women of today can learn from these two righteous women who courageously took care of messes and were criticized for their service. Sometimes, we will be condemned for doing what is right. But these women did it despite the critiques. After Pres. Eyring recounted the story of the woman with the alabaster box, he told the faithful sisters of today that “you will pray to know whom the Father would have you serve out of love for Him and for our Savior. And you will not expect a public memorial, following the example of the woman in Mark’s scriptural account, whose holy deed to honor the Savior of the world is remembered but not her name. My hope is that the sisters in our family will do the best they can out of love for God to serve those in need.”vii These quiet acts of humble service will be our memorial for generations to come.
Pres. Kimball had Sister Camilla Kimball read his talk on the role of righteous women at General Conference forty-four years ago. Pres. Kimball described the role of real heroines in these latter-days: “Among the real heroines in the world who will come into the Church are women who are more concerned with being righteous than with being selfish. These real heroines have true humility, which places a higher value on integrity than on visibility. Remember, it is as wrong to do things just to be seen of women as it is to do things to be seen of men. Great women and men are always more anxious to serve than to have dominion.”viii No wonder the adversary strives, even now, to prevent this from happening! We must humbly be willing to be righteous rather than selfish and value service rather than fame.
Jesus Washes the Feet of His Disciples
The Savior exemplified the power of simple acts of service to clean up messes. In Jerusalem during the Savior’s time, the dusty roads of Jerusalem would be full of garbage and filth, along with the dirt. Washing dirty feet would be a smelly and sometimes gross process. But the Savior Himself would humbly wash the Apostles’ feet, laying aside His garments and taking a towel and girding Himself as a servant or a slave would. Then he poured water Into a basin and began to wash their feet, drying their feet on the towel which he had encircled around Himself. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland spoke about this event: “It does not matter that no one washed his feet. In transcendent humility he would continue to teach and to cleanse them. He would to the final hour—and beyond—be their sustaining servant. As John wrote, who was there and watched the wonder of it all, ‘Having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.’”ix
For me, the most Important part of this humble service was that He also washed the feet of Judas who He knew would soon betray Him. I ask myself: Am I willing to service others who betray me? Or people who have done wrong to me or my family? This Is taking humble acts of service to the next level – the Jesus level.
As we think about the covenants we make each Sunday at the sacramental table, we promise to always remember Him, to keep His commandments, and take upon ourselves His name. We need to also contemplate If we are willing to wash others’ feet, even those who have harmed us. In both the Simon stories, the women were ridiculed for their service, yet they did It anyway. Hopefully, we will become women with their same strength and courage.
i Luke 7:39
ii Luke 7:44-46
iii Luke 7:49
iv Matthew 26:8-9
v Matthew 26:10-13
vi Luke 7:50
vii Henry B. Eyring, “Trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good,” April GC 2-16.
viii Spencer W. Kimball, The Role of Righteous Women, Oct. GC 1979
ix Jeffrey R. Holland, He Loved Them unto the End, Oct. GC 1989.
Women Read Scripture 