Introit
Vindicate me, O God,
and defend my cause
against an ungodly nation;
from wicked and deceitful men deliver me,
for you are my God and my strength.
Send forth your light and your truth;
these have led me and brought me
to you holy mountain
and to your dwelling place.
Psalm 43:1-3
John 12:1-8
1 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus's feet, and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5 "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?" 6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7 Jesus said, "Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me."
Women who anointed Jesus
Today's gospel reading from John takes place at the Bethany home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. The three synoptic gospels offer accounts of a woman anointing Jesus: two are in the town of Bethany, but at the house of Simon the Leper; in Luke it's a "sinful woman" at Simon the Pharisee's place.
• Matthew 26:6-13
• Mark 14:3-9
• Luke 7:36-50
Anointing; Stewardship
Except in Luke, Jesus says the anointing is for his upcoming death. But in addition to the deceased, kings, prophets, and priests were anointed in that time and place. We know Jesus of Nazareth as Christ or Messiah—anointed one. King or monarch of all creation; the king of our hearts. We recognize his prophetic role in the traditions of Moses, Elijah, and others. The book of Hebrews especially articulates Jesus as ultimate high priest, and we perceive hints of his mediating between heaven and earth throughout his ministry.
Commentaries sometimes contrast Mary's extravagant, aromatic gift and the stinginess of Judas as examples of stewardship, though as the comment within John's text itself says, Judas wanted to take the money for himself.
In John 12:8, relative to ours and their (the word "you" is plural) care for the gifts we receive, Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 15:11, Since there will never cease to be some poor upon the earth [I therefore command you, "open your hand for the poor and needy neighbor in your land."] and he reminds them he won't always be with them.
Stewardship and finances play a part in this pericope, but given its position in John's gospel and because the lectionary also schedules this reading for Monday in Holy Week every year, we need to focus on life amidst impending death.
Death and Resurrection; Breaking Boundaries
The previous chapter 11 includes Jesus raising this same Lazarus from death to life in a dramatic proof of "I am the resurrection and the life!" [John 11:25] Lazarus in the company of his sisters, of Jesus, and of other pre-Passover guests brings a sense of full circle with his being in the presence of the one who restored him to life, who soon will experience his own very real death, and then rise from death to new life to mark the end of death and dying for all.
You may remember from scriptural and other accounts that with most streets dusty and unpaved, when a person entered a residence their feet would need washing. Although back then and there women and servants were in charge of washing guests' feet, Mary "letting down" her hair and wiping Jesus' feet with her hair was as outrageous and risqué´as it sounds. It probably wasn't explicitly erotic or sexual in such a mixed setting, but it still broke norms and boundaries. Besides, the high priest usually anointed kings and prophets. Mary was female, not a temple priest, and almost definitely a working class "regular person." Jesus told everyone to back off; Mary's gift of precious ointment – and the gift of herself – was for the day of his burial.
Next Sunday is Palm-Passion!
Have you made plans for Holy Week and Easter? If you have, is it your usual traditional or are you going for something different? How have your Lenten disciplines transpired? I'm just wondering and asking!
