Monday of Holy Week - April 2, 2012
John 12:1 - 8
It was six days before the Passover Feast. Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived. Lazarus was the one Jesus had raised from the dead. A dinner was given at Bethany to honor Jesus. Martha served the food. Lazarus was among those at the table with Jesus.
Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard. It was an expensive perfume. She poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the sweet smell of the perfume.
But Judas Iscariot didn't like what Mary did. He was one of Jesus' disciples. Later he was going to hand Jesus over to his enemies. Judas said, "Why wasn't this perfume sold? Why wasn't the money given to poor people? It was worth a year's pay."
He didn't say this because he cared about the poor. He said it because he was a thief. Judas was in charge of the money bag. He used to help himself to what was in it.
"Leave her alone," Jesus replied. "The perfume was meant for the day I am buried. You will always have the poor among you. But you won't always have me."
"The house was filled with the sweet smell of the perfume." Of course, the perfume would have generated a fragrant smell. The house would have been literally filled with the smell of the perfume.
In John's Gospel, things are always layered, taking on more meaning than what appears on the surface. So in this passage, the "fragrance" is not only literal. It is also a symbol, and it is symbolic at many levels.
Acts of kindness and generosity tend to have impact beyond their original intention. When Mary anointed Jesus, the fragrance of the act filled the room and the house. And the symbolic "fragrance" of her act went far beyond that dwelling. Today we continue to read the centuries-old story as a significant part of Holy Week.
I can imagine that when Mary took the jar and offered its contents to Jesus' body, she was simply offering love to her friend who was in his last days. Perhaps she had a sense of what was to come for Jesus -- contrary to the male followers of Jesus who seem to have been clueless right up to the final hours of his life.
Kindness and generosity, as acts of grace, extend far beyond their immediate context. The fragrance of these acts tends to waft toward others. They come as gifts of grace, especially if they are offered in difficult, tense, or uncertain times.
Such was Mary's gift for her friend.
For today . . . think about one example of how the "fragrance" of someone's kindness or generosity has wafted to you, perhaps across many miles or across time. At some time, someone else acted graciously, with kindness, and you have caught something of the sweetness of that act. Perhaps it was something done by a relative in days past . . . or a stranger . . . or the story of someone you don't even know that has impacted you in a healing, inspiring way.
Even as you think about the fragrance of someone else's actions, know that your own kindness and generosity has its own sweet smell. You may not see how others are impacted by what you do, but you can be sure that kindness and generosity always smell sweet.
It was six days before the Passover Feast. Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived. Lazarus was the one Jesus had raised from the dead. A dinner was given at Bethany to honor Jesus. Martha served the food. Lazarus was among those at the table with Jesus.
Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard. It was an expensive perfume. She poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the sweet smell of the perfume.
But Judas Iscariot didn't like what Mary did. He was one of Jesus' disciples. Later he was going to hand Jesus over to his enemies. Judas said, "Why wasn't this perfume sold? Why wasn't the money given to poor people? It was worth a year's pay."
He didn't say this because he cared about the poor. He said it because he was a thief. Judas was in charge of the money bag. He used to help himself to what was in it.
"Leave her alone," Jesus replied. "The perfume was meant for the day I am buried. You will always have the poor among you. But you won't always have me."
"The house was filled with the sweet smell of the perfume." Of course, the perfume would have generated a fragrant smell. The house would have been literally filled with the smell of the perfume.
In John's Gospel, things are always layered, taking on more meaning than what appears on the surface. So in this passage, the "fragrance" is not only literal. It is also a symbol, and it is symbolic at many levels.
Acts of kindness and generosity tend to have impact beyond their original intention. When Mary anointed Jesus, the fragrance of the act filled the room and the house. And the symbolic "fragrance" of her act went far beyond that dwelling. Today we continue to read the centuries-old story as a significant part of Holy Week.
I can imagine that when Mary took the jar and offered its contents to Jesus' body, she was simply offering love to her friend who was in his last days. Perhaps she had a sense of what was to come for Jesus -- contrary to the male followers of Jesus who seem to have been clueless right up to the final hours of his life.
Kindness and generosity, as acts of grace, extend far beyond their immediate context. The fragrance of these acts tends to waft toward others. They come as gifts of grace, especially if they are offered in difficult, tense, or uncertain times.
Such was Mary's gift for her friend.
For today . . . think about one example of how the "fragrance" of someone's kindness or generosity has wafted to you, perhaps across many miles or across time. At some time, someone else acted graciously, with kindness, and you have caught something of the sweetness of that act. Perhaps it was something done by a relative in days past . . . or a stranger . . . or the story of someone you don't even know that has impacted you in a healing, inspiring way.
Even as you think about the fragrance of someone else's actions, know that your own kindness and generosity has its own sweet smell. You may not see how others are impacted by what you do, but you can be sure that kindness and generosity always smell sweet.
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