The Gospel Lesson for this coming Sunday, John 12:1-8, gives insight into how gratitude flows from a life of faithfulness. Mary’s anointing the feet of Jesus seems like an excessive act. The perfume which is identified as nard, was an imported extravagance. As Judas reminds us, the perfume’s value was three hundred denarii. With the ordinary wage of a laborer being one denarii for a day’s work, the perfume cost the equivalent of a year’s wages. So, to pour it out on a person’s feet, even the feet of the Lord, seems to be a reckless act.
As with all Biblical stories, we must place this story of Mary and Jesus in context. To understand why Mary did what she did, we need to turn back to the previous chapter in John’s Gospel. In that story, Jesus also was in Bethany. He arrived at the home of Mary and Martha and their brother, Lazarus. But on this occasion, Jesus came because he had received word that Lazarus was ill. However, by the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus was dead and buried. But Jesus calls forth Lazarus from the grave. Their brother, who once was dead, was restored to life.
What would you give to have a loved-one returned to life? An expensive bottle of perfume suddenly doesn’t seem so extravagant. I mean, who among us would not give a year’s salary for the life of someone we love?
There is no reason to believe that Mary anoints Jesus’ feet with the expensive perfume as a means of repaying Jesus. Nor is there any suggestion that she does it out of a sense of obligation. In my mind she does it as an act of sheer gratitude. It is an immediate and available means by which she can offer her thanks to Jesus for a gift of unparalleled value.
I don’t know how Mary came to have the perfume, but obviously it was of great value and she had saved it for a special occasion. I cannot imagine that, after she had anointed the feet of Jesus, there were any second thoughts. I can’t imagine that she later said to herself, “I can’t believe how foolish I was to bathe his feet with perfume and wipe his feet with my hair.” If anything, I imagine that Mary wished she had more with which to express her gratitude. The perfume was a mere pittance when compared with the value of Jesus’ gift of her brother’s life.
In John’s Gospel, Mary, her sister, Martha, and her brother Lazarus, have a special relationship with Jesus. Not only are they followers of Jesus. Not only are they believers that Jesus is the Christ, the anointed agent of God, they are also friends of Jesus. They have a close personal relationship with Jesus. Because of this faith coupled with their relationship with Jesus, we can gain insight from Mary’s action into what it means to be a person of faith.
Mary demonstrates that a life of faith begins with gratitude. Gratitude is the highest and most mature response to God. In gratitude, we open ourselves to the fact that there is an Other, who freely shares with us, and that other is called God. Gratitude leads to graciousness. To be gracious is to be kind and courteous. A gracious life is filled with mercy and compassion. Mary anoints and cares for the dirty feet of her tired Savior. Finally, Mary exhibits generosity. As one who had experienced the very best Christ could offer, Mary freely offered back to Christ her very best. She did not weigh the cost in her mind, but freely and generously gave back to Jesus. It came not out of obligation, but gratitude. It was reckless generosity, it was radical generosity, but it was also joyous generosity.
There were no doubts in the minds of those who were present that day that Mary loved Jesus. There was no uncertainty about his importance in her life. It was abundantly clear that Mary was responding to the grace offered to her by Jesus.
What about us? Can others tell how much Jesus means to us? Can people tell that we have experienced the grace of God by our gratitude? Do our interactions with others convey graciousness? Are we living a life of generosity or is it merely calculated obligation or do we mete out blessings with a sense of scarcity.
May God help us all to become a little more like Mary: a little reckless, somewhat extravagant, and radical in our generosity towards God and others. Amen.
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