Fragrance

 

FRAGRANCE – SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2025



John 12:1-8: “Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” 6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”


➖

Let’s just go verse by verse this week.

  1. Bethany was a suburb of Jerusalem. Jesus apparently refused to stay overnight in Jerusalem the week of the Passover that ended in his death – I think as a protest. Thank goodness for friends like Mary, Martha and Lazarus! I believe Jesus came and went from their home every day that week.

  2. Dinner with friends is just what we do, right? Same with Jesus. And, of course, Jesus had history with these three. I observed as a child that my parents were “Mary, Martha and Lazarus” for certain people who just needed somebody and somewhere to be sometimes. I think Mary, Martha and Lazarus were such people for Jesus – a safe place. We don’t think of that very often – Jesus being the “safe place” for so many of us – but I’m sure Jesus depended on such friends in his own spiritual walk just as you and I do.

  3. The perfume Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with was pure gift: the perfume, the anointing and not least of all the testimony of the fragrance that filled the house itself. For those into essential oils you may know Nard is used to treat anxiety, insomnia, stress and depression – no doubt a fitting gift for Jesus. But Nard was also used to anoint kings and in burial rituals, as Jesus reflects in verse 7.

  4. Enter Judas Iscariot, the man we love to hate. Judas is the betrayer of Jesus. He is Elon Musk. He is Trump. He is those who serve only themselves and not the common good.

  5. A denarius was a coin with the value of a day’s wage for Roman soldiers. It was made of silver and minted by Rome. Occupied territories like Israel were not allowed to mint silver coins in recognition of Rome’s control and authority over them. The text suggests that Mary’s gift was worth 300 denarii, therefore about a year’s wages. But Mary – and we – refuse to use the standards of Empire to value what we do for one another, don’t we? Her gift was priceless!

    (Interestingly, when Israel won brief liberation from Roman rule in 66 CE one of the first things they did was mint a silver, 'Jewish' denarius. "Take that, you bastards!")

  6. Judas complained about Mary’s extravagance claiming concern for the poor, but of course he had none. He simply wanted to line his own pockets. Musk, Trump and the billionaire class are doing the exactly the same today. They are destroying our democracy and the global economy for their own gain.

    (And why am I thinking of crypto currency here - especially the Trump meme coin? Maybe when our liberation comes I’ll buy one and burn the paper it’s not printed on. - "Take that . . .")

The end of story comes as Jesus tells Judas to just “Leave Mary alone!”  Ya – go away, stop the lies, let beauty be and get a clue! Jesus sees what’s coming and knows that the greed and fear of the power elite will literally be the death of him. Mary knows, too.

So do we.

Like Mary we are called to speak and anoint truth. That’s what people of faith do! Doing so may feel weak and pointless in the face of so much destruction, but see? – the stories are still told, and the movement is still alive.

Keep the faith. It makes a difference.

Keep the faith!

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