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JESUS ANOINTED AT BETHANY (MARK 14:1-9)

REFLECTION 

“Jesus anointed at Bethany is the theme for our reflection”. To be anointed means to be consecrated or made sacred; dedicated to God, often in a ceremony that includes dabbing or sprinkling with holy oil. A woman comes to show her deepest appreciation and honour to Jesus, she “…came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head” (Mark 14:3). Her generosity to Jesus was rather criticised by some of the people around. They quantified her generosity into money’s worth and suggested that it could have been used to cater for the poor. “Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.” (Mark 14:4-5). However, Jesus commended the woman for her honourable and generous gesture when He said to the people “…She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial” (Mark 14:8).

There was no indication that the woman was aware of the spiritual and prophetic significance of her unprecedented act of devotion, honour and generosity. The woman’s generous act of pouring the special and expensive oil on Jesus had two prophetic significance. Firstly, the pouring of the perfume on Jesus’ head symbolically anointed Him as the Chosen one or Messiah to be sacrificed or offered as an atonement for the salvation of the world. Secondly, just as in the Old Testament, Kings were anointed as chosen leaders of Israel. The woman’s gesture was prophetic, in that, it places an immeasurable value on Jesus as the most important person and Master who deserves our devotion, honour and worship as King of Kings.

Dear friend, this woman understood the restoration or renewal Jesus brought into her life, therefore, in honouring Jesus, she honoured and anointed Him with the most precious and expensive perfume she ever had. When Paul also came to understand the restoration, renewal and salvation Jesus brought into his life, he wrote “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ…I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:7-8,10-11) Beloved in the Lord, what does Jesus mean to you? Is he your anointed Saviour and King? Do you honour Jesus with your best or surplus? Do you honour Jesus with the best of your time and resources as gratitude for your salvation? The Psalmist appreciating the goodness of the Lord, wrote, “What shall I return to the LORD for all his goodness to me? ¹³ I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD. ¹⁴ I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.” (Psalms 116:12-14). Like the Woman who poured the expensive oil on Jesus’s head, what are you also doing to express your gratitude to the Messiah and King of Kings?

These people seem to be right to say that the woman could have redirected her generosity toward the poor instead of “wasting” it on Jesus. However, these people failed to question why the poor existed in the first place? The woman would not have poured the expensive perfume on Jesus’ head if Jesus did not mean anything to her. The woman saw in Jesus the hope for the poor and marginalised. Jesus cared and showed compassion to all manner of persons He came across, including the woman with the expensive perfume. Conversely, what has the leaders of Israel done for the poor and marginalised? The Chief Priest and teachers of the law ought to focus on protecting the poor rather than support a system that extorts money from them and impoverish them but they fail woefully in doing that. When Jesus exposed their hypocrisy and rottenness “the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him” (Mark 14:1). 

Jesus teaches the people that the woman’s act of kindness to Him, will not affect the poor in any way for ” The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.” (Mark 14:7) In other words, Jesus was saying to the people that do not begrudge or judge the pure intention of a generous person, if you care about the poor then help them too, the poor will always be among you so long as the nation of which you are part of continues to neglect them and refuses to put in measures to protect them. Giving to the poor and helping the marginalised is the responsibility of all and not only those who have wealth or possess valuable resources such as the woman with the expensive perfume. The people who criticised the woman for her generosity did not see themselves as part of the reason why the poor will always be in the society, they were indirectly blaming the woman for being the reason for which the poor may not receive help since she was wasting a precious perfume which could be sold to cater for the poor. Let us remember that instead of pointing accusatory fingers at others, we also owe the poor and vulnerable in our community and churches a responsibility to be generous or kind to them.

My dear friend in Christ, before you criticise other people for the good they are doing, do you first ask yourself what has been your contribution to your church and society? There are people in our churches and country who are professional and habitual grumblers, complainers, critics, gossipers and slanderers who see nothing good in the hard work and contribution of others, meanwhile, they contribute little or nothing to help the church, community and the country in which they live. We are all stewards of God’s blessing. We are expected to use our resources (time, money, body, wealth) to serve God and humanity. We should appreciate and learn to encourage one another to do God’s will by giving towards the growth of the church and sharing with the poor to support the government’s poverty alleviation policies and interventions.  Jesus commended the generosity of the woman by saying that “Truly, I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” (Mark 14:9) The big question is what will you be remembered for and what will the Lord on the judgement day say about you? Always do your best and what you can to serve God and humanity. Shalom.

PRAYER 

ALMIGHTY GOD, HELP US TO REMAIN FOCUSED ON THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS OF LIFE. BLESS US TO BE GENEROUS TO THE POOR AND ALSO SUPPORT YOUR MISSION THROUGH THE CHURCH. AMEN