John 12:1-8

John 12:1-8 Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “[It was intended] that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

Many sermons and teachings have been offered concerning Mary's lavish act of pouring about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume on the feet of her precious Lord and then wiping them with her hair as the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. As with most familiar scenes from the Bible, we often come as onlooker, as a person in the room that very day, wondering how we might have viewed the event, how we might have responded, how we might have felt, or what we might have said or done. As believers we also go a step further and ask, "Holy Spirit, what are you saying to me today? What is the Word of the Lord for my life as I read this account of Mary's perhaps foolish yet totally abandoned act of love that Jesus seems so fully to embrace and to validate. In the midst of all this, we have Judas grandstanding against her wasteful use of a commodity that was worth a year’s wages. Had they sold it, he said, they could have used the money to feed the poor, an obviously righteous and worthy purpose for servants of the Lord Most High. In the midst of his account of the event, John cannot help editorializing: He [Judus] did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

We would do well sometimes to remember the words of the Scottish poet Robert Burns: "Oh the gift that God would give us to see ourselves as others see us." Jesus always saw what was on the inside of a man or a woman during his earthly ministry. He was the living Word who became flesh and walked among men: the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12) He knew Mary loved him from the depths of her being; and her offering represented her life, her everything, just as he knew Judas' words hung in the air as testimony against him, for he had already betrayed Christ in his heart, had already become a thief and a liar and would eventually follow the father of lies to a sorrowful death by totally betraying the Son of God. By removing herself from everything else and giving all she had to Jesus, the best she had, Mary was listening to the Holy Spirit abiding with her Lord. God calls us all to do likewise: And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. (1 John 2:28) The Bible also continually encourages us to grow up in Christ, to flee the darkness and to seek the light. We cannot engage in pettiness, idle talk, critical attitudes, meddling, frivolous activities, and rarely if ever spend time at the feet of Jesus and then expect to have the fragrance of a love relationship with Christ our Lord fill the room.

The New Testament writers spoke often of the pitfalls of this world. They were writing to believers--people such as we are. Someone told Mom one time that she did not like to be around people who were always quoting scriptures. Mom cannot remember who it was, so this is not personal if it happens to be one of you dear readers. If we are uncomfortable with hearing the Word, then we are uncomfortable with having a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. (See Psalm 119:105) Why would we want to stumble in the darkness, demanding our own way? Paul challenged the church to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. He went on to say, we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head. There is a lot more you should read, but he ended by saying, Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:1-3, 14-16, and 31-32) May a fragrance arise to the Lord as we worship him today and give him our very best by loving him fully and serving others from a pure heart of love.