It smells like life

What perfume do you use when attending a special occasion? Perfumes have promising names. One is called "Truth" (truth), another "Love You" (Love You). There is also the brand "Obsession" (passion) or "La vie est Belle" (Life is beautiful). A special scent is attractive and underlines certain character traits. There are sweet and mild scents, tart and spicy scents, but also very fresh and invigorating aromas.

The event of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is associated with a special scent. His perfume is called "Life". It smells like life. But before this new scent of life was introduced, there were other smells in the air.

smell of decay

I imagine an old, dark, hardly used vaulted cellar. Descending the steep stone staircase almost takes my breath away. It smells of musty wood, moldy fruit and dried, sprouted potatoes.

But now we are not going into a cellar, but in our thoughts we are in the middle of what is happening on the hill of Golgotha, outside the gates of Jerusalem. Golgotha ​​was not only a place of execution, it is also a place that smells of filth, of sweat, blood and dust. We go on and after a short time we come to a garden in which there is a rock tomb. There they laid the body of Jesus. The odor in this burial chamber was very unpleasant. The women who were on their way to Jesus' tomb early in the morning on the first day of the week also thought of this. They had fragrant oils with them and wanted to anoint their dead friend's body with them. The women did not expect that Jesus had risen.

Anointing for the day of the burial

I'm thinking of the scene in Bethany. Mary had bought a very expensive perfume: "Then Mary took a pound of pure, expensive perfume made of nard and anointed Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume." (Joh 12,3).

Jesus accepted her devoted thanksgiving and adoration. Moreover, Jesus gave her devotion its true meaning, for without her knowledge, Mary had contributed to the anointing on the day of his burial: “She poured this oil on my body to prepare me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the whole world, what she did will also be told in memory of her.” (Mt 26,12-13).

Jesus is the Christ, that is, the Anointed. It was God's plan to anoint him. In this divine plan Mary had served. This reveals Jesus as the Son of God, worthy of worship.

Spring air

I'm thinking of a spring day at this point. I walk through the garden. It still smells like gentle rain, fresh earth and also a fine scent of flowers. I take a deep breath and notice the first rays of sunshine on my face. Spring! It smells like new life.

The women had by now reached Jesus' tomb. On the way, they had worried about who would be able to roll the heavy stone away from the entrance of the rock-hewn tomb. Now they were astonished to find that the stone had already been rolled away. They looked into the tomb, but it was empty. The women were deeply alarmed when two men in shining clothes addressed their problem: "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!" (Lukas 24,5-6).

Jesus lives! Jesus has risen! He is truly risen! The women remembered the image that Jesus had given them. He spoke of dying and being planted like a seed in the ground. He announced that from this seed new life will germinate, a plant that will flower and then bear much fruit. Now it was time. The seed, that is Jesus, was planted in the ground. It had germinated and sprouted from the ground.

Paul uses a different image for the resurrection of Jesus: “But thanks be to God! Because we are united with Christ, he always lets us follow in his triumphal procession and makes known everywhere who he is, so that this knowledge spreads everywhere like a fragrant aroma.” (2. Kor 2,14).

Paul thinks of a victory parade, as organized by the Romans after a triumphal procession. In front choirs and musicians with happy music. Incense and fine perfumes were burned. Everywhere the air was filled with this scent. Then came the chariots with the victorious generals, then the soldiers with the standards showing the Roman eagle. Many waved the valuable items they had captured in the air. Everywhere shouts of jubilation and enthusiasm about the won victory.

resurrection of Jesus

Through his resurrection, Jesus conquered and disempowered death, evil and all the powers of darkness. Death could not hold Jesus because the Father had promised his faithfulness and resurrected him. Now he organizes a triumphal procession that leads past the most diverse places in the world. Many have joined this triumphal procession in spirit. The first were the women of that time, the disciples of Jesus, a group of 500 people whom the Risen One met and today we too are marching with him in triumph.

Do you realize what it means to walk in the triumph of Jesus? How does this awareness affect your life? Do you walk through life with confidence, hope, enthusiasm, courage, full of joy and strength?

In many places where Jesus goes, people's hearts open to him like doors. Some come to believe in him and see who Jesus is and what God accomplished through his resurrection. This realization spreads like a fragrant fragrance.

Spread the scent of life

The women at Jesus' tomb immediately returned after hearing about his resurrection. They were commanded to spread this good news and what they had experienced: "They went away from the tomb and told the eleven disciples and everyone else." (Lukas 24,9)Later, a fragrant plume drifted from Jesus' tomb to the disciples and from there across all of Jerusalem. This same scent was not only noticeable in Jerusalem, but also throughout Judea, Samaria, and eventually in many places – all over the world.

property of perfume

What is the special property of a perfume? The fragrance is concentrated in a small bottle. When it unfolds, it leaves its trail of scents everywhere. You don't need to prove a scent. He's just there. You can smell him. People who walk with Jesus are an incense of Christ, an incense of an anointed to God. Everywhere a disciple of Jesus is smells of Christ and wherever a disciple of Jesus lives there is a smell of life.

When you live with Jesus and acknowledge that Jesus lives in you, he leaves a fragrance. This new fragrance doesn't come from you. You are completely odorless. Like the women at the tomb, you have no power to effect anything. Wherever you go, the air is filled with the scent of life. Paul writes that the effect of the fragrance emanating from us has a twofold effect: “For because Christ lives in us, we are a fragrance to the glory of God, a fragrance that reaches both those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the latter, it is a fragrance of death and death; to the former, a fragrance of life and life.” (2. Kor 2,15-16).

You can get life or death from one and the same message. There are people who are against this scent of Christ. They slander and scoff without realizing the scope of the smell. On the other hand, for many, the scent of Christ is "a scent of life unto life." You get an impetus for a complete renewal and change of your own life.

Perfume production is an orchestra in itself and brings about the interplay of many components into a harmonious composition. The perfumer has around 32.000 basic substances at his disposal for this fine fragrance. Is that a wonderful picture of the richness of our life with Jesus? Is that also an inviting image for the congregation, in which all the riches of Jesus unfold? The perfume of Jesus' resurrection is called "Life" and its scent of life spreads all over the world!

by Pablo Nauer