Posted in senses

Do you smell that?

Photo by Nick de Partee on Unsplash

“It always smells in here.”

I chuckled at my wife’s comment as I opened the door for her. I knew she was right. Goodwill stores are filled with row after row of clothing donated from innumerable closets. You can find new items with price tags still on them. You’ll also discover pieces with stains that were never washed out.

We weren’t there in search of clothing. We hoped to find a few vintage plates, cups, and saucers to use as photo props. But we had to walk past aromatic racks of shirts and pants to get to that part of the store.

Later, I thought about other places that always smell. That’s not always a bad thing, is it?

  • Like a bakery, for instance. It’s hard not to like the smell of freshly baked bread and cookies.
  • What about a shop that sells leather goods? A store filled with belts, jackets, wallets, and vests has a distinctive and inviting smell.
  • A coffee shop smells wonderful. Noisy grinders and hissing espresso machines fill the air with the aroma of roasted beans from all over the world.
  • The smell of barbecue hits me before I walk in the front door of a place with an active pit. You can smell the smoked meat from inside the car as you drive by.
  • What about cedar? They aren’t common, but it always smells so good when I walk into a cedar closet.

Other great aromas include the ocean, pine trees, freshly cut grass, and a brand new car. It’s amazing how much smell is a part of the places we go and the things we experience.

Posted in Lent devotions

Do you smell that?

“Scenes from the passion” Lent devotion for Friday, February 19, 2021. Photo by Richárd Ecsedi on Unsplash

While [Jesus] was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at supper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of ointment, a very costly spikenard. She broke the jar and poured the ointment on His head.

There were some with indignation within themselves, saying, “Why was this ointment wasted? It might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they grumbled against her.

Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. You always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish, you may do good to them. But you will not always have Me. She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel will be preached throughout the whole world, what she has done will also be spoken of as a memorial to her” (Mark 14:3-9).

Yes, you can buy spikenard oil – from Amazon, of course. Depending on how much you want or need, it will only set you back thirty or forty dollars. In Jesus’ time, however, the jar was worth three hundred denarii, or three hundred days’ wages. Let’s do the math. If we allow for a $15 per hour minimum wage, and an eight hour day, times three hundred days, that totals $36,000! This was an extravagant moment! I would compare it to drinking an expensive bottle of old scotch you’ve saved for a special occasion. Or a once in a lifetime meal at a very exclusive and expensive restaurant. It seems to be that kind of special moment.

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