Holy Tuesday

March 27, 2018

While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper,

a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume,

which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.
Matthew 26:6-7

Matthew doesn’t identify this woman. John says it was Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. Perhaps her identity is not as important as was her generous and unselfish act.  

Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were respected in the community, but we have no reason to believe that they were wealthy. In fact, there probably was not a rich person among Jesus’ followers.

Unless we know this, we’ll miss the importance of this moment in the last week of Jesus’ life. It’s easy to miss the point that Mary’s treasure was valuable!

Where did she get it? Was it a gift from a special friend? An expensive gift, given and accepted, becomes special and not used casually. Did she ponder giving up her treasure, wonder how the giver of this gift would feel if she used it in this manner?

Perhaps she had saved and saved to buy the fragrance. If so, it must have been for some extremely important purpose – maybe for her burial or the burial of someone she loved. Bodies were often covered with as many as 100 pounds of ointments for burial. Perhaps Mary was accumulating burial ointments for someone. It would take a long time to replace this.

Whatever the source, the perfume was a treasure. Before she poured it on Jesus, did she contemplate the cost, realize the extravagance of using all her perfume in this one generous gesture. John tells us that the whole room was filled with the fragrance, so everyone knew what she had done as soon as she did it. Would anyone understand her act?

Mary’s act was certainly a sacrificial gesture. The perfume was important to her, but the Lord was more important! I like to think of the care with which she poured it out, and the surprise and pain on her face when he responded that she had prepared his body for burial. Loving him as she did, the perfume must have suddenly gained value. So comforted and encourage, she must have been horrified at the challenge from the disciples (John says that the challenge came from Judas) that the perfume should have been sold to feed the poor. In all the agony of that week, this is one of the few acts that warms our hearts.

I wonder if we have some expensive treasure that we are saving for a special event. Is there something that we value and don’t want to part with? Do we excuse ourselves that we cannot pour expensive ointments on his head and just pass over this scripture with a casual reading? Nice gesture on Mary’s part. Perhaps during this Easter week, we should ask him if there is someone whose life he would have us bless by making some sacrifice for him, by giving up some treasure, not for his burial but in gratitude for his incredible sacrifice for us.

Prayer: Father, We admire – from a distance – Mary’s great love for you. Help us to learn from her and to act lovingly toward those whom you love who have need. Amen.

Holy Week Devotional
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, March 2008,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

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