When Mary poured the expensive perfume over Jesus’ feet, Judas, understandably, felt that this was a terrible waste. His point seems fair. This seems like an extravagant waste for the feet of one man, whoever he was. Wouldn’t God be more concerned with seeing the worth of that perfume spent on alleviating the suffering of the poor? Again, the point seems valid, but only by the standard which says that man lives by bread alone. What Mary did would become an example of a heart of worship by which people can access the fullness of life. By ‘wasting’ so much on Jesus she became a leader and sign to the path of life. Her example would give life to many who would boldly follow her act of worship. Jesus said about her: “And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her” (Matthew 26:13 and Mark 14:9). Her example is upheld by Jesus as exemplary of what the good news produces in a person. It enables us to transcend the suffocating preoccupation with immediate worldly security. It is not that we should not have income and invest and save money for the future. Rather, our freedom allows us to see the relative value of our earthly securities. We are enabled to see what is of ultimate importance and are freed thereby to generously pour ourselves into the fullness of life, so that fullness of life might be poured out into us.
Think about what you can do to express your worship to God.
Read John 12:1-11
