Monday of Holy Week – Gospel
1Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him. 3Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5“Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” 6(He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
9When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, 11since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.
Commentary on John 12:1-11
Today’s Gospel serves as a lovely prelude to the Passion of Jesus. Jesus is back in the house of his friends, Mary, Martha and of course, Lazarus—so recently brought back from the dead. Perhaps these are Jesus’ last moments of companionship before the horrors that are to come.
True to character, Martha is the active hostess. Mary, the contemplative, brings in a jar of an expensive perfumed unguent and pours it all over the feet of Jesus, filling the house with its fragrance. It is a sign of great love and echoes what the ‘sinful’ woman in Luke’s Gospel also did. This account is probably the same as that described in Mark (14:3-9) and Matthew (26:6-13), but is distinct from the story of the woman in Luke (7:36-50).
As opposed to the “Beloved Disciple” in John’s Gospel (a nameless character), Judas, on the other hand, is a spiritually blind materialist, and sees what he regards as terrible waste. Hypocritically, he suggests the money would have been better spent helping the poor. John implicates Judas as “a thief”, more interested in getting the money for himself than sharing it with those in need.
Jesus sees an altogether different meaning in Mary’s action. He sees the tremendous love behind the action, and interprets it as a symbolical anointing for his burial. Dying as a common criminal, Jesus would normally not have been anointed (and, in fact, he was not anointed after his burial; when the women went to do the act on Sunday morning, Jesus was already risen). Jesus says in response:
You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.
This is not to be understood in any cynical way. The poor cannot be truly loved except in God and in Jesus:
Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me. (Matt 25:40)
Only those who truly love God (by whatever name they call him) are able truly to love the poor and all those in need—and vice versa. Also, in Jewish tradition, there was disagreement as to whether giving alms to the poor or burying the dead (which would include anointing) was the greater act of mercy. Those in favour of burial thought it an essential condition for sharing in the final resurrection.
Finally, we are told Lazarus’ own life was in danger as well as Jesus’. Lazarus is seen as the living sign of Jesus’ divine power, and so they both must be wiped out. Many of the Church’s martyrs died for the same reason. The word martyr means ‘witness’, witnessing to the truth, love and power of Christ.
Am I willing to be a martyr-witness for Christ, to stand beside him on the cross as he is mocked and insulted? This is the week for me to find the answer to that question.
