I imagine it was a cozy and quiet evening. There with Lazarus, Martha and Mary in Bethany, near Jerusalem. Good friends were gathered for dinner away from the crowds and the rising conflict. Jesus was able to take a break from all the activity, from the press of the crowds, the needs of the hungry and sick, the posessed and the poor. It was a safe spot away from the religious leaders who argued and baited and tried to entrap Jesus, clearly just wanting him to go away.
Mary washed Jesus’ feet. It wasn’t an unusual activity in that hot, dry, and dusty land. This time, though, Mary used more than water. She anointed his feet with expensive, fragrant, extravagant perfumed oil. The smell of it filled the room. It was the smell of love and gratitude and also hope. Mary washed Jesus’ feet and anointed them with love and hope that would carry Jesus through the coming days. Through increasing tension, escalating confrontations with religious leaders, the final night with his followers, betrayal and arrest, torture and trial, and eventually his death.
The Mary’s extravagant gift mirrors the Jesus’ extravagant presence with the people. Walking among them, Jesus saw the people. He recognized their struggles, their needs, their fears, and he responded. His teaching was profound, his care was abundant, his healing was overwhelmingly generous. Jesus’ call for compassion and justice was loving and relentless. All this grew out of the abundance of God’s love, coming to earth to join us in the beautiful and terrible challenges of human life.
We are surrounded by God’s abundant gifts. Earth and everything in it. People in our lives. Opportunities for learning and work and growth of all kinds. Our bodies and life itself. We receive so very much from the abundant love of God, so our response to God’s loving generosity is to reach out and share that love in the world. We share with loved ones and neighbors, people we don’t like and people we don’t even know.
Like the soothing fragrant oil Mary poured lavishly on Jesus’ feet, God’s love and generosity comforts and heals us, then empowers us to share that love with one another.
Peace,