“By his words and actions Christ has showed himself to be true God and Lord of the universe…” – St. Anastasius of Antioch
Mark 14:1-11: It was two days before the Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread, and the chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by some trick and have him put to death. For they said, ‘It must not be during the festivities, or there will be a disturbance among the people.’ Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper; he was at dinner when a woman came in with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the ointment on his head. Some who were there said to one another indignantly, ‘Why this waste of ointment? Ointment like this could have been sold for over three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor’; and they were angry with her. But Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone. Why are you upsetting her? What she has done for me is one of the good works. You have the poor with you always, and you can be kind to them whenever you wish, but you will not always have me. She has done what was in her power to do: she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial. I tell you solemnly, wherever throughout all the world the Good News is proclaimed, what she has done will be told also, in remembrance of her.’ Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, approached the chief priests with an offer to hand Jesus over to them. They were delighted to hear it, and promised to give him money; and he looked for a way of betraying him when the opportunity should occur.
Christ the Lord Jesus is about to offer up the only true atonement for sin that mankind has ever offered to God: his self-sacrifice on the cross at Calvary. Sacrifice, the giving up of something to acknowledge one’s dependence on and gratitude to God, has always been essential to religion, no matter the particular creed. It was also essential to the Old Covenant. But even those Old Covenant sacrifices, and even more so the pagan sacrifices of every epoch, failed to make a just offering to God. God deserves what fallen man was unable to give him: total allegiance, unbridled and loving obedience free from even the slightest contamination of sin or selfishness. The lamb, the meekest and most docile of animals, symbolized this totality of love and obedience that Jesus embodied throughout his life and especially during his passion. A spotless lamb was sacrificed in the Passover celebration. As St. Mark points out, in that pivotal year of redemption, precisely as this Passover celebration got underway, God’s own Lamb, Jesus, was to fulfill the prophetic meaning of the ancient Passover. He was giving his life in atonement for mankind’s sins, offering a worthy sacrifice and thereby freeing those who believe in him from slavery to selfishness and the devil.
In spite of the ancient prophecies, and in spite of Jesus’ own predictions and warnings, few recognized this singular event as it was happening. But even so, Jerusalem and the whole area around the city were teeming with festive, enthusiastic pilgrims; upwards of three million people filled the city for the Passover celebration and the following seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread. (This is why the chief priests and scribes were trying to apprehend Jesus by some trick – they wanted to grab him before the crowds could do anything to protect him.) This situation is the background for Jesus’ passion: a city overflowing with worshippers of the one true God, recalling God’s past saving action and looking forward to the promised salvation of the future. The ignorance, blindness, and opposition of men, as real as they are, can never obstruct the plans of our all-powerful Lord who rules every heart and “makes all things work together for the good of those who love him” (Rom 8: 28).
Christ the Teacher It was customary in Palestine to welcome guests by anointing them with a drop or two of perfume when they entered your house or when they reclined at table (meals then were taken reclining Mark 14:1-11on couches; you leaned on your left elbow and took your food with your right hand). This woman takes the custom to an extreme by anointing Jesus with an entire flask of expensive perfume (at the time, nard-based ointment was manufactured only in India). We can imagine the depth of understanding between them. Jesus knows her heart, and she knows that he knows, and with utter simplicity and confidence she expresses what is in her heart and what she can no longer contain. He looks into her eyes as she approaches him, and smiles. She adores him, thanks him, and praises him through the sincerity and simplicity with which she performs this gesture of welcome and appreciation. This rich exchange of hearts is inaccessible to the others. The disciples, blind to the real meaning of what is happening, are scandalized by the opulence of the gesture. When Jesus praises it, he teaches them, and us, the characteristics of true love.
The woman’s gesture was generous, and true love is generous. Love flows like a waterfall, like a rushing fountain; it doesn’t measure itself out in a miserly way with an eyedropper. The woman’s gesture was costly, and true love is costly. Since love by definition is self-giving, when one loves one necessarily feels a certain loss, a certain self-sacrifice. The loss yields a profound joy, because the beloved benefits (and because we are created to love), but it remains a kind of loss nonetheless. Christ himself asserted this paradox: “… Anyone who loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it” (Mk 8: 35). The woman’s gesture was beautiful, and true love is the most beautiful reality of all. St. Mark tells us that Jesus called her homage “one of the good works.” Greek has two words for “good,” agathos and kalos. Agathos connotes strict moral goodness, while kalos connotes moral goodness with a winsome, elegant, charming twist. St. Mark uses kalos in transcribing Jesus’ compliment. True love goes beyond the cold exactitude of dry duty; true love gives with a smile, a flourish, and a delicacy that not only meets the beloved’s needs but meets them in a lovely, pleasing way.
Jesus will perfectly exhibit these characteristics of love in his passion. He generously pours out all his blood, not just a symbolic drop; he suffers betrayal, rejection, humiliation, injustice, physical torment, and mockery – a costly gesture indeed; he goes to the cross forgiving his enemies all the while, showing such an attractive nobility and humility that he even wins over the battle-hardened Roman guards. Jesus comes to this woman’s defense because he always defends true love, because his love is always true.
Christ the Friend Commentators have speculated extensively about Judas’ motives. What moved him to betray his Messiah and friend? St John points out greed as a primary factor; others surmise it was jealousy; still others say that Judas merely wanted to give Jesus an opportunity to show his stuff and throw down his enemies. St. Mark ventures no explanation, but simply records the fact.
Whatever specific reason Judas may have had, one thing is certain: he was dissatisfied with the Kingdom Jesus was offering; he wanted Jesus to be different than he was. Judas had his own idea of what a Savior should be like. He had become Christ’s follower harboring that idea. When he gradually discovered that Jesus had a different idea, instead of adjusting his own and trusting in Christ, he made an idol of his own idea and crushed Christ. Here is the essence of every sin and the opposite of authentic friendship: independence and a stubborn attachment to doing things our way or no way, as if we were God. Jesus offers us his friendship, but it is friendship with God. Accepting it means letting God be God. Judas refused. Whenever we sin, in big things or small, we echo the ancient, hellish, and foolish rebel’s cry: “I will not serve!” (Jer 2: 20).
Christ in My Life You alone give hope to the human soul. You have given me hope. Your sacrifice on Calvary and in every Mass links my heart to your divine heart. How much you must love me! How can you love me enough to willingly offer yourself as the lamb to be slaughtered in reparation and atonement for my sins? Touch my heart, Lord, and help me glimpse the light of your love.
How valiantly you defended this woman who loved you so deeply! Teach me to love truly. My love is weak, inconstant, partial. But your Holy Spirit is at work in my soul. I know that in you I can love as you love, and I know that loving as you love is the secret to the fulfillment and fruitfulness I long for. With the love of your heart, Lord, inflame my heart.
How many times have I betrayed you? How many times have I rebelled against your will? How foolish I am to prefer my petty, narrow, self-centered ideas to the pure, eternal wisdom of your will. Your will is full of your wisdom, as the ocean is full of water. Make your will my heart’s only quest, my mind’s one delight! My heart is restless until it rests in yo
