Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

Not long before Jesus is betrayed and put to death, some friends had him over for dinner. Martha and Lazarus were there, and a handful of disciples. So was Mary, who wanted to do something for Jesus. And so, as John tells us, she took a pound of expensive perfume, poured it on Jesus' feet, and wiped his feet with her hair. Her gift wasn't a practical one, but it was lavish, and intimate. It's an odd gesture; it's little wonder that it made Judas uncomfortable. He scolded Mary: that money could have been used for the poor! What a waste! It's not right to spend so much on a single gift!

Jesus rebuked him: leave her alone. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.

What's this about?

True, John's gospel tells us that Judas wasn't really worried about the poor, that he was a thief. But let's just set that aside for a moment, and hear what Jesus says to Mary. Is Jesus really telling Mary not to worry about the needy?

It's very easy for we who are Christians to try to be responsible. I mean, we know we're called to love our neighbors, and so we want to do the right by them. We spend a lot of time trying to figure out what the 'good' thing to do is.

In this story, Mary doesn't seem too worried about what's right. She wants to do something that says "I love you," and she doesn't calculate anything beyond that. The gift is extravagant because it was expensive, but at a deeper level, it was extravagant because she gave it so freely, so willingly. At that moment, she wasn't thinking about whether or not she was a good person, or what the others would think of her. She was focused only on Jesus, and on doing something for him.

During Lent, we spend a lot of time trying to figure out what we need to do to grow in our relationship with God. Where do we need to repent? What do we need to do differently? This is all well and good.

But in this story, Jesus reminds us that sometimes, the faithful thing is to to let our hearts guide our heads. Love with abandon. Don't count the cost. Don't second-guess yourself. Don't worry about whether or not you're giving in the right way: let your love be as lavish as God's. Sometimes the best way to let Christ come alive in us is not to do things right, but to love as deeply and as widely as we can, and then some.

Here are some wise words I've seen attributed to Mother Teresa (or to a poster she used to keep hanging in her office). Wherever they're from, they are good words for all of us:

People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

The good you do will be forgotten tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spent years building may be destroyed overnight;
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you help them;
Help them anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth,
Give the best you've got anyway.

After all, it was always about you and God.
It was never between you and them anyway.


*****

Mary loves Jesus without calculation, and Jesus tells us that this is good. How can your love be more like Mary's this week?