You have the poor with you always

After two days it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by trickery and put him to death. But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar of the people."

And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on his head. But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, "Why was this fragrant oil wasted? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor." And they criticized her sharply. But Jesus said, "Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for me. For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but me you do not have always. She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint my body for burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."

Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray him.

- Mark 14:1-11

In today's reading, Mark's gospel takes us toward Passover Week. We understand Jesus' predictions that have been given for the future of Jerusalem and about the end of the age in the past three readings (see Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday readings and commentaries). Prior to those readings, open conflict was certain with the authorities, and Jesus has understood what they are going to do.

After two days it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by trickery and put him to death. But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar of the people." The Feast of Unleavened Bread begins with the Passover meal and lasts seven days. (See Exodus 12:12-20.) Both feasts commemorate Israel's liberation from Egypt. The word "Passover" reflects the angel of death's "passing over" Hebrew homes while the firstborn of Egyptians were killed (Exodus 12:13). Unleavened bread as part of the feast serves to this day as a reminder of the haste with which the Hebrews left Egypt, with no time to leaven the bread. My study bible notes that "unleavened bread" also symbolizes a purity of holiness, unmixed with evil. We understand Jesus' words to "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod" in this context (see reading of Mark 8:11-26). My study bible notes, "Passover prefigures the new deliverance of humanity by Christ from the power of sin and death."

And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on his head. I do not know who Simon the Leper is, and scholarly discussion includes many theories. I find it notable that it is included in our gospel that Jesus is seated at table with a leper, who would be someone deemed unclean and not fit to associate with the society in general, unless healed and certified as such by a temple authority. So, from the beginning of this story, we have an assumption of Jesus' custom to ignore the laws of exclusion of his time, as we know that he was elsewhere criticized for sitting at table with sinners and tax collectors. So, we are already in a setting of something "outside" custom and boundaries. And then another strangely "outside" act occurs, outside of decorum and what others consider proper conduct. The act of anointing with precious aromatic oil from an alabaster flask is not strange but a luxurious and costly honor, but under the circumstances she receives a scathing reception. But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, "Why was this fragrant oil wasted? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor." And they criticized her sharply. They are not the wealthy who live for show and luxurious living such as those who dwell in Herod's palace.

But Jesus said, "Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for me. For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but me you do not have always. She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint my body for burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her." My study bible notes: "Knowledge of religious things is good, but devotion to Christ is more important. Here a woman who knows less about religion than her critics expresses her deep love and devotion to Christ, devotion he accepts with gratitude. Those who were indignant are the disciples themselves, according to Matt. 26:8, while John 12:4,5 specifies Judas Iscariot. ... Often we do not fully understand the implications of what we do for Christ. This woman was expressing her love for Jesus; she may or may not have known that she was anointing the body of Jesus for burial." What I find fascinating about this reading is its strangely "outside" character. Jesus is seated at table with a leper. This strange scene comes just as we are told that it is certain the chief priests and scribes are plotting to take him "by trickery and put him to death." It is like an eerie scene in which a deadly threatening secret is known, deathly danger is present, and yet life continues with a surreal sense of normalcy amidst strange, out-of-normal-bounds acts -- such as this woman who anoints Christ with the expensive bottle of perfumed oil. The disciples - or perhaps Judas Iscariot alone - live within the rules of their concern for the poor. This is outside of those rules and practice, and she is chastised. But Jesus finds and seeks a deeper truth: it is her love and devotion he sees. And we are reminded of something which will come to light after Christ's death and resurrection, and find its beautiful expression in the epistles of St. Paul. In the Body of Christ, there are many members. It is her devoted expression of love - regardless of form, of rules, of what the rest of the disciples do - that Jesus sees. And this is what we remember. It is such an important lesson that he tells us, "Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her." And we must remember this. Furthermore, Jesus tells us that she is anointing his body for burial, doing him a great honor. As my study bible notes, we do not know what an act of love and devotion may imply. After Pentecost, new forms of holiness multiply and continue today to multiply. We must never forget this lesson about the boundaries of the Body of Christ, and that holiness is ever-surprising, creative, ultra-inventive in its nature. And, most importantly, that it is love that characterizes its highest expressions. Christ reads that love, and loves us in return, no matter what the circumstances.

Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray him. Taken in this context, we may perhaps see Judas' actions in a particular light. His master has embraced the strange expression - even of luxury and high honor - outside the bounds of "the rules" that Judas is used to. If we assume that Judas is, indeed, the keeper of the purse, the one whose scathing criticism was most noted as reported by the gospel of John, then we may look at this betrayal in a particular light. Jesus has embraced this act of love and devotion which is criticized as "outside" of the rules of almsgiving to the poor. This is an expression of love outside of the regulations of the group, the commonly understood use of money. And Judas, in this interpretation, simply cannot live with this notion of holiness, of mercy, of living with the understanding and language of love and devotion. Neither can he, in this context, live with an open rebuke from Jesus when he reminds the woman of what she is wasting according to the "rules" of practice. In this context, we must come to see the surprising forms of holiness and the devotion within the Body of Christ that our love can take. Who is it who would silence a loving act? Who would dictate what forms love and devotion take? Only the one who speaks the language of love is able to accept this great gift, and to tell us, without arrogance, of its value. This is the one, also, whose rebuke is an act of love.

Our love for Christ may move us to make all kinds of expressions of devotion. Perhaps you choose to put up a picture or an icon in your home. Perhaps you choose to make a donation to a charity, to feed others, to save other people from hardship or destruction, to heal animals -- in the name of the One who came to us "for the life of the world." Perhaps your devotion may take the form of volunteer work, your time, attendance at services, or a home devotion. Perhaps it is a kind word or prayer. The infinite forms of love and devotion all find a place in the heart of Christ. As we know his words to be true, "the poor we always have with us" and we continue to honor Christ's devotion to the poor, we remember, also, that this devotion takes many forms. Jesus is about to be cruelly mistreated, to suffer injustice and torture and death. Surely we can number him among the poor, and her anointing as a prefiguring salve for his wounds, her love an antidote to what he will experience as he is rejected and betrayed. My study bible is right, we never know the implications of an act of love and devotion. Do not let "the rules" stop you from making what your heart teaches you is yours to do in love, nor the expansion of what forms that love and devotion to Christ may take in you, and the help to the poor it truly is. Remember the words are true, that "the poor we have with us always." This is a reminder that our kindnesses are always needed, our love may always take shape and form in many ways we have around us. But don't let the "rules" of "good works" stop you from making that love and devotion that calls you forward, or the critics who will always find fault without the love in their hearts to know it in others. Scathing comments and penurious behavior with money can take many forms, but love is always expansive. Christ's acts of love always take this expansive character, and here in today's reading, he sees the same in hers, that "she has done what she could." Christianity, as taught by Jesus, is not a religion of impersonal measurements and social adjustment and rules; it is at its heart, deeply personal and, ultimately, one of love - and there is room for every expression of that love. To "love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself" is the whole of the commandments. Our devotion to Christ is personal, it must inspire acts of love and expand our understanding and embrace of what that is, and the many forms it can take.