Our text for today is a part of the countdown to Jesus’ last day on earth before his crucifixion. It is just the week before the Passover, highly likely the Saturday evening before, and Jerusalem is already a buzz with the thousands of people who are arriving for the Passover. Jesus and the disciples are expecting to have the Passover meal in Jerusalem as well and on their way there they have stopped by one of his dear friends, Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary for an evening meal. Some versions call it a banquet presumably because there were other invited guests, but Jesus was the honored guest at this meal.
It is here that things take an interesting and unexpected turn. It was common to provide water at the doorway so that your guests could wash their feet, and it may have been even common in some wealthy homes for the servants to wash and wipe the feet of the guests or visitors but in this text, Mary does the totally unexpected thing by anointing and wiping Jesus’ feet with her hair of all things. To say this is unexpected and uncommon at that time is putting it mildly. No self-respecting woman even if she is single would ever put herself in that position. It is not surprising that Judas made a comment about the poor. He was diplomatic. I am fairly sure that most of the other disciples with Jesus and any other guest present at the time would have been unimpressed by this woman’s action and equally unimpressed by Jesus accepting this ‘embarrassing’ treatment. There are variations of this incident in all four gospels which suggest that it was an authentic event which took place and was repeatedly talked about in the years after by followers of Jesus. However, we do not know what the precise circumstances were. What is obvious is that Jesus was having a meal at someone’s house and a woman decided to anoint him with this extremely expensive perfume. Matthew identifies the place as Lazarus’ house and the woman who poured the perfume as Mary, Lazarus’s sister. We cannot be certain either what her motivation was, but it is evident that she was led to do this because she had an extremely high regard for Jesus. Was she someone that Jesus had helped to transform her life? We do not know although all four gospels suggest their own description of this woman. What is important to note is that she did something that was highly unusual at the time and would have been greatly frowned upon, and she did this by anointing Jesus’ feet with what was clearly an extremely expensive ointment.
At the heart of this issue is the reason for this woman doing this unusual and controversial and culturally inappropriate anointing. There are several things we can take from this incident as we look at our own relationship with the Lord Jesus today.
- Her selflessness is an example of what true love for Jesus demands.
We cannot get into the mind of this woman to know what she was thinking and why she chose to do this, but it was very clearly an act of devotion. The fact that she cared little about how people would feel about her was fully on display as she not only poured the perfume on his feet but also wiped them with her hair. Who she was or how people would think about her or whether people would denigrate or belittle or chastise her was of no thought or consequence to her. She was fixed on one thing and nothing else mattered. Most of us would think carefully about the consequences or possible repercussions of our actions but not this woman. We may even wonder if she thought about herself at all. Her mind was highly likely so centered on doing this for Jesus that she did not even think much about the consequences for herself. This is the essence of being selfless. Whatever this woman may have been in her life, her devotion to Jesus showed in her selfless action. What would our world be if only more of us Christians were as selfless in our commitment to God? As we can see from Mary’s actions, selfless acts are demonstrations of true love. We cannot truly love God if our motives are not right. We may do extraordinary things in this life but if we were merely transactional or we carefully calculated the benefits that we would get as a result then, we could not really say that we love God or anyone else? The fundamental question is: How much are we prepared to give up or sacrifice in our service to God? That is what will show how much we truly love God.
- Our possessions are never too valuable to be used in God’s service.
It was the common cultural practice to wash and anoint the deceased for burial in the time in which Jesus lived in Palestine. In this light what this woman who many scholars identify as Mary, Lazarus’s sister, was doing was taking it to a much higher level both in the type of expensive ointment that she chose to use and the amount of it that she used. We must bear in mind that some versions record that it was Jesus’ head that was anointed, and some say that it was his feet. There are many who believe that it is more plausible that she did anoint his head, and it flowed down to his feet because of the amount that she was pouring on him. Whichever is the case, it is obvious that Mary or whoever this woman was, spared no expense on this act of anointing. Money simply was not an object. Was she rich? Most likely not. It is believed that this may have been some inherited family heirloom but even, so the real point here is that for her, her devotion and desire to show her love for the Lord superseded any value that was placed on the perfume. This woman was the true example of giving one’s best to God. This incident reminds me of the account where Jesus told the rich young ruler to go and sell all that he had and give to the poor. In that account it must be noted that this extraordinarily rich young man was not told to give everything he had but he still went away sad because his earthly possession was more important to him than following Jesus. Unlike that rich young man, this woman’s love for the Lord was shown in her belief that nothing was too much or too valuable to be given back to God. How many of us give to the Lord of our resources without stopping to think whether it is too much or too little? In a world where so much value is placed on material things, Mary showed then and shows us today by her example that there are far more important things in life than just the material things that we possess irrespective of how valuable they may be.
- As Christians, we will experience discouragement and ridicule in our commitment and devotion to God.
The scripture does not tell us whether or not Mary was reprimanded for her actions but we read that there was at least one disciple who was unimpressed by Mary’s action. Judas we learn has a sudden compassion for the poor. I wonder how often he thought about the poor before then? John’s opinion of Judas’ comment is very poor. We get the impression that Judas very likely would have been happy if he had been the recipient of such an expensive perfume. When you are committed to serving God by giving of your resources, there will always be someone to criticize or some might say ‘throw cold water’ on your commitment and your effort. Sometimes too, those who criticize or discourage you from your commitment and actions the most are the ones who should be more understanding and sensitive to the situation or at the very least be more aware of what is happening. Sometimes the discouragement may come from a relative whose opinion you really value or it comes from a close friend. Even worse, the discouragement can also come from brothers and sisters of the faith who should understand and relate to your commitment and devotion to God more than anyone else. Thankfully, Mary was not discouraged by what others said but remained committed to what she was led to do. How many people do we know who were really committed to God and were so enthusiastic about serving God in every way possible but then they became deflated and discouraged because their commitment and devotion was criticised or ridiculed by others. Many eventually left the church and even stopped being Christians completely. When you want to do something that you feel motivated or led to do for God’s sake, do not let anyone hinder or dissuade you. You alone must have peace in your commitment and in the service you do for God. As we go from here today may we be constantly inspired and encouraged by the life and work of those who have given their all to the glory of God. May God give us the courage to truly commit to Jesus with all our beings irrespective of what others may think or say that we in turn can be the inspiration to those who are weak and struggling to keep their faith in a world of chaos and challenge. Amen.
