Mtr Mary Trainor

"Smells are surer than sounds or sights to make your heart-strings crack." Rudyard Kipling

I can practically smell the perfumed air in that little house in Bethany where Mary used “a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard” to bathe Jesus’ feet. I can almost feel the puffs of scented air bumping against my face in the wake of Mary’s hair swishing and swirling around Jesus’ feet, wiping away the oil, spreading the aroma as she did so.

A sensuous scene. A scene laden with extravagance and love of the sort we experience when standing on the threshold of loss. Because that is what was going on in the little house in Bethany, where the three siblings--Mary, Martha, and Lazarus--gave a dinner for their friend.

This scent-filled story comes to us on the Fourth Saturday of Lent from Chapter 12 in the Gospel of John. We are very near to Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, very near to trial, sentencing, and excruciating death on a cross.

Jesus occupies a special place in the hearts of the Bethany siblings. Quite recently Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Now Lazarus is home, doing normal things, including having a good friend over for dinner. The stench of death from Lazarus’ tomb is replaced by the fragrance of ultra-rich perfume, perfume that cost a year’s wages.

Judas balks at the extravagance. The money could have been used for the poor--a diversionary remark given that Judas regularly tapped the till for his own gain.

Mary’s lavish gift and Judas’ stingy complaint stand in stark relief to one another. Mary spares no expense to anoint Jesus’ feet in preparation for burial. Judas complains about the cost, a practical, smart criticism on the surface, if we had no idea how self-serving it was.

And even if he was not a thief (never mind a traitor), Judas’ concern about the money misses the point that Mary and her siblings keenly understand: Jesus is not only a friend, he also is their Lord. How can any farewell gift be too grand, or cost too much?

Mtr. Mary