If we look around our contemporary society it is an easy thing to say that we have simply gone mad. Courts are acting as Law givers, human parts are being sold as casually as car parts and our society is working hard at simply revamping God’s Laws as if they weren’t good enough in the first place. Depending on your mood or view these time could be an occasion for fear or just plain sadness. As Jesus advises, though, we need to look at the bigger picture, to be able to read the signs of the times.
What we are seeing in front of us is classic and nothing new. It’s the old battle between good and evil. The scary part is that we are actually living in these signature times where we can identify the battle at arm’s length and in front of our own eyes. The struggle is not in a book or part of some distant history. It all seems unsafe when we are personally right in the middle of it and it is! As believers there is no doubt that we are all being called to stand in the gap and be present as evil tries to populate the world. We are being called to be beacons of light, sources of hope and to: “[a]lways be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”(1 Peter 3:15) especially in the face of the encroaching darkness.
Take a close look around you. Despite the fact that current society seems mad there are still many things that point to the fact that we are not completely godless and that there is still a strong presence of God influencing our current thinking, speech and actions. For instance, the details of our language and culture. There are many things in everyday life that hearken to God’ presence whether we know it or not. Why is thirteen unlucky, why is Sunday a day of rest, why aren’t children named Cain, why is a dozen (12) used as a measurement, why is the week seven days? Where are these expressions from: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush; A broken heart; A cross to bear; A fly in the ointment; A drop in the bucket; A graven image; A house divided; A labor of love; A leopard cannot change its spots; A man after his own heart; A multitude of sins; A nest of vipers; A peace offering; A sign of the times; A two edged sword; As old as the hills; By the skin of your teeth; Eat drink and be merry? You might have guessed that they’re all biblical. Even in our speech the Lord still has his finger prints all over our culture, all is not lost. Each expression or tradition carries with it, the place that it came from and the historic influence that formed it in the first place. This is the unspoken presence of the Spirit. There is one of these timelessly rooted expressions, however, which carries a powerful message that every believer should be ready to tell the story of: “Let your hair down”.
What is your best guess as to where this phrase is from? You would be right if you said that it is from the story of the Pharisee who gave a dinner for Jesus and an uninvited guest showed up. The Luke 7:36 passage describes the story of the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and dried them with her own hair. She had no other possessions, pitcher for water, no fine linens. She brings one gift to give him. The story becomes even richer if you know a little something about the culture of the time.
In our society today this particular phrase usually means something like, get rid of your inhibitions and don’t be so staid. In Jesus’ time, however, there’s more to it than that! At that time Jewish women were literally required to keep their hair “done up”. Any woman who went about with her tresses undone was assumed to be the “loose woman”. To have your hair down was shameful, grounds for divorce. Any woman with loose locks practiced “loose love”, in other words, a woman for hire. Next we are told that she covered Jesus’ feet with kisses. Interestingly enough the word for kisses in this passage is the same word that is used in the story of the father kissing the prodigal son.
For a woman to touch a man in public was a particular shame, not to mention the fact that she was touching the filthiest part of Jesus; his feet after many miles of dusty dirty roads. Many scholars note the facts that point out the sinfulness of this woman. Pay closer attention, though, and see what else the passage teaches. She comes in uninvited, she pays him honor that rich host did not (washing his feet). With her kisses she dares to shows affection that the Pharisees do not. She uses her own tears and physical body (her hair) to minister to him and uses the most precious of oils to anoint him. All of these shocking social behaviors do not give a single clue to the sins of this woman. They do, however, set us an example that few would have the courage to emulate. This woman risked everything to show her love for Jesus; her physical self, her standing in society, her personal reputation, judgement about her sanity, risk of divorce and precious oils that might have taken her forever to purchase. Everything she had was at risk in a very public way. If it came to you, would you “let your hair down” for just a touch of Jesus in your life? Would you risk it all? Would you abandon all caution and polite behavior just to be with him for a moment? If the answer, in your heart of hearts, is no or maybe, then this unnamed woman has much more to teach you than the fact that she was a sinner!
Copyright© 2015, Kathryn M. Cunningham
Kathryn M. Cunningham
Kathryn holds a Master’s in Education from Saint Xavier University. Most recently she completed Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies from The Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. This recent degree was part of a “retirement project” after teaching for 35 years. She has also worked as a spiritual director, music minister,council member and prayer team warrior. Kathryn has a deep interest in catechesis for the people in the pews. As a “sort of” convert she finds the wisdom of the Church a source for encouragement, joy and survival in a world not sure of anything. Her writing has appeared in diocesan publications and on-line sites, most recently for Zenit. To learn more about Kathryn check out her thinking at: www.atravelersview.org">ATravelersView.org.
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