Scripture: 2 Corinthians 2:14 – “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him.” (NRSVue)
When something does not feel right, we say it fails “the smell test.” Think about a carton of milk. Peering at it, it looks just the same as ever, but if you smell it, you know whether it is rotten or not. We also use the idea of a smell test when we evaluate something on intuition or common sense rather than hard data. Like when we hear about an offer and say, “it smells a bit fishy to me.”
Smell is a weird sense, because it is hard to put words to it the same way we do our other senses. Think, for example, of how we describe Jesus. Jesus is the Light of the World and this Sunday we will look at Jesus’ shining form at the Transfiguration. We hear the teachings of Jesus, the Word of God. We feel his healing hands and his wounded hands and side. We even taste Jesus during communion, recognizing him as the Bread of Life. But smell? It is harder to associate smells with Jesus himself, although he has fragrant things given to him, like frankincense, myrrh, and the jar of nard ointment.
But while we cannot always put things into words, smell is extremely important to us. Above all other senses, smell is tied to memory. Think of your grandmother’s kitchen or your grandfather’s garage. For a nerd like me, I can identify libraries by their different odors. Smell is often what makes us feel most at home.
These same ideas apply when we connect smell to Jesus. Jesus is something that transcends our conscious mind; he just feels right to us. Jesus lives in our memories, even when we cannot put words to him. And Jesus can attract us from far away in hidden ways, the way we are attracted by aromas of brewing coffee, baking cinnamon rolls, or roasting meat. Jesus feels like home.
In Second Corinthians, Paul speaks how Jesus’ followers spread the fragrance of knowing Jesus in the world as he leads them in a glorious procession. In Matthew, Jesus tells us to be the light of the world; here Paul says we are the “aroma of Christ.” As such, we need to pass the smell test. Many Christians “smell” false. They are hypocritical. They do not seem trustworthy. They feel like they are trying to sell you something. But true Christians metaphorically smell right. They feel like a breath of fresh air in a stale and often rancid world.
How will you spread the aroma of Christ? How will you refresh the world? How will you bring people a sense of home they can only half-remember? How will you make your friends and neighbors feel right? How will you invite them home? Pray upon this, for it is through prayer that we can sense God’s glory and live out our call to love and serve the world in the most fragrant ways.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, make me pure and holy so that I may bring your peace and love wherever you go before me. Amen.
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