Generosity – John 12:1-8

A text – John 12:1-8

12 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. ² There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him. ³ Mary 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. ⁴ But 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.) ⁷ Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. ⁸ You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

A reflection:

Each person in this favorite household of Jesus is accounted for – Martha is serving (of course), Lazarus, recently raised by Jesus from being four days dead, is relaxing, reclining at the table with him. Both Martha and Lazarus are doing good work of discipleship – serving and reclining/listening to Jesus. And then Mary carries in one pound of nard perfume (my perfume comes in 3.5 oz bottles – what would a 16-oz bottle of perfume look like?) and pours it out, probably all of it, and wipes up the excess with her hair. The house is instantly filled with the abundant fragrance. Some scholars harken back to a few chapters earlier when Martha cautions Jesus about opening Lazarus’s tomb because of the stench in there. This odor is better but equally noticeable. Jesus points out that nard is often used to counteract the stench of death when preparing corpses for burial. Death is imminent for Jesus, and here is Mary’s incredibly generous gesture which Jesus accepts as an offering to prepare him for his coming death. Being amazingly generous is also the work of a disciple. Mary is not stingy; she is devotedly giving. She would give even more if she could.

Sometimes this text is used to say that one can forget about the poor, since we will always have them with us. That is probably not what Jesus means, since his entire ministry was located in and among those whom the cream of society ignores or keeps away. So what might he mean by his remark? I’m pretty sure he wanted to stop anyone from criticizing Mary’s generosity. He wanted to appreciate what she had done for him and wanted others to see her as a devoted disciple doing the generous thing. He had spent three years teaching what a generous heavenly Father we have, and here is Mary, emulating that generosity. This story presents an act of giving freely, and an act of receiving gratefully.

We might look at this exchange and think for a moment about our habits of generosity. To whom are we generous?   Why?  To whom are we stingy? Why? From whom have we received deep generosity? Why?

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for being generous with us, your erring children. Help us to be as generous with those who need it from us, no matter what. Amen.