A gospel narrative
IT is related in the seventh chapter of Luke's Gospel
that Jesus was once the honored guest of a certain
Pharisee, by name Simon, though he was quite unlike
Simon the disciple. While they were at meat, an unusual
incident occurred, as if to interrupt the scene
of Oriental festivity. A "strange woman"
came in. Heedless of the fact that she was debarred from
such a place and such society, especially under the stern
rules of rabbinical law, as positively as if she were a Hin-
doo pariah intruding upon the household of a high-caste
Brahman, this woman (Mary Magdalene, as she has
since been called) approached Jesus. According to the
custom of those days, he reclined on a couch with his
head towards the table and his bare feet away from it.
It was therefore easy for the Magdalen to come behind
the couch and reach his feet. She bore an alabaster jar
containing costly and fragrant oil, - sandal oil perhaps,
which is in such common use in the East. Breaking
the sealed jar, she perfumed Jesus' feet with the oil,
wiping them with her long hair, which hung loosely
about her shoulders, as was customary with women of her
grade.
