Monday of Holy Week Reflection
Mary's gratitude to Jesus after restoring her brother Lazarus to the household was enormous. Her love for Jesus was overwhelming. She wanted to express it. She could not have chosen a more embarrassing way do it.
In an astonishingly intimate gesture Mary of Bethany anointed Jesus' feet with expensive perfumed ointment. Even more shockingly she wiped his feet with her hair.
It was inevitable that criticism would be immediate - the immodesty, the stepping out of her expected role of helping Martha to serve the meal, the waste of expensive assets instead of giving to the poor. Women simply couldn't let their hair down like that in public without being damned by 'respectable' people.
It was inevitable that criticism would be immediate - the immodesty, the stepping out of her expected role of helping Martha to serve the meal, the waste of expensive assets instead of giving to the poor. Women simply couldn't let their hair down like that in public without being damned by 'respectable' people.
You can find the story in John 12: 1 - 11.
In a previous blog I wrote a reflection on this story and called it 'The 5 Senses of Love'. Here it is:
What does love look like?
Love looks shocking
when it breaks rules
as when Mary of Bethany
rubbed perfume on a rabbi's feet
and dried them with her hair
- in public.
Love looks shocking
when it wastes expensive perfume
that could be used for something better.
Love looks shocking
when it gives,
extravagantly gives,
even to pouring out life itself
so others may live.
What does love feel like?
Love feels hurtful
to those rejected,
excluded
from its embrace.
Love feels good
when received
like a baby
safe in its parents' care,
or like a lover
relaxing in the arms of the beloved.
Love feels good for Jesus
as Mary's perfume
refreshes his feet
and its fragrance fills the room.
What does love sound like?
Love sounds
to Judas like 300 coins,
a year's wages
spilling to the ground,
rolling away and lost,
- an extravagant waste.
Love sounds
to Jesus
like the sound of friends,
of tears and laughter,
of music
and companionable silence.
What does love taste like?
Love tastes bitter
to those hurt
by those who should have loved.
Love tastes sour
when corrupted
by abuse and exploitation.
Love tastes good
to Jesus,
like the best food and drink,
prepared with care,
beautifully served
and shared.
Love tastes of friendship,
in the house of Lazarus.
Love tastes of family
and belonging.
What does love smell like?
Love smells
of expensive perfume
filling the house,
permeating the nostrils
with joy
creating memories of intimacy,
and
for Jesus
evoking thoughts
of his coming death and burial.
Image Credit: Julia Stankova, The Annointing of Christ
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