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 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 

 

On Saturday we read that many of those who had come to Mary from Jerusalem (to accompany her in mourning Lazarus), 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.   My study Bible explains that, because Jesus is the Lamb of God (John 1:29), the 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 humankind 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.  There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at table with Him.   This Passover is the third one mentioned in John's Gospel (see also John 2:13; 6:4).  It is also the setting for the final week of Christ's earthly ministry, which will be narrated in careful detail.  My study Bible adds that Jesus had already been glorified through His signs and words; now it remained for Him to be glorified through His death and Resurrection.  Here, Jesus returns to Bethany, a short way from Jerusalem, and joins His friends Martha, Mary, and Lazarus for a supper.

 

 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 points out that while the other disciples said the same thing that Judas said, they did so with very different motives (see also Matthew 26:6-13).  Judas spoke from greed, my study Bible says, while the others spoke from the virtue of charity.   It remarks upon this idea 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); and Christ allowed Judas to partake at the table of the Mystical Supper (John 13:26).  But Judas could never overcome his greed.

Jesus tells the disciples, "For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always."  Perhaps it's easiest to read this statement as one that specifies that Jesus is special, different, a unique case.  But, on the contrary, it seems that an argument can be easily made for the exception of a general rule of compassion or charity in terms of whatever urgent need we might see in front of ourselves.  Mary's anointing of Christ is in itself an act of compassion -- and also one of love.  We know that Jesus loves Mary and her siblings.  The shortest verse in the Bible is an expression of this love:  "Jesus wept" (John 11:35).  The sympathy between Himself and Mary, Martha, and Lazarus is one we understand from the Gospel passages that teach us how much He loved them.  Mary's anointing is a return of that love, an expression of love and also veneration for the Lord.  Jesus returns this compassion to her by expressing the goodness of her act, her good intention, to the rest of the disciples.  There He notes, "Me you do not have always."  He points to the deep and urgent need that is right in front of them, that perhaps the disciples do not want to face:  that she does this because she accepts what they cannot, and she is preparing Christ for His burial, for what is to come in Jerusalem.   But this exceptional statement, it seems to me, is preparing us for the deep exceptions to the "rules" that will come in our own lives, and that is especially true in terms of how we share our compassion with others.  Compassion is so key to the Gospels and to the ministry of Christ.  In His parable of Judgment, the parable of the sheep and the goats, it is really the expression of compassion, or its omission, that is the key to Christ's judgment (Matthew 25:31-46).  If we take a close look at the parable, we note that Jesus does not say general "rules" about judgment, but gets down to very specific actions and details.  He says,  "I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;  I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me."  And the people in return, ask specifically about such incidents, "Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?"  Those who failed to do so ask similarly, "Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?"  What this teaches us about acts of compassion or charity is that to see what is in front of us, which situation or circumstance arises that needs our help in some sense is to do what He wishes of us.  To fail to see what is in front of us is a failure to be what He calls us to be.  It's all very well to understand ethics, to think in general terms about charity and love and compassion; but it's meaningless if that does not translate to the capacity to discern such need when it doesn't fit a  prescription or pattern or theory or ideology.  Our charity means nothing if it does not touch the heart.  Judas' heart is somewhere else, although he expresses nominally an urgency toward compassion and charity.  If we are waiting only to see someone important or significant (like Christ) who needs our help, we are failing in our hearts to know compassion and to understand charity.   After all, who could equal the powerful position of Christ?  And yet, here He is speaking of Himself as one in need.   We must ask ourselves, who are "the poor" in each circumstance?  What do the "poor" look like?  Are the "poor" only those poor in a monetary sense?  For in the present scenario in the Gospel, Jesus is the poor, the one in need of this anointing for His burial.  So it stands to reason for us to extrapolate from this teaching that one in need of our help, one for whom our compassion is needed at any moment, might be someone we do not expect, whose profile does not fit our "picture" of one who needs or deserves our charity.  And from there, we must learn to assume that we are to keep our eyes open, to continually be learning this language of compassion of the heart, and to discern where God may be calling us to something we can't yet see.  So, let us continue this outsized, extravagant, and noteworthy action of grace on the part of Mary of Bethany.  Elsewhere, in His admonition, Christ extends praise indeed, saying, "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" (Matthew 26:13).  Let us learn to see what is in front of us, the language of God in the heart asking us for discernment beyond a rule.