Remember Her

Bread and Wine Reading: "Remember Her", Ernesto Cardenal

Scripture Reading: John 12: 1-11
Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, ‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?’ (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.) Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.’ When 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. So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.

Mary took a pound of perfume and broke the seal. Once the seal was broken, you had to use the whole thing. It wouldn’t keep. It would be wasted. So, in the eyes of those in that room, it was not the using, but the breaking of the seal. She got it—no longer should abundance be hoarded and hidden away. It should be lavishly poured on the world.

It is interesting to think about some of the language that is used here—Mary took, poured, wiped. We have heard those words many times—Jesus took the bread, poured out the wine, and wiped the feet of the disciples, and through these common gestures and such common touch, we are shown what true love is. The act becomes sacramental. Mary enters Jesus’ life and he becomes part of her. Her life becomes a sacrament that shows Jesus’ love to the world. And the whole world is now forever filled with the fragrance of that perfume.

Where do we find ourselves in this story? Jesus has begun the walk to the cross. Are we standing on the sidelines watching the events unfold as if it is some sort of prepared video stream? Are we holding back those things we have because the cost is just too great? Or are we waiting to see what the person next to us will do? Each of us is called to take, to pour, and to wipe, to spread the abundance of Christ to the world so that it lingers long after we are through. Each of us is called to become a living sacrament of Christ’s love. Each of us is called to walk with Christ to the cross. Each of us is called to embody that close a relationship with the living Christ. Each of us is called to see, to hear, to smell, to touch, to feel, to laugh, and to love with the depth and passion of Christ. Because, you see, that is the only way to experience that lingering fragrance that is still in the air.

Discussion Questions:
1.) What abundance in your own life do you need to pour out for others?
2.) What images do you have of the relationship with Christ that you are called to embody?
3.) Where are you on the road to the cross right now?

So go forth toward the Cross and breathe in the sweet perfume!

Grace and Peace,

Shelli