The Woman Who Loved Just Right: John 12:1-8 (I)

"Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3 Mary 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. 4 But 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.) 7 Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.’"

Introduction

We have two weeks to go until Easter, and the Lectionary reading today takes us to the time just before Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. John tells a story told by the other Evangelists, but his telling of it emphasizes the extreme humility of Mary in her display of devotion to Jesus. Indeed, I argue below that Jesus was so moved by Mary's selflessness in washing his feet with her hair that he imitated her conduct with his disciples in the next chapter (John 13). Mary, then, becomes the prototypical person of faith for Jesus in this story.

Two themes from John 11 provide the "deep background" to understand the reading for today. First is the long and moving story of Lazarus, whom Jesus brought back from the dead. Second is the reality of Jewish plots against him. Because of the latter, Jesus was hesitant to show himself to the people before Passover; because of the former, Jesus now enjoys a meal with Lazarus at his home. My essay focuses on the flow of the passage, paying particular attention to the human interactions that John describes.

I. Jesus and Lazarus (vv. 1-2)

The first two verses are seemingly just "context-setting" thoughts. Jesus is joining friends for dinner, friends who have a special reason to demonstrate their gratitude since Jesus has raised Lazarus from the dead. But the brevity of the words can't hide the curiosity of the alert reader. What did Jesus and Lazarus say to each other as they reclined with each other at dinner? What would Lazarus have said? Because Jesus hadn't come to him "in time" to heal him, I think he could have asked the question that was also on Job's lips throughout his experience of distress: "Why were you so silent for so long, Lord? Did you just want to provide the occasion for a bigger miracle? Or was there some kind of 'right time' that was at work here, just like there was for other things in your life?"

Jesus, too, may have had his questions of Lazarus. Indeed, knowing that his own death was imminent, Jesus might have asked, "What was it like, my friend, to experience death? What was it like to come back from the grave? What did you see/feel?" If we look at Jesus as a genuine seeker, and Lazarus as a genuine friend, we are not amiss in assuming this kind of conversation.

II. All Eyes on Mary (v. 3)

It is surprising to me that Mary's action, which provoked the entire discussion in the passage, is only described in one verse. Verse 3 is packed with thoughts, four of them which call for mention. First is the value of the ointment. It is described as "pistic nard," a rare phrase in Greek, but it is combined with the adjective translated "costly." The closest paralled to this story (Luke 7:36-50) mentions the ointment but doesn't focus on its value. Rather, the point in Luke was the character of the woman who anointed Jesus' feet. The richly laden narrative in John's Gospel, however, stresses the cost of the ointment. Second is the fact that she anoints Jesus' feet. Anointing of feet is mentioned in Luke 7 but not in the other synoptic stories of this event (Mk. 14:4-9; Mt. 26:6-13). The anointing of feet is seen by most commentators as an indication of the most abject humility. When John the Baptist mentioned that one more powerful than he was coming, he said: "I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals" (Lk. 3:16). That is, the contrast between John and Jesus was so great that even this act of servanthood belongs to someone more worthy than John. If it was an act of humiliation to untie the shoes, how much more to wash the feet? And, I think it isn't taking things too far to suggest that her action made such an impression on Jesus that he performed a sort of imitatio Mariam when he washed the disciples' feet (Jn. 13). Peter recognized that it wasn't fitting for Jesus to do it (13:8), but he, following Mary's loving example, required the disciples to receive this gift from him.

Third, the story stresses that Mary washed his feet with her hair. In order to do this, she had to unbundle or loose the hair, an action that was, as one commentator suggests, "apparently a mark of loose morals." In Num. 5:18, for example, the priest loosed the hair of a woman who was suspected of adultery. And, from the rabbinic writings, we have the following story: "Kamitha (a woman) had seven sons, who all performed the office of high-priests: they ask of her, how she came to this honor? She answered, 'The rafters of my house never saw the hairs of my head'"--meaning that a respectable woman always kept her head covered (cited in Morris, The Gospel According to John, 577n14). Finally, the verse ends with a note of verisimilitude--the house was suffused with the odor of the perfume. Our minds wander to other biblical passages where houses are filled with fragrances, whether it is the temple in Jerusalem or the "aroma" of Christ which the Christians bear (cf. II Cor. 2:15). In any case, in v. 3 we have a showstopping and unexpected demonstration of affection by Mary. Why did she give so much? Certainly there was gratitude for Lazarus' life, but there is probably more. She, too, knows that Jesus' days are numbered, and she is pouring out her heart fully to him. It is as if she is making personal the words of the Psalmist:

"I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart.../ I bow down toward your hold temple and give thanks to your name/ for your steadfast love and your faithfulness..." (Ps. 138:1-2).

Love has its effects on people, and it did on Jesus. But, before we get Jesus' response, we must first deal with someone else--in the next essay.

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