In Memory Of Her

14 Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. ² “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.”

³ While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.
⁴ Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? ⁵ It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.
⁶ “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ⁷ The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want.  But you will not always have me. ⁸ She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.  ⁹ Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
¹⁰ Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them.  ¹¹ They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

The "Little Apocalypse" is followed by a quick transition back to the simpler narrative focused on Jesus' journey to the cross.  The time and setting are established as two days from Passover.  The chief priests and the teachers of the law, who should be involving themselves in religious preparation for this holy time are instead contemplating the arrest and killing of Jesus (which clearly is breaking one of the ten commandments).  The Passover is the time for celebrating when God spared the first born sons of Israel, and now the teachers of the law are planning the death of a first born son of Israel. The sham of their authority is revealed by their decision to wait until after the festival to avoid any unpleasantries with the populace.  And yet, later we will find that Jesus is orchestrating the timeline of events and even their wish to wait until after the festival is thwarted.

Outside of Jerusalem, Jesus reclines at the table.  This accurately reflects the way that meals were eaten in the day.  Rather than tall tables and chairs, meals were taken at low tables from the floor.  Not surprisingly, none of the "respectable" folks are hosting Jesus but instead a man we hear of only here. Simon the Leper.  It reflects a sad tendency of humanity through time of reducing people to their illness.  And this pernicious illness would have disqualified Simon from much of ordinary  life.  Even if he had been healed or gotten better, he would always be Simon the Leper and warily scanned at each meeting to see if the illness had begun to return.  The people who would gather at his table were almost certainly those who had no place else to go.

The meal is interrupted by a woman with a jar.  She would in most settings have been an unwelcome guest.  A woman had no status in society and a woman who travelled by herself would have been viewed with a powerful suspicion.  Her touch would render any man potentially unclean.

Perhaps social conventions were not as powerful in the home of Simon the Leper.  Perhaps that is why Jesus chose to take his meal there.  But this unnamed woman is still able to offend the sensibilities of those who are gathered.  She has brought with her an alabaster vase filled with expensive perfume that she pours on Jesus feet.

A little historical context is valuable here.  The vase was likely the funeral perfume that was poured on a body to keep its odor down in an age prior to embalming.  Its expense made it prohibitive for many to own.  It would have cost the equivalent of a year's wages.  To own such a jar was to provide funeral insurance for yourself.  It meant your family would not have additional expenses at your burial.

That the woman pours it on Jesus' feet seems to make two important points.  First, Jesus is on his way to his death.  This woman is preparing Jesus for his burial.  The disciples are unable to comprehend Jesus' prediction of his death, but this woman understands Jesus' path.  More importantly, this woman pours her security at Jesus' feet as if she no longer needs it.  It is as if that in the presence of Jesus she is no longer afraid of death.

Some at the dinner are aghast at her action.  Wouldn't a better tribute to Jesus have been to sell the perfume and use the money to feed the poor.  How they feel qualified to judge someone else for a gift they have made rather than to judge themselves for gifts they have not given is an open question.  Her action is reminiscent of that of the widow at the temple, whose gift Jesus does not criticize for being misdirected.  Rather, he understands that the value is in the act of giving.

Jesus is clear in his condemnation.  The poor will always be with you, he says.  This has been taken by some as an excuse not to assist those in need.  What good can one really do, if the poor are always there.  But the passage seems to say something entirely different.  Jesus tells the disciples that they are responsible for the good they can do in each moment.  The woman is praised for doing the right action at the right time.  But, when the poor are in front of you, help them. 

This woman's act of faithfulness will be preached in her memory, Jesus tells them.  She will be remembered, even though her name is not.  This passage points to those nameless saints who have gone before us who with acts of devotion made it possible for us to hear and believe in Jesus.

But, the mood turns dark when another gift is made.  Judas disappears into the dark to betray Jesus.  Unlike the woman, his name is not forgotten, but his action is not one of love and adoration.  His gift is not for Jesus, it is Jesus he offers.  While Jesus offers life, the religious leaders offer money.  Judas was probably one of the voices counseling against waste and now he is insuring himself as he thinks best against the future even as he betrays God's future.