The Mary Choice
When Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head, as he sat at the table. But when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste?"...But Jesus...said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me....In pouring this ointment on my body she has done it to prepare me for burial." Matt. 26:6-12, RSV.
This story doesn't belong here in Jesus' very last entrance into Jerusalem. It is out of place. Matthew appears to have deliberately placed the account of the anointing between the plots of the Jewish leaders and Judas' offer to betray Jesus, even though he had to take the event out of its chronological setting to do so. John 12 situates the anointing six days before the Passover and puts the triumphal entry the "next day."
Yet Matthew does not include the story in the first Gospel merely to help explain Judas' actions. To the contrary, Mary's anointing has a message of its own. It is one of immense devotion that symbolizes her gratitude to Jesus. In sharp contrast to the Jewish leaders' and Judas' responses to Jesus in the story's immediate context, Mary's demonstrates her love for the One who has done so much for her personally and who has brought her brother Lazarus back to life.
Beyond that, the anointing is rich in symbolism. After all, the very meaning of Messiah or Christ is the "anointed one." Just as kings and priests received anointing in the Old Testament, so Mary anointed Jesus.
Perhaps the most surprising part of the anointing story is Jesus' explanation that Mary's deed is to prepare Him for burial. That statement indicates, once again, that Jesus is in control of the situation. After all, customarily, bodies did not get anointed for burial until after they were dead. Anointing was traditionally performed on corpses, not on living people, except in the case of criminals. Thus Jesus' interpretation of Mary's act seems to assume (correctly) that His death will be that of a criminal whose body will be buried without proper ceremony.
The stories of Judas and Mary bring us face-to-face with a crucial question. Where do we stand? Are we with the extravagant Mary, who selflessly gave her all to Jesus, or are we with the selfish Judas, who saw Jesus as a tool to serve his own needs? That is not an easy question to answer honestly, because a Judas lurks within the skin of each of us. Fortunately, a Mary also resides there. I make the choice as to which personality will dominate my own life.
When Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head, as he sat at the table. But when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste?"...But Jesus...said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me....In pouring this ointment on my body she has done it to prepare me for burial." Matt. 26:6-12, RSV.
This story doesn't belong here in Jesus' very last entrance into Jerusalem. It is out of place. Matthew appears to have deliberately placed the account of the anointing between the plots of the Jewish leaders and Judas' offer to betray Jesus, even though he had to take the event out of its chronological setting to do so. John 12 situates the anointing six days before the Passover and puts the triumphal entry the "next day."
Yet Matthew does not include the story in the first Gospel merely to help explain Judas' actions. To the contrary, Mary's anointing has a message of its own. It is one of immense devotion that symbolizes her gratitude to Jesus. In sharp contrast to the Jewish leaders' and Judas' responses to Jesus in the story's immediate context, Mary's demonstrates her love for the One who has done so much for her personally and who has brought her brother Lazarus back to life.
Beyond that, the anointing is rich in symbolism. After all, the very meaning of Messiah or Christ is the "anointed one." Just as kings and priests received anointing in the Old Testament, so Mary anointed Jesus.
Perhaps the most surprising part of the anointing story is Jesus' explanation that Mary's deed is to prepare Him for burial. That statement indicates, once again, that Jesus is in control of the situation. After all, customarily, bodies did not get anointed for burial until after they were dead. Anointing was traditionally performed on corpses, not on living people, except in the case of criminals. Thus Jesus' interpretation of Mary's act seems to assume (correctly) that His death will be that of a criminal whose body will be buried without proper ceremony.
The stories of Judas and Mary bring us face-to-face with a crucial question. Where do we stand? Are we with the extravagant Mary, who selflessly gave her all to Jesus, or are we with the selfish Judas, who saw Jesus as a tool to serve his own needs? That is not an easy question to answer honestly, because a Judas lurks within the skin of each of us. Fortunately, a Mary also resides there. I make the choice as to which personality will dominate my own life.
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