4th Wednesday of Lent (March 18). An extravagant waste

Prepare to Listen.  The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
 
Prayerfully Read John 12:1-8
Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.  2There they gave a dinner for him.  Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him.  3Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair.  The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.  4But 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.)   7Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone.  She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial.
8You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.’
 
Prayerfully Wonder
With whom do you most identify?  Mary, who wasted a pound of expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet?  Or, Judas, who complained about the waste?
 
Judas, the purse keeper, was angry.  He thought her act a waste.  Pure nard[1] could sell for 300 denarii (a year’s worth of wages), and the money used to help the poor.  But he was a greedy thief and didn’t care about the poor, only himself.  Before we judge Judas, we ought to examine ourselves.  Ask: Have I ever protested spending church money on what I think is a waste?  Sometimes that’s the right thing to do.  But not always.
 
We don’t know why Mary wasted her expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet.  It took courage to act out of custom for women, interrupt men at a meal.  Her extravagant waste filled the house with its pure-nard fragrance, ruining the food.  I suspect Judas wasn’t the only horrified and angry guest.  Jesus wasn’t one of them.  He was quick to rebuke Judas, and all like him: “Leave her alone.”  And quick to commend Mary.
 
He chose to see far more in her act than wasted money.  He saw it as prophetic insight to what was about the happen to him—death and burial.  Unlike the Twelve, who couldn’t accept Jesus’ warnings about his coming death, Mary did.  She knew his death was imminent and did what she could to show her love and submission to Jesus while he was still there.  Her waste and the strong fragrance of perfume was a visible act of her love for Jesus.  It should make us ask whether we love Jesus as much.
 
Who are you most like.  Mary or Judas?
 
Prayerfully Respond
Lord, give me the courage of Mary to love you generously even when my friends condemn me.  Amen.
 
Live obediently.  Don’t be afraid of extravagant love of Jesus.
[1] Pure nard came from India and was very expensive.