Something special again...
| Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill Him. "But not during the Feast," they said, "or the people may riot." While He was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as 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. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, "Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor." And they rebuked her harshly. "Leave her alone," said Jesus. "Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to Me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have Me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on My body beforehand to prepare for My burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her." (Mark14:1-9) |
Just before Jesus talked about the "end-times" in Mark 13, we had the account of the woman who brought her two coins - all she had to live on - to the temple. She did this against the backdrop of all the opposition Jesus had been experiencing. Now, after chapter 13, we have the leaders planning to kill Jesus and a woman who does something beautiful for Him.
I think these two "bookends" of generosity and faithfulness are guides to living our lives in the chaos and confusion of the end times and we would do well to learn from both women.
Let's look at the second woman more closely. Mark does not name her, and I think this is actually very helpful, we need to see the act and not the personality, we need to recognise her character without being distracted by her story.
The gift was lavish: a sealed alabaster jar of perfume, which would have had to be broken open and the contents poured out lovingly over Jesus. The room would have been filled with the aroma of the perfume. Poured into His hair and beard as it was, I am sure the scent would have lingered even when they were whipping Him and when He was hanging on the cross in the harsh midday sun. The memory of this loving and worshipful act must have been of great comfort to Jesus in His darkest hour.
People don't always understand acts of beauty. These acts speak a language that defies logic and reason. The disciples didn't get it and this moment triggered Judas to betray Jesus, thus making it possible for the Pharisees to kill Jesus during the festival. Beauty confounds and disarms people, but sadly, some people will destroy what they cannot control or understand.
When our student congregation in Grahamstown jumped from 25 to over 300, many credited my leadership and organisation, but I think the real secret to the growth was the love exhibited by Jeanette, the wife of the senior minister, who would drop off coconut ice or pizza at the dorm rooms or communes of the students on their birthdays. She would remember which students were diabetic and what their favourite treat was. It made them feel loved and cared for.
Jeanette had a magnet on her fridge - "Practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty."
That sounds like a good challenge for today!
