![]() ![]() When Isaac wanted to bless his son Esau, he was tricked by his other son Jacob who pretended to be Esau. Pleasant smells are a signal that blessing is coming. The priests got to eat the animal back in the day, yet the smell was also supposed to be a blessing to God. I have been to some barbecue events or cookouts where the smell of cooking meat has been right enjoyable, but you almost feel sorry for God who does not get to taste any of the sacrifice. ![]() You heard in that first reading how God was pleased by the smell – the part of the sacrifice that drifted up into the heavens. God is not consuming the animal or just watching all those sacrifices burn. The priests actually burned the fat, anyway, back then. If you ever wondered why God might like a burnt offering, it’s not for the meat. Two of the kingly gifts that the magi brought the infant Jesus were fragrant substances – frankincense and myrrh were very valuable for their scents. That jar was worth an entire year’s worth of wages. That’s why the woman who broke that jar of perfume oil and washed Jesus’ feet did something astounding and shocking to say the least. Ointments and perfumes back then were precious and only used for very special purposes. Lovely, good, or beautiful fragrances were extra special in a world like that one. Pleasant smells were a real delight back then. When things did smell nice, it was a real grace from God. Times in the ancient world compared to modern American times with our “ at least one bath every day” was hugely different when it comes to smell. Animal life and people life was mixed together. This was before plumbing, sewers, public sanitation, refrigeration, embalming, or trash pickup. Maybe it was not quite as bad as that packed subway car I was stuck on in Rome, Italy in the summer once with a bunch of arms raised holding on, but life could be pretty stinky as we might imagine. We are going back to the day before scented candles or sprays or plugins or dangleings or perfumes or detergents or deodorants or toothpaste or mouthwash or even accessible soap. Smell is really interesting because how we experience smell has changed so much since the days of Jesus or the days of the Bible. Honestly, I have found this sermon to be of the most interesting in this sermon series on the senses and our experience of God. But the question is why? Why do we like to add fragrance or scent or perfume to our lives? Or maybe you did not notice what happened to the candle industry over the last couple of decades. ![]() It can make you happy or relaxed to be surrounded by certain scents. A nice perfume or cologne can make you feel more confident or comfortable or social. Thankfully, thankfully, thankfully, I will never feel the need.īut is it nice to smell nice. Sadly, sadly, sadly, I have never given any of these a go. If you are really reaching for a crazy new fragrance (and Walmart carries this one), you can try Funeral Home. Some of the best names that I could find for such personal scent enhancers are quite good: Did I Meow?, Oh My Gourd (even comes in pumpkin shaped bottle), You’re So Vain, Flower Bomb, Whipped Dog, Yuck, Skunk Spray, I Am Trash, and Scent of a MacBook Pro. Do you remember the name of the fragrance? I am going to bet that maybe everyone out there has worn either perfume or cologne at least once in their life. ![]()
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