Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always

 And the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves.  Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, "What do you think -- that He will not come to the feast?"  Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might seize Him.

Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead.  There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him.  Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair.  And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.  But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said, "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?  This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.  But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.  For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always." 

- John 11:55-12:8

Yesterday we read that after the raising of Lazarus (see the readings from Thursday and Friday) many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.  But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did.  Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall we do?  For this Man works many signs.  If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."  And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish."  Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.  Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death.  Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples.

 And the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves.  Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, "What do you think -- that He will not come to the feast?"  Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might seize Him.  My study bible tells us that because Jesus is the Lamb of God (1:29), John's Gospel continually emphasizes the connection between Christ's death and the Passover.  At the Passover, lambs were slaughtered to save the Jews from death (Exodus 12:1-13).  Christ's death saves mankind from sin and death.

Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead.  This is the third Passover mentioned in John's Gospel (after 2:13; 6:4).  It is the setting for the final week of Jesus' earthly life and ministry.  John will narrate it in careful detail.  My study bible says that at this point Jesus has already been glorified through His signs and words.  Now it remains for Him to be glorified through His Death and Resurrection.

There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him.  Think of this setting, with one sitting at the table who had previously been dead!  The gratitude of Mary for this gift is something that is striking to think of, and likely plays a role in what follows.

Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair.  And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.  But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said, "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?  This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.  But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.  For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always."  My study bible comments that the other disciples said the same thing that Judas said here, but with a very different motive (see Matthew 26:6-13).  Judas spoke from greed, but the others spoke from the virtue of charity.  A note adds here that the fact that Jesus pt a thief in charge of the money shows that by every means He attempted to save Judas:  He fulfilled Judas' lust for money; He allows him to exercise apostolic authority (6:11; see also Mark 6:7).  he washed Judas' feet with the other disciples (13:5); and He allowed him to partake at the table of the Mystical Supper (13:26).  Yet Judas could never overcome his greed.

It's quite a scene to consider, all sitting at table together with one who had literally been dead and was raised by Christ.  It is an image of the communion of saints, gathered together with all of the apostles, with Mary and Martha, and with Lazarus.  It teaches us that all live to Him, and is a literal illustration that He is the Bread of Life (6:35).  There is also a clear eucharistic significance in this supper at which all those who live to Him are gathered, including one formerly dead.  It is a gathering of those who love Him, as is clearly seen in the devotion of Mary.  Mary is an interesting figure, as she takes devotion to Christ one step further than what we have seen.  We have seen the disciples traveling with Him, learning from Him, going through all things to be shaped into the apostles He desires for Himself.  But Mary's act is one of pure love, pure-heartedness.  Christ calls it His anointing before burial, pronouncing it a pure gift.   "She has kept this for the day of My burial," He tells them, and there can be no doubt that what He says is true.  Such is the connection of love, that she alone really perceives what is going to happen.  It is another sense in which this supper is a gathering of the communion of saints, for she anoints Christ death which she knows is coming, even at this gathering of the living and one who has been raised from the dead.  What we infer from this reading is that the communion is made up of love, that love is the substance of what is at work here, unifying all in the life of Christ.  Certainly this is the pure expression of Mary, the beautiful and costly fragrance counteracting the corruption of death, and reminding us of the prayers of the saints rising to heaven in fragrance.  John the Evangelist is given a vision of such, rising from an angel's hand, recorded in the Revelation (Revelation 8:4).  Mary's act of love fills this scene with an unsurpassable kind of beauty.  Jesus affirms this when He tells the disciples to let her alone.  The one who truly cannot understand this is Judas, blighted as he is (according to John) with his own greed.  He cannot see the value of the love she expresses.  It is one more act in the Gospel which separates the faithful from the unfaithful, from those who cannot accept what He teaches.  But this time, the act which separates faithful from unfaithful is from the heart of one who loves Him purely, a woman.  And that is most important too, because in this scene of the living and the dead, gathered in love of Christ is included both women and men, and in particular this woman.  In all the scenes of Mary, her personality is contrasted with Martha.  She does not do the active serving and hospitality in the household, a traditional woman's role.  In Luke's Gospel, she remains at His feet, listening to His word, and learning, with the other disciples, while her sister serves (Luke 10:38-42).  She does nothing to "justify" or "earn" her worthiness through a nominal works, and so she is also an illustration of pure grace.  Indeed, the base for all unguents, perfumes, and medicines in the ancient world was a very pure kind of olive oil (particularly so for a very costly perfume oil like this one).  In the Greek, the words for mercy and for olive oil sound alike; therefore there has always been a symbolic connection between the oil of anointing, of chrismation, of healing, with grace, with mercy.  Mary's expression of love is therefore seen with the materialistic eyes of Judas as superfluous, unnecessary, wasteful.  But in Christ's eyes it is something quite different, a genuine act of mercy and love, made with the the most priceless of motives.  Hers is the grace that seals all things together where those who live to Christ are gathered.  May we always remember His words about her, and sense the beauty in her act of love.