Mary Anoints Jesus for Burial

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus was, the one Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there; Martha was serving them, and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took a pound of perfume, pure and expensive nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped his feet with her hair. So the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

Then one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot (who was about to betray him), said, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” He didn’t say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the money-bag and would steal part of what was put in it.

Jesus answered, “Leave her alone; she has kept it for the day of my burial. For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

Then a large crowd of the Jews learned he was there. They came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, the one he had raised from the dead. But the chief priests had decided to kill Lazarus also, because he was the reason many of the Jews were deserting them and believing in Jesus. John 12:1-11 (CSB)

The chronology of events, and the details of this story flow differently between John’s gospel and the Synoptic ones—those that we refer to as Matthew, Mark, and Luke—so placing this in sequence gets tricky. John’s Gospel isn’t as concerned about the order of things as the Doctor who wrote Luke’s Gospel was. That to say, this event likely falls outside the overall sequence we find ourselves in, but it certainly fits in thematically, and follows the beginning of the coordination to kill Jesus within John. 

Mary, Martha, and Lazarus are well known characters in the narrative. Lazarus was the man who was dead, but who Jesus rose by spoken word, “Lazarus come out” (John 11:43). In John’s Gospel this should give us images of the commandment of God who spoke in Genesis and creation responded, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). John was casting Jesus as the Logos or very Word that created all things (John 1:1-3). He was the creative Word Incarnate, God among us. And John gives us an image of what to do with that Word throughout his Gospel, including the previous story of Martha fussing in the kitchen (Found in Luke’s Gospel, 10:38-42) and Mary at his feet. In it, the same Mary, who Jesus preferred, who would rather worship him than fuss in the kitchen, is the one who shows up today to anoint him with fine oil. This oil is, of course, an oil to prepare him for burial. It is a beautiful symbol of the love and adoration that Mary had for Jesus. 

Of course, it’s always the one who is corrupt who says, “That money should have been given to the poor!” In my own experience, that line is always proffered by the most miserly amongst us. My response is usually the same, “Which poor? Name him.” The reality is, most people who demand such actions from others are rarely themselves engage in that kind of work. Those who are generous realize that generosity is not zero sum, and they tend to be generous in all areas of their lives, meaning they can care for their loved ones and support the poor. 

But Mary and her anointing presents us with another important note, and one that is an important counterbalance to the story of the Sheep and Goats we read about two days ago. It tells us that adoring Jesus is not worthless. In fact, it is the first thing, and the higher good. Love the poor? Absolutely. Give water to the thirsty? Please! Support the widow? Whenever possible. But that love, those actions and the assertion of the will to be able to do so is preconditioned by our love for and by Jesus. It is, indeed, not simply mustered by energy and zeal, but by kneeling before the Lord and learning about His great love for us, that we are actually energized and empowered enough to love others. 

Mary has chosen the better thing (Luke 10:42) Jesus tells Martha. Worship is that which allows us to love more fully and capably, and is rarely a waste of one’s efforts. As Jesus says, the command is summarized by both “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,” and “[love] your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27) Note the disparity. Loving God requires everything and all of us: heart, mind, body, and soul. Only whereupon each of these have fully surrendered to Christ, through worship, are we even able to love our neighbor as Christ wants us to—as ourself!  

Another way of saying this is, love your neighbor with the condition you are in when you have devoted every part of you to loving God fully. Every part. And then, love your neighbor with what you have become. So adoring God transforms us to be able to fully love.   

Once again, Mary has chosen the better thing, and helps us to prepare our own hearts for the Passion of Christ and the service of love.