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 resurrection of Lazarus from death, many of those from Jerusalem who had come to Mary in her mourning, 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 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.   The events in the Gospel now head toward the final Passover of Christ's earthly life, and the events that will come in what we commemorate as Holy Week.  My study Bible comments that because Jesus is the Lamb of God (John 1:29), he connection between the Passover, when lambs were slaughtered to save the Jews from death (Exodus 12:1-13), and the death of Jesus, which saves mankind from sin and death, is continually emphasized.  

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 Passover is the third mentioned in John's Gospel (see also John 2:13, 6:4).  As mentioned above, it is the setting for the final week of Christ's earthly ministry, which John will narrate in careful detail.  My study Bible comments that Jesus had already been glorified through His signs and words, but it remained 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.   Once again, we observe Martha, the sister who is noted in the Gospels for her practices of hospitality.

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 notes that the other disciples said the same thing that Judas did, but with a very different motivation (see also Matthew 26:6-13).  Judas, it says, spoke from greed, while the others spoke from the virtue of charity.  Moreover, it adds, that Jesus put a thief in charge of the money shows that by every means He attempted to save Judas:  He fulfilled Judas' lust for money; He allowed Judas to exercise apostolic authority (John 6:11; see also Mark 6:7); He washed Judas' feet with the other disciples (John 13:5); and He allowed him to partake at the table of the Mystical Supper (John 13:26).  Yet, my study Bible says, Judas could never overcome his greed.

It's very interesting that my study Bible highlights how Christ has tried to, in some sense, put Judas' tendency toward greed to good use.  That is, in an effort to save Judas, He has given Judas opportunities to transform the way that his tendency toward greed operates within himself, to transform this desire or passion to good use.  If we wish to use a different example, consider a person who is of a quick temper.  We can take a look at the two brothers, James and John Zebedee, and the hints the Gospels make in terms of their own quickness of temper and fiery tongues.  It is Jesus who gives them the names, Sons of Thunder (Mark 3:17), to put their capacities to good use.  When the disciples observed others, not of their group, who were casting out demons in Jesus' name, it is James and John who asked, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?"  Jesus turned to them with a rebuke:  "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of" (Luke 9:54-55).  Eventually James would be the first among the Twelve to be martyred (Acts 12:1-2).  John is called "the beloved disciple," and to him is attributed this Gospel, three Epistles, and the Revelation.   Therefore, we have brilliant examples of what we might call a tendency to a particular passion which has been put in service to God, transformed through faith and grace.  My study Bible says of Judas that Christ sought to save him by putting to use his particular tendency to greed by allowing him to be in charge of the treasury as a way to positively assuage and put to good use that tendency; moreover He allowed Judas to exercise apostolic authority; He washed Judas' feet with the other disciples; and He allowed him to partake at the table of the Mystical Supper.  As we shall see, it is Judas' response to the bread dipped by Christ that will seal his decision to betray Jesus (John 13:26-27), and perhaps this also gives us a hint about human nature and our interaction with the holy, with the Lord.  We will either accept the road to repentance and respond positively to a form of grace, or we will turn away in the opposite direction.  In one way, we take the path toward Christ, in the other way we take the path in the opposite direction.  In terms of repentance, everything seems to be a matter of degree, until one reaches a point of no return, where repentance becomes impossible for lack of will, through a hardness of heart only God can know about us.  The same is true of our capacity for repentance, only God can know where we have potential to turn back toward faith.  But what strikes me as most important is this significant observation about Judas and his opportunities for change.  Perhaps it is also pride that gets in his way, as Jesus publicly rebukes them all, but it is Judas who spoke up to condemn Mary's act of love for Christ.  There are many things we can discern from today's reading, such as the capacity for hypocrisy and how it may work in underhanded ways to pose as charitable, especially in chastising others.  We need also observe that it can be said about Mary's act of love (which amounts also to tacit acceptance of Christ's coming death), that, like all the fruit of the Spirit which includes love, "against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23).  For now let us consider the potentials of each one, even in our worst tendencies, to be redeemed, transformed, saved -- and the unfortunate consequence of the failure to accept all means of salvation offered.  Let us remember it is Christ who stands up for Mary and her act of love, when others chastise -- and the loudest with the false face that still nurtures greed and betrayal.