The details here are so important and they’re easily overlooked.

   John explicitly lets us know where this event takes place; in Bethany, at the home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha; and just in case you forgot, yes, the same Lazarus that Jesus raised from the dead. Reminded of this, Mary’s response makes complete sense. Overwhelmed by what Jesus has done for her, she responds with unimaginative appreciation. 

   This story has great tension between death and life. Lazarus was dead but now he’s alive. Jesus is alive but in just six days he will celebrate a final meal with his disciples before his death. How do we live in this tension between death and life? For Mary the only response she knows is one that seems completely absurd to Judas. We know this story so well we can easily miss the extravagance of Mary’s act. There is so much perfume that Jesus’ feet can’t completely absorb it, so Mary soaks it up with her hair. The aroma of the perfume is so great it fills the entire home. In my mind the smell of the perfume lingered in the home for days and it stayed on those who were there and they took it with them when they left. This may seem extravagant but when we read it in the context of Jesus bringing her brother back from the dead, Mary’s act makes complete sense. 

   So what to make of Judas’ response? When I read this passage I wonder why John had to be so hard on Judas? It seems as if Judas hasn’t had the same level of interaction with Jesus that Mary has. It’s not as if Mary doesn’t care for the poor but she feels compelled to worship Jesus with an overwhelming response. Maybe Judas is repulsed by her response because he doesn’t yet fully know who Jesus is. With that in mind, how do we know who Jesus is?

   The tension of death and life is not just from the raising of Lazarus from the dead and Jesus’ impending murder, the chief priests plot to kill Lazarus in the very next verse! There will be constant tension between life and death, not just then but also for us today. How do we continue to worship Jesus as Mary did? Especially in the face of death? 

   The challenge of this passage seems to surround the poor. Judas criticizes Mary for her act, a point that John is quick to tell us is not genuine, but Jesus has what seems to be an even more peculiar response. “You will always have the poor, but you wont always have me.” On a number of occasions Jesus references the difference between when Jesus is there to when Jesus is gone. He brings this up when talking about following old covenant laws and the need to celebrate when Jesus is with them. Does that mean they weren’t encouraged to care for the poor then but we are today? I think the focus here is on Mary’s response, she worships. She worships Jesus for who he is and what he has done. Do we worship like this? Do we need to have a loved one brought back from the dead to have a response as over the top as Mary’s? Or, do we experience the extravagance of God everyday, we just miss it more often that we notice it? 

   Before Jesus commands his disciples to serve others as he has served them (when he washes their feet) Mary lives out this command. Maundy comes from the Latin word mandatum which translates to command. It’s not as if they are excused from caring for the poor, on the contrary they are commanded to serve one another as Jesus has served them. When Jesus does this, a different disciple, Peter, stops Jesus from doing a servant’s job, to which Jesus responds, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Will we be like Peter and stop Jesus from doing something for us, or will we allow Jesus to do the greatest thing for us that the world has ever experienced, so that we can have a response like Mary?