The anointing at Bethany

SIX days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him. Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples, and the one who would betray him, said, “Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?” He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions. So Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

The large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came, not only because of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus, too, because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him. REFLECTION YOU ALWAYS HAVE THE POOR WITH YOU. The Gospel presents a contrast between Judas Iscariot and Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. Judas sees in Mary’s anointing of Jesus’ feet with costly perfume only a “waste,” a missed opportunity to help the poor. And perhaps many of us will agree with him.

Mary, on the other hand, does not care that she is “wasting” something valuable on the feet of Jesus. Her action flows from a natural desire to give Jesus a warm and fitting welcome. And Jesus, contrary perhaps to our expectation, does not stop her, for he sees in her action a foreshadowing of his death and how he is honored by her generosity.

Jesus’ words, “You always have the poor with you,” are not meant to condemn poor people to their fate. They are a simple statement of fact that there will always be poor people in this world. More importantly, he wants to draw the crowd’s attention to the honorable gesture of Mary. Judas seems concerned for the poor, but the evangelist describes his real motivation.

Indeed, at times we pretend to be concerned about the poor, but actually we have a hidden agenda. We can talk about poverty no end, but the way we live will be the final verdict of our truthfulness.