I was reading a reflection on the Mark 14 passage where Jesus was anointed by an unnamed woman. Do you remember the story?

Mark 14:3-9
While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.
Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.
​“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

The reflection I was reading pointed out something I probably should have known before, but seeing it this time transformed my understanding of what's going on in this passage.

The Bible talks a lot about forgiveness, and suggests emphatically that it’s a good thing.

It talks about forgiveness being a sign of love, of being a way of restoration, a way of beginning to rebuild relationships, but mostly as a way of re-discovering Shalom...

It started from a single line from someone describing what "sin" meant.

Their definition was that sin "is the culpable disturbance of Shalom."

For whatever reason, that struck a chord, and subsequently this piece of written word flowed, ready for Easter Day 2021...