Day 27 - Monday, March 27
Mary Anoints the Feet of Jesus
Scripture: John 12:1-8
Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

Poetry:
"The Anointing at Bethany" 
by Malcolm Guite
Come close with Mary, Martha, Lazarus,
So close the candles flare with their soft breath,
And kindle heart and soul to flame within us,
Lit by these mysteries of life and death.
For beauty now begins the final movement,
In quietness and intimate encounter,
The alabaster jar of precious ointment
Is broken open for the world’s true lover.
The whole room richly fills to feast the senses
With all the yearning such a fragrance brings,
The heart is mourning but the spirit dances,
Here at the very centre of all things,
Here at the meeting place of love and loss
We all foresee and see beyond the cross.

A SACRIFICE OF BEAUTY AND INTIMACY

The story of Mary anointing Christ is found in all four Gospels. It’s an odd story, as this kind of thing just didn’t happen, either back then or today. Mary, Martha and Lazarus were hosting dinner, and in a moment of devotion Mary entered the room with her treasure of expensive perfume and poured it out upon Christ’s feet. How expensive? In today’s dollars, upwards of $40,000 or more—worth a year’s wages.  

Nard is harvested from the flowers of a rare plant that grows at high altitude in China and Nepal. Pure nard is a thick, rich, sumptuous ointment. It smells luxuriously beautiful. How did Mary acquire 12 ounces of such expensive stuff? Was it her marriage dowry or family inheritance? At about $3,500 an ounce, anointing Christ with a fraction of an ounce would have been lavish, yet she poured it on. It was a prodigious sacrifice and Mary the prodigal giver. If it was her dowry, what a profound statement of sacrificing her future in a moment of devotion.

In reflection on this story, consider two words: beauty and intimacy.

Artist Makoto Fujimura observed that this kind of extravagance can only be justified if the value of the object is greater than the cost of the extravagance. I like that. Can anything be too beautiful for Christ? Is it possible to give ourselves too intimately in devotion? Her act of worship was certainly in gratitude to Christ raising her brother from death, but more, she appears to be the only one in the room anticipating what would happen in six days. A week later, as Christ hung on the cross, the only earthly thing he wore was a twisted crown of thorns and the fragrant aroma of that expensive perfume.

Have you ever been “over-gifted?” You bought them a $23 cutting board and they bought you a $2975 full-body electric massage chair from Sharper Image? Too much! There are pragmatic rules for these things! Some gifts are so over-the-top we feel embarrassed and flustered—the same emotions Judas apparently felt.

He’s the reasonable person in the story. Judas is scandalized by the extravagance of Mary’s gift and Christ’s receptivity to it. It’s an offense against practicality. We might take similar offense to seemingly wasteful things like big floral funeral displays, knowing they'll be thrown out a week later. We say, “In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to this or that cause.”  Something practical and lasting. Something sensible.

We’re paralyzed in the presence of excessive beauty and intimacy. Many of us are afraid to receive such grace, and like Judas, we’ll only accept it in limited, measured doses, if at all. But Christ receives her gift. He accepts her grace. He’s not afraid of such intimacy and Mary is both vulnerable and brave enough to offer it. There is a lesson in that for us. Mary poured out beauty, while Judas settled for $600 in 30 cold silver pieces.

Jesus recognizes this anointing as preparation for his upcoming death and burial. He granted her permission and told Judas to back off—“Leave her alone!” While we may be unsure how to receive intimacy, (even as it is the thing we long for most deeply), Christ’s receptivity extends an invitation to receive the extravagance of His sacrifice and fully embrace the intimacy He offers.

Breath deeply the intoxicating incense that perfumes the room. Receive, as Christ did, the beauty and intimacy offered. Dare to offer your own extravagant, intimate and beautiful sacrifice.

PRAYER
Beautiful Savior, by the Holy Spirit pour your love into our hearts. May we respond with intimate expressions of devotion like Mary did with her extravagant gift. Glory and honor, praise, adoration, now and forever more, be unto you!
Amen.

Dr. Murray Decker
Associate Professor of Intercultural Studies