"Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. " (v. 3)
Here's what I notice this week...
1) I recommend reading this passage within the context of the whole Lazarus cycle and continuing to the gates of Jerusalem. The full force of Mary's act as well as the emotional tenor comes across in the wider context.
2) A pound of nard is an unbelievable amount of perfume. Think about the size of your pocket lip balm and imagine a pound of scented ointment. From the first miracle John describes when Jesus turned water into more wine imaginable for a wedding, this story reminds us of God's abundant gifts. Even on the eve of Jesus' ill-fated passage into Jerusalem, God's presence is marked by the experience of the overflowing, the more-than-enough, the filled.
3) This is the last meal before Jesus enters Jerusalem. It holds the foreshadow of death as well as the promise of resurrection. This is the delicate balance we carry into our own Holy Week travels.
4) The story reminds me of my first confirmation student. Many moon ago, I was a mentor to a student who didn't want to be confirmed in the church because already at fourteen years of age, she was highly suspect of institutional power. She was particularly wise to the ways of the church against women over the many centuries. Nonetheless, she agreed to go through with the program despite her skepticism. Funnily enough, she was one of the best proclaimers of the good news I have ever known. In the spring of her junior year, not long after Easter, her grandmother fell ill. On one of the family visits, her mother spent an afternoon washing her grandmother, tending to her infirmities, and beautifying the room where she was recovering. My student was there, helping her mother care for her grandmother. On the way home later that day, they received a phone call to say that her grandmother had passed. Her mother kept saying over and over again in her grief, "I can't believe I was just there, I just bathed her and brushed her hair an hour ago." My student remarked quietly from the back seat of the car, "Mom, you were anointing her." It was only a few weeks since we had heard this story of Mary and Jesus in church. With a few gentle words, she placed her mother's suffering in the big story. Her mother told me about it later, and how she suddenly saw so much beauty and a divine hand in the events of that sad and terrible day. She was at once stricken and utterly amazed.
Reflection
- When have you experienced the big story like my student did?
- Is there a Bible story you have found yourself playing out at one time or another?
Prayer
God of life and death, keeper of mysteries, you bless us in our passages. And you send us the Word sometimes from likely prophets, at other times, from unlikely proclaimers. We give thanks for the shape you give our lives. Amen
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