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| Frank Wesley |
Today is the day where Mary pours the costly perfumed oil on the feet of Jesus, drying them with her hair.
Judas, the miser that he was, lambasted her for the "waste", saying the money saved could have gone to the poor. That alabaster jar of ointment (about a pounds worth) could have brought three hundred denarii, which was about a year's wages. The average agricultural worker received one denarius for 12 hours work. One wonders how Mary had access to such a gift. Nard was imported from India, and rather rare.
Jesus rebukes Judas with an interesting statement: let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.
But the point is Mary alone among the Apostles seems to know what is coming and what it means. She takes this last celebration, with all gathered, to honor Jesus. By anointing Him with perfume, she is preparing Him for death and burial. And by letting her hair down, she is doing it in a very intimate and personal way. She offers Jesus her loving faith. .
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| Dr. He Qi |