The crowd packed the room. They were all in town for the celebration that was just a couple of days away. All of the men of course gathered in the living room talking about current affairs, politics, and religion. Oh, yes, religion . . . always. The discussion usually was quite lively. In fact, to this group there was no separation of church and state. Religion and national politics always meshed, not just in conversation but also in everyday life.

She slipped into the room unnoticed at first, but then as she made her way into the inner circle, everyone began to notice. This was not the first time she had crashed the party. She seemed always to want to challenge social mores and mingle with the guys – especially when He was in the house. Oh how she loved Him. Not like most women love men, hers was not an attraction that caused her to want to know Him in an intimate physical sense. It went much deeper than that. She loved Him not for his man-ness, but for his God-ness.

Then, she did something very strange. She was carrying with her an intricately crafted box made from alabaster. She was so focused in Him she could not open the box properly. She was nervous, scared, and self-conscious. Finally, in desperation she tore the box open and out came the fragrant and expensive ointment. Then she poured the ointment on top of His head. It was sweetly pungent and the fragrance filled the room. The ointment ran down His head, through His beard, eventually stopping in a puddle around His feet.

Everyone was thinking SOMETHING about what they had seen. The thoughts ranged from bewilderment to contempt. How could she do such a thing? She claims to love Him, but shenanigans like this will only bring scandal to His ministry and thwart the progress He had made over the last three years. What was she, a woman, doing in the room with all the men? Why wasn’t she in the kitchen helping her poor sister with the catering? Finally, Judas spoke up and verbalized what he was thinking. “What a waste! That ointment could have brought us a full year’s salary on the market.”

He hushed them all. He had heard the whispers, and certainly heard Judas’ ridiculous tirade. He approved of her actions, but more importantly, He validated her as a person. He directly answered Judas’ objection. The need of the hour was not the ministry but the One for whom they ministered. It was a time for “being” rather than doing.

Where Are You in the Story?

By now, you have recognized the story. “He” is Jesus, “she,” Mary. The story is one of the most captivating in the Gospels. Nevertheless, let’s put ourselves in the scene. How would you have reacted to such an unorthodox display of devotion? Where would you have been standing? What would you have been thinking, or even saying? Consider with me just a minute a few the players in this strange drama.

Martha

Mary’s sister, who had been as exposed to the life, teaching, and ministry of Jesus as her sister, was not in the scene at all. She was in the kitchen. She was so busy (in one place another time, Jesus called her “distracted”) doing that she missed and opportunity to fellowship with Jesus. Have you ever been there? Too busy serving the Lord to find the time to BE with the Lord. What a tragedy when we substitute activity for intimacy. How sad the at times we allow ourselves to go fly high serving Jesus without grounding ourselves for maintenance and refueling. And we wonder why we crash and burn so often. We sacrifice the important on the altar of the urgent.

The Disciples

You can imagine what they were thinking. “Mary is going to give Jesus a bad reputation. She is being so trashy, hanging all over him like that. Who does she think she is and what does she think she is doing. She thinks she is so much closer to him than we are.” I can imagine so many other lame, self-deluded attitudes that in the name of “Jesus’ best interests” misunderstood and misinterpreted this beautiful and brave act of worship. We too are quick to judge and slow to discern. We see others and automatically think we know their motives.

You know why I think this crowd was so critical of this woman? JEALOUSY. They saw in her passion for the Son of God, a passion pure yet fervent. They recognize that she was truly connecting to Him on so much more than a physical or political level. They saw in her something they lacked, and rather than evaluating themselves and realizing what they lacked, they instead chose to try to discount and discredit her.

Same old song and dance some use today. The thought goes something like this: I cannot match her devotion to God, she risks so much more than I am willing to risk. I can’t match her, I am not willing to give up that much, so I have to make her look bad so I can look good. Rather than turn the heat up in our own lives, we often choose to burn – or scorch – others.

Judas

Judas Iscariot was the quintessential “bad guy.” What a crook, a first century embezzler. He criticized Mary because her act cost him. What she did not only exposed ALL the disciples for the weenies that they were, she personally was wasting something that could have padded the ministry coffers and of course, Judas’ own personal treasure. How quick are we to criticize those who serve God in such a way that they challenge our conventions and comfort zones – exposed for the dens of complacency self-service that they are? Like that evil Judas, sometimes we discount the way others serve God because it cramps our style . . . it put us out in some way or another.

Mary

What a brave woman. Mary was so in love with the Son of God that she was willing to risk. She risked her reputation, her dignity, rejection. Ultimately, she risked vulnerability. Not only was she willing to risk, but also she was also absolute in her devotion. She held back nothing for herself. The box was broken and forever unusable. The ointment poured out and could not be recovered, reused, or recycled. When she poured it out, there was nothing left for her. She gave up something of incredible value. By today’s wage standard the ointment cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $36,000. She was willing to give up her most valuable possession. It took a woman to show a room full of men what being a disciple truly meant.

You see, I want to be like Mary. I want to lay it all out there for Jesus. At the end of each day, I want to know that I gave everything I had that day. I want to know that I let nothing stop me from being who He is making me. Fear of rejection did not stop me. The possibility of ridicule did not stop me. Cost did not stop me. I want to know that I use up to its completion everyday that God gives me. I want to love Him with reckless abandon. I want to love Him for His God-ness so much so that I will give anything, go anywhere, and risk it all to show my devotion to Him.

After all, it was He Who emptied Himself for me.

You can find the Biblical account paraphrased here  in Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9, and John 12:2-8.