Six days before Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, home of Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Lazarus and his sisters hosted a dinner for him. Martha served and Lazarus was among those who joined him at the table. Then Mary took an extraordinary amount, almost three-quarters of a pound, of very expensive perfume made of pure nard. She anointed Jesus' feet with it, then wiped his feet dry with her hair. The house was filled with the aroma of the perfume.
In this scene, Mary anoints Jesus. With this expensive perfume, which had to be imported from the Himalayas, she is preparing her king for burial. Fred Craddock said that this scene includes "all the dark forebodings of death."
Before we start asking, "What does this mean for me?" Let me remind you that in John, words and actions have meaning that extend far beyond the moment they happened. Mary is performing an act of gratitude. Little does she know it, but she is anointing Jesus' body for burial.
Mary touches and anoints the feet of Jesus--a touch of faith. Her gesture of love shows us that an act of love can be extravagant. This means that God can use our words and actions in ways that go far beyond what we can imagine.
Father, we thank you that Jesus suffered for us. We thank you that he chose us and dying for us over his own comfort. We're thankful for the cross. We pray that we will have the faith and strength to walk in the way of the cross. And we know that by following in the steps of Jesus that we will find life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Here is the link to Sunday's sermon.
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