In this penultimate Sunday before Palm Sunday, we come to John 12:1-8, when a very expensive perfume is poured liberally over the feet of Jesus. Now, before you inhale the sensous aroma of that probably Indian-sourced nard, watch how a Jewish woman has unfurled her hair – strictly against all the rules of the day – and – even more, just no! – used it to let that oily substance to be rubbed into Jesus’ feet, take a step backwards and check out the whole scene. Too often we get drawn into the detail and not the bigger picture. It’s like examining a person of a certain age and noting that their skin is wrinkled, but upon standing back they have so much intrinsic beauty.
In John 11, we have the raising of Lazarus. You recall the time when Lazarus leaves the sanctuary of the tomb and someone shouts out “He Stinketh” (John 11:25, KJV). Jesus is also to die but on the penultimate day of the week. There’s a link between these verses.
We have the nard. It was very expensive, probably akin to a years wages. It was pure and not watered down, giving the appearance of being wasteful, even extravagant. It may have needed to be full strength. That odour of the perfume could have lingered on Jesus, possibly even when dying on the cross- could he still smell the nard as he was being crucified? I’d have other things on my mind at the time, me thinks.
Mary, will wipe those feet, where Jesus, a week later will wash the feet of the disciples – it’s at the same word in the original language. She is anointing Jesus for burial.
Yet again, the women understand when the men do not.
Then John 12:8 “You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” What an interesting climatic verse to this tale. The Greek would infer that it isn’t a statement of the poor being always present; hence, there’s a need to support them. The whole verse is a statement that Jesus won’t be with them soon but the poor will be still here. So, don’t sit around mourning me, and not doing anything, but what about the poor? They are still here, so do something about that issue. Poverty will be present always, as our society is currently based upon a hierarchal structure where some are richer than others. That doesn’t mean you discard them as non-essential. Love all.
Here ends this series of weekly blogs. I have written over 550 of them, and today’s the time when it ceases here on WordPress. A different form will continue at dbobstoner@substack.com. As the disciples may have said when Jesus arranged for the nets to break:
There’s one last post next week but it’s not from the Lectionary and a general post about Church