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

 

 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 our present readings, Jesus has been preaching to His disciples about what are called the "end times," and prophesying the things to come at the end of the age (starting with Saturday's reading).  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught, "Now learn this parable from the fig tree:  When its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.  So you also, when you see these things happening, know that it is near -- at the doors!  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pas away till all these things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.  But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.  It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch.  Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming -- in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning -- lest, coming suddenly, he finds you sleeping.  And what I say to you, I say to all:  Watch!"

 

  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."  My study Bible tells us that the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins with the Passover meal on the evening of 15 Nisan (on the Jewish calendar) and lasts seven days (Exodus 12:12-20).  Together, these feasts commemorate Israel's liberation from slavery in Egypt.  The word 'Passover' refers to the angel of death "passing over" Hebrew homes when killing the firstborn of the Egyptians, for the Jews had put lamb's blood on their doorposts (Exodus 12:13).  In the Church, we understand that this Passover was fulfilled in Christ, whose blood was shed in order to free humankind from bondage to 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.  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."  My study Bible comments that Jesus accepts this honor from the woman in her newly found faith.  In particular, He accepts it was a sign of His coming burial.   But, according to St. John Chrysostom, my study Bible says, the disciples were not wrong in principle: mercy which is shown to the poor is more fitting than outward signs shown even to God (Matthew 25:40; James 1:27).  Nonetheless, they didn't understand that once the gift had been given, it was a greater mercy to accept it with love.  My study Bible quotes St. Chrysostom as follows:  "If anyone had asked Christ before this woman did this, He would not have approved it.  But after she had done it, He looks only to the gift itself.  For after the fragrant oil had been poured, what good was a rebuke?  Likewise, if you should see anyone providing a sacred vessel or ornament for the walls of the church, do not spoil his zeal.  But if beforehand he asks about it, command him to give instead to the poor."  One might wonder how Jesus would dine in the home of a leper; my study Bible explains that Simon the leper must have been healed by Jesus earlier, for lepers were forbidden to live in towns.  There are similar events told in all four Gospels (see also Matthew 26:6-14; Luke 7:36-38; John 12:1-18).  According to certain patristic opinion, these four accounts include the experience of three different women; some others teach that there were only two. 

 

 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.  My study Bible remarks here that Judas on his own initiative seeks to betray Jesus.  His motives have certainly been debated over time, but if we look at patristic opinion and liturgical hymns, we find that greed is given as his underlying motivation.  This is also what we're given in Scripture, for in John 12:4-6 it's stated that Judas was upset in particular about the "waste" of myrrh by the woman in the preceding story because he was a thief (see also 1 Timothy 6:10).  We remember this betrayal by Judas on Holy Wednesday, in which many liturgical hymns contrast his greed with the women's generosity in her anointing of Christ.  In the Orthodox Church, my study Bible adds, it's a tradition dating back to the first century (see the Didache) that Christians fast on most Wednesdays of the year in remembrance of the ways in which we, like Judas, may betray our Savior through our own sinfulness.  

 

 In the generosity of this woman, we find an expression of love, and also much more.  If we take a close look at the Gospels, one thing that really stands out about Jesus is His compassion, and His various -- even surprising -- expressions of compassion.  In fact, it seems like this quality is a major distinguishing quality about God which Jesus as incarnate Son teaches us through His life and ministry.  He has power and authority, He can make incredible miracles happen, He can heal and cast out demons, He has loyal followers and an astonishing ministry.  But maybe what truly distinguishes Jesus in His divine identity (and of course, as a human being also) is His compassion.  The Gospels distinctly tell us on various occasions that His inspiration for one or another miraculous occurrence is due to the fact that He is moved with compassion.  In St. Mark's Gospel alone, we're told that, because He was moved with compassion, Jesus healed a leper through touch (forbidden by law), healed a man possessed by a legion of demons, fed a multitude in the wilderness from a few loaves and fishes (twice -- once He fed 5,000 men, and another time it was 4,000 men, plus more women and chidren), and another time He healed a possessed young boy who could not be helped by His disciples (see Mark 1:41; 5:19; 6:34; 82; 9:22).  But in this story of the woman who anoints Christ with the expensive oil, we see something unusual happen, and that is that a human being, a woman, one described in other accounts as perhaps a notorious sinner, has compassion on Christ.  She shows compassion to God, in this sense, and Christ receives her generous compassion graciously, teaching us all a great lesson.  Perhaps we should see this story through that distinguishing lens of our capacity for compassion and the exercise of its expression in our lives when we have an opportunity to do so.  For her generosity to Him is a mirror of His own generosity to us, and so He rewards her richly.  It is perhaps with great poetic understanding that she, too, will be honored with a memorial wherever the gospel will be preached.  For, after all, she has fully expressed what Jesus preaches in His gospel.  In the parable of the sheep and the goats (the parable of Judgment), the one thing that distinguishes the sheep from the goats, as Jesus tells it, is that the sheep have made expressions of compassion (see Matthew 25:31-46).  In other words, it is such expressive action that will save us and place us with those righteous who go to eternal life with Christ, as He tells the story Himself.  Let us also mirror Christ in His compassion, and be what He calls us to be, just as does this woman whose memorial is here in the gospel message, with Him, as it is preached in the whole world.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, "You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."  Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him.  But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people."  

And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table.  But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste?  For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor."  But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman?  For she has done a good work for Me.  For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always.  For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My 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 one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?"  And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.  So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.

 

- Matthew 26:1–16 

 

In our recent readings, Jesus has been explaining the "end times" to His disciples.  His discourse concluded with three parables.  Yesterday we read His final parable, that of the Sheep and the Goats, a parable of the judgment of Christ to come at His return at the end of the age:   "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.  And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.  Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:  for 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.'  Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, '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?'  And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'  Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:  for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'  Then they also will answer Him, saying, '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?'  Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'  And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

 

  Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, "You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."  Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him.  But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people."   My study Bible notes here that Jesus is delivered up to His Passion by His accusers, but He goes willingly.  Unless this were so, His accusers could not have taken Him.  After Christ's Resurrection, many saints would imitate Christ by willingly going to martyrdom.  The willing martyrdom of Christian faithful in the face of pressure to renounce their faith continues today in countries around the world.

And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table.  But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste?  For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor."  But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman?  For she has done a good work for Me.  For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always.  For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My 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 comments that Jesus accepts this honor from the woman in her newly found faith.  He explicitly accepts it as a sign of His coming burial.  However, my study Bible notes that according to St. John Chrysostom, the disciples were not wrong in principle; mercy shown to the poor is more fitting than outward signs shown even to God (Matthew 25:40; James 1:27).  But what the disciples don't understand is that once the gift is given, the greater mercy is to accept it with love.  My study Bible quotes St. Chrysostom:  "If anyone had asked Christ before the woman did this, He would not have approved it.  But after she had done it, He looks only to the gift itself.  For after the fragrant oil had been poured, what good was a rebuke?  Likewise, if you should see anyone providing a sacred vessel or ornament for the walls of the church, do not spoil his zeal.  But if beforehand he asks about it, command him to give instead to the poor."  Regarding Simon the leper, he must have been healed by Jesus earlier, as lepers were not allowed to live in community.  Additionally, my study Bible says that because of her fervent faith, Jesus promises perpetual public memory of this woman.  Among patristic commentary there is no consensus as to her identity in relation to similar events recounted in Mark 14:3-9; Luke 7:36-38; John 12:1-8.  Some say that there were three different women in these four accounts, others that there were just two.

Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?"  And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.  So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.  My study Bible says that Judas on his own initiative seeks to betray Jesus.  It notes that his motives have been debated, but the Fathers and the liturgical hymns declare that greed was his primary motivation.  In John 12:4-6, we read that Judas was particularly upset about the "waste" of myrrh by the woman who anointed Christ, because he was a thief (see also 1 Timothy 6:10).  The phrase one of the twelve is not used so much to identify Judas, my study Bible says, as he was already known by Matthew's hearers, but it does emphasize the depth of this betrayal -- it was done by one of Christ's closest followers.  

In the anointing of Christ, we find another incident which is so significant that it is reported in all four Gospels.  Regardless of who we think this woman was or may be, the circumstances of the anointing remain the same.  She is motivated not only by faith, but her faith includes the element of deep love.  While my study Bible quotes St. Chrysostom himself in generally favoring gifts of generosity to the poor, it seems that we cannot leave out what Christ has acknowledged here.  In this case, He is the One who is "the poor," if you will.  He is the one who is needy, a poor person who faces death at the hands of the state power and the religious establishment.  She has provided the fragrant oil for His burial.  So therefore, "wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."  Effectively, her act is a prayerful one, deeply moving as it likely comes from the depth of her heart and soul and from her love of Christ.  Clearly the Gospel invites us to contrast the coldness of Judas with the deep love this woman shows for Jesus.  Additionally, it prompts us to think that we don't always know what is the proper gift to give, and prayerful giving is important.  We are to use discernment in our giving, and the love of God and our communion with Christ mean more than anonymous giving alone or works done without faith or this love.  It builds on the context of the parable of judgment, of the Sheep and the Goats, where acts of kindness and compassion are those that take priority, those that are motivated by responding to need.  Jesus' defense of this woman, and His praise, seems to teach us to remember that there are proper gifts in all circumstances; what is needful and proper at one time may be different at another. There are all kinds of ways to be poor.   Sometimes people need a kind word more than the money -- a word may give hope which is more valuable.  It's been reported that a simple respectful conversation with a homeless person does far more than a small sum of money.  It's important to bear in mind, also, that we don't know how many people our gift will benefit beyond immediate circumstances, especially in time.  It seems quite reasonable to assume that had this woman sold her ointment, and given to the poor as Judas suggests, the untold numbers of faithful would never have heard this story of gracious love for Christ, nor His defense of her gift.  It seems important to be guided by prayer in our giving, so that we do the best we can with what we have.  Let us remember that the love of Christ, and the compassion of the heart it builds in us, is always appropriate and needful.  For this is what we are asked to extend to the world, to neighbor -- and Christ in this story is the neighbor in need.

 

 

 

 

Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me

 After two days it was the Passover and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread.  And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death.  But the 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 Icariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to the.  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

 Over the past three readings, Jesus has given His discourse on the end times, and the destruction of the temple and in Jerusalem to come (see the earlier readings of Saturday and Monday for the earlier parts of the discourse).  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught the disciples, "Now learn this parable from the fig tree:  When its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.  So you also, when you see these things happening, know that it is near -- at the doors!  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.  But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.  It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch.  Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming -- in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning -- lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping.  And what I say to you, I say to all:  Watch!"

After two days it was the Passover and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread.  And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death.  But the said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar of the people."    The Feast of Unleavened Bread starts with the Passover meal.  That takes place on the evening of 15 Nisan in the Jewish calendar, and it lasts seven days (Exodus 12:12-20).  Taken together, both commemorate Israel's liberation from Egypt and slavery.  The word Passover refers to the action of the angel of death, who "passed over" Hebrew homes when killing the firstborn of the Egyptians, as the Jews had put lamb's blood on their doorposts (Exodus 12:13).  Unleavened bread remained as the reminder of the haste with which the Hebrews had to leave Egypt (Exodus 12:39).  My study bible says that this Passover was fulfilled in Christ, whose blood was shed to free all humanity from bondage to 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.  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."   My study bible comments that Jesus accepts this honor from the woman in her newly found faith; in particularly it is a sign, in His eyes, of His coming burial.  As Christ says, "She has done what she could.  She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial."   My study bible cites also the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, who writes that the disciples were not wrong in principle:  mercy shown to the poor is more fitting than outward signs shown even to God (Matthew 25:40; James 1:27).  But once the gift was given, the disciples did not understand that it was a greater mercy to accept it with love.    Quoting Chrysostom:  "If anyone had asked Christ before the woman did this, He would not have approved of it.  But after she had done it, He looks only to the gift itself.  For after the fragrant oil had been poured, what good was a rebuke?  Likewise, if you should see anyone provide a sacred vesel or ornament for the walls of the church, do not spoil his zeal.  But if beforehand he asks about it, command him to give instead to the poor."

Then Judas Icariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to the.  And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money.  So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.  My study bible says that Judas seeks on his own initiative to betray Jesus.  While Judas' motives have been debated throughout the history of the Church, tradition and also John's Gospel teach that greed was his underlying motive.  In John 12:4-6, we're told that it was Judas who was particularly upset about the "waste" of myrrh in the preceding story, because he was a thief (see also 1 Timothy 6:10).  In the Orthodox church, the liturgical hymns for Holy Wednesday contrast the greed of Judas with the woman's generous anointing of Christ.  In a tradition dating to the first century, my study bible notes, Christians historically fasted on most Wednesdays of the year in remembrance of the ways in which we, like Judas, betray Christ through our own sinfulness.

This woman's offering to Christ is made with genuine love; thus, it becomes accepted by Christ and praised for what it is.  It is a generous offering in sympathy and compassion, an expression of love for Christ who is on His way to His Passion.  In John's Gospel, this woman is named as Mary of Bethany.  It is also likely that there was another similar incident that occurred while Jesus was ministering elsewhere, as recorded by Luke (Luke 7:36-50).   The act of anointing of oil was an act of extreme honor.  But any way that we look at this expression of love, we see Christ's own honoring in return of such expression, and this is what seems to be the key point in this narrative.  Can we accuse Christ of being a great egotist, or self-centered that He would see it as such?  Not at all, for He tells us the truth:  He is being anointed for His burial.  Moreover, as St. Chrysostom points out, what does it mean to rebuke an act of great love?  This is where the heart of the Gospel is, at all times, in the acts of the person that are expressions of love.  This is what we understand from the story of the Good Samaritan, meant to teach us what it truly means to act as neighbor -- illustrating what it is to first love God and then to love neighbor as oneself as expression of that love (Luke 10:25-37).  Jesus goes over and over again to the heart and what it contains.  In the Beatitudes, He says, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8).  This goes both ways, as He says to the Pharisees, "Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things" (Matthew 12:34-35).  In this reading in Mark, Jesus tells the disciples that it's not what goes into the mouth but what comes out of it that defiles a man.  He says, "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within a defile a man."  There are many more passages we could cite in which Jesus preaches to us about the state of our hearts and its great importance and link to what we do, what we say, how we act -- that all things begin with the heart, and the state of the heart determines who we are.  But here, Jesus praises the heart of this woman, who understands what is happening and does a good work for One on His way to the Cross.  Let us consider in our own lives the acts of love that may go unrecognized and unvalued -- even criticized by those whose thinking is material-minded, who do not understand the language of love.  It is this language of love that is the language of God, the thread that keeps us on the right track of how we are connected through love to God and to neighbor.  Just in this recent reading Jesus praised the poor widow who could only give a tiny sum to the treasury, as He recognized her generosity as the product of her deep devotion to God -- a true gift of one of unmixed motives and pure in heart.  Let us remember Jesus' praise and understand that it is in this place, rooted to love, where we find our connection to God and to one another most truly.  Even a thief may hide behind a comment supposedly intended for purposes of charity.  If we look closely at the Gospels, John tells us that Jesus specifically rebuked Judas for his criticism of this woman (John 12:4-8) -- and here in Mark it is immediately afterward that Judas goes to the chief priests to betray Him.  There is good reason why Jesus always stresses the guarding of the heart, and our efforts at singleness of purpose.   Let us pay attention to the Lord's understanding!

Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, "You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."  Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him.  But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people."

And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table.  But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste?  For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor."  But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman?  For she has done a good work for Me.  For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always.  For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My 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 one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?"  And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.  So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.

- Matthew 26:1-16

 In yesterday's reading, Jesus gave His final summation in the discourse on the end times, and the time of His Second Coming:  "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.  And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.  Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:  for 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.'  Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, '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?'  And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuh as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'  Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:  for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'  Then they also will answer Him, saying, '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?'  Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'  And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, "You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."  Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him.  But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people."   My study bible comments that Jesus is delivered up to His Passion by His accusers, but He goes willingly.  Unless He had willed to go, His accusers could never have taken Him.  After His Resurrection, many saints imitated Christ by willingly going to martyrdom.

And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table.  But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste?  For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor."  But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman?  For she has done a good work for Me.  For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always.  For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My 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 says that Jesus accepts this honor from the woman in her newly found faith.  He particularly accepts it as a sign of His coming burial.  St. John Chrysostom comments that the disciples were not mistaken in principle:  a mercy shown to the poor is more fitting than outward signs shown even to God (25:40; James 1:27).   But they did not understand that once the gift had been given, it was a greater mercy to accept it with love.  He writes, "IF anyone had asked Christ before the woman did this, He would not have approved it.  But after she had done it, He looks only to the gift itself.  For after the fragrant oil had been poured, what good was a rebuke?  Likewise, if you should see anything providing a sacred vessel or ornament for the walls of the church, do not spoil his zeal.  But if beforehand he asks about it, command him to give instead to the poor."  Simon the leper must have been healed by Jesus earlier, as lepers were forbidden to live in towns.  Because of her faith, Jesus promises perpetual public memory of this woman.  My study bible notes that there is no consensus as to her identity in relation to accounts of similar events in Mark 14:3-9; Luke 7:36-38; and John 12:1-8.  Some patristic commentators say that there were three different women in these four accounts, others that there were only two.

Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?"  And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.  So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.  On his own initiative, Judas seeks to betray Jesus.  While his motives have been historically debated, both patristic writers and the liturgical hymns in the Eastern Church declare that greed was his primary motive, following John 12:4-6, in which John states that Judas was particularly upset about the "waste" of myrrh in the preceding story because he was a thief (see also 1 Timothy 6:10).   The phrase used here, one of the twelve, is not used in order to identify Judas (already known to Matthew's hearers) but rather to emphasize the depth of betrayal  -- that it was one of Christ's closest followers.

The extravagance of this anointing of Christ perhaps tells us a deeper story than meets the eye.  The suggestion that the money should have gone to the poor ignores the fact that Christ Himself is poor -- poor not only in the immediate sense in which we think about a lack of wealth or goods, but poor also in the sense that He is about to endure a terrible suffering and death, and that He will undergo misery and anguish.  As such this act of gratitude on the part of the woman can also be seen as an act of compassion.  Just as Jesus says, she has done a good work for Him, she has anointed His body for burial.  When we use our compassion, when we follow the heart of gratitude and love, our acts may work in ways that are even mysterious to us.  We could even consider the idea that this anointing by the woman is a kind of healing balm for Jesus, one that is in full acceptance of the Cross, and yet anointing with a kind of honor in preparation for His burial.  At least, this seems to be the way that Christ sees it.  Compassionate behavior works in this strange way, in that it stands out from the norm, the accepted way of understanding charity.  St. John Chrysostom says that the objection in favor of donation to the poor is not wrong in principle, but John's Gospel tells us it is made by Judas as he kept the money and stole from the treasury.  But what is noticeable in this story is not the objection, but Jesus' rebuke in front of the rest of the disciples.  Here that rebuke is general, but if the objection came specifically from Judas, the rebuke would be perceived in response to him personally.  As such, the failure to take Jesus' correction in a humble way is another sign of pride and lack of real discipleship.  This woman understands fully Jesus' love, but Judas fails to grasp it or understand it for himself.  Discipleship is more than following a Teacher, it is understanding the love of Christ and sharing in it.  Jesus will give a final command to the disciples at the Last Supper, to "love one another as I have loved you" (Jesus repeats this command three times in John's Gospel).  St. Paul writes of the fruits of the Spirit, which include love, "against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23).  This woman's act of compassion and gratitude is born of love, and therefore not subject to the usual ways by which we judge.  It is not efficient and not nominally given to the "right people" we define as poor.  But it is an act of love and true faith, and therefore challenges us to broaden our understanding of what our faith is and does.  Moreover, it is deeply personal, as are all the stories we read of Christ when He is "moved with compassion."  Compassion calls us out of ourselves and into a complete understanding of what it is to love another as ourselves.  Let us seek to love as He commands, with the extravagance of gratitude.