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Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was,
whom Jesus had raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him
there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining
at table with him. Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made
from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried
them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the
oil. John 12:1–3
On Saturday evening, the day before Jesus’ triumphal entry into
Jerusalem, Jesus and His disciples enjoyed a meal at the home of
Martha, Mary, and Lazarus in Bethany, located about two miles from
Jerusalem. Lazarus—who had recently been raised from the dead after
being in the tomb for four days—was present at the meal. Martha
fulfilled her important role of loving service, while Mary once
again took center stage with her profound act of devotion, honoring
Jesus by anointing Him with a liter of costly perfume made from
pure nard, worth nearly a year’s wages.
The nard (spikenard) Mary used was an aromatic oil derived from the
roots of a plant native to the Himalayan regions of modern-day
Nepal and northern India. Due to the challenges of harvesting and
transporting it over a distance of 3,000 to 4,000 miles, nard was a
luxury item in Israel, reserved for the wealthy or used in sacred
rituals. Its fragrance, prized for its therapeutic properties, was
often used in perfumes, incense, and anointing oils. The lavish use
of this rare oil emphasizes the depth of Mary’s devotion.
Practically speaking, it might be easy to sympathize with Judas’
strong objection: “Why was this oil not sold for three hundred
days’ wages and given to the poor?” (John 12:5). Imagine how many
people could have been helped by that money! Yet Jesus’ affirmation
of Mary’s action is absolute: “Leave her alone. Let her keep this
for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but
you do not always have me” (John 12:7–8). Jesus’ words are not
dismissive of the poor; rather, they point to the highest duty we
must fulfill: the worship of God.
Mary’s act of love demonstrates that wholehearted worship is the
foundation of all other good works. Recall Jesus’ twofold
commandment: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your
heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind…You shall love
your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37, 39). Only when the first
and greatest commandment is fulfilled—love of God—can the second be
fully realized—love of neighbor. Charity that does not flow
directly out of our love for and worship of God becomes mere
philanthropy. When charity is rooted in worship of God, it becomes
an expression of and participation in divine love.
Mary got it right. She might not have fully understood what she was
doing, but her heart told her to honor Jesus as God, sparing
nothing in her effort. The symbolism cannot be missed. Her
anointing not only prophesied Jesus’ impending death and the
customary anointing of a body for burial but also pointed to His
identity as the Messiah—God’s anointed King and High Priest. The
quality and quantity of the oil symbolize our duty to generously
offer God our very best—everything we have and are—placing nothing
earthly above divine worship. Anointing His feet emphasizes Mary’s
humility, prefiguring the service that Jesus Himself would show by
washing His disciples’ feet. The fragrance filling the house shows
how authentic acts of devotion leave a lasting witness. It lingers,
symbolizing how acts of true devotion not only honor God but also
inspire others, spreading the “aroma of Christ” (2 Corinthians
2:15) wherever they are offered. In this, Mary teaches us that love
for God surpasses what the natural mind perceives as practical,
reminding us that the wisdom of wholehearted worship is understood
only through the gift of grace.
Reflect today on your sacred duty to imitate Mary’s loving act of
devotion. How do you express your deep love for God? Sometimes we
take God for granted, treating our relationship with Him as
one-sided, always asking for favors. Imitate Mary of Bethany by
choosing to honor and worship God for the single reason that He is
God and is worthy of all our love. If you can get worship right, as
Mary did, all else will flow from that interior disposition of
wholehearted devotion, enabling you to fulfill every other duty God
has entrusted to you.
My Lord and God, You are the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior
of the World. I love and adore You with all my soul. Draw me into
deep worship of You, making it my first and greatest priority, so
that from that act of charity, all good things will flow. Jesus, I
trust in You.
Image - Nheyob, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
GFreihalter, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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