When it comes to 'Mary's' in the Gospels, we are spoilt for choice, and this week as I've been thinking about the events leading up to and including the crucifixion of Jesus, they have been meeting me at every turn. In this and a later blog this week, I'd like to spend a little time with a couple of them, starting with Mary of Bethany.
Mary is sister to Martha and Lazarus and we know from the account of the brother's resurrection that Jesus loved these three siblings and they loved him, hosting him as a friend in their home in Bethany, hence the name. Mary famously sat and learnt at his feet, then later grieved at his feet when her brother died. We are given an insight to the affection Jesus held for Mary, who loved to learn, when he apparently called for her (John 11:28). She fell at his feet, certain in her belief that Jesus could have healed her brother (though not yet in full knowledge of his power to raise from the dead). Jesus was moved by her grief and wept. His intention was always to display the glory of God, but he was grieved by the pain it caused his friend.
So it is not until John 11, in the raising of Lazarus story, that we discover that the woman who anointed Jesus in the week leading up to his death, was in fact Mary. In both Matthew and Mark, Jesus is seen to be dining with Simon the Leper in the town of Bethany. She is not named here, only described only as 'a woman' and was scolded for her waste of precious perfume. It is beautiful that in a room full of disciples and other learned men, the only one who knew what was coming was Mary. In the week before, she had seen Jesus raise her beloved brother from the dead after four days in the grave. She had listened carefully and knew that Jesus did everything for a reason, as painful as the experience might be. So she knew exactly what she was doing in anointing Jesus, she was preparing him for his death and resurrection.
It is also possible that the story in Luke of a 'sinful woman' who enters the house where Jesus is dining with a Pharisee named Simon, was also Mary. In tears she anoints his feet with oil, wiping them clean with her hair. As the gospel of Luke is not chronological it is possible, especially when you consider the unlikeliness of two different women anointing Jesus with expensive perfume, both times in a house owned by Simon! I was struck however by the three occasions when she is left unnamed, as was her 'sin'. As the reader we are left to our suppositions about who she might be and why she might be doing it, but in being unnamed, she could be any of us and we can identify with her.
We get to break down in tears at the feet of Jesus. He offers forgiveness and rebukes those around us who might seek to condemn us. I don't know if you need to hear this, but Jesus 'has your back'. He loves you and he sees your tears (whether physically shed or not). To Jesus, your tears are as precious and valuable as the perfumed oil in the alabaster jar. Mary's gift was also a mirrored image of the lavishness and abundance of the grace freely given to us. The disciples muttered in the room that it was a terrible waste from a terrible sinner, and the sensible thing to do would have been to sell it and use it 'wisely'. But the gift of grace from Jesus turns on its head all the conventional wisdom we hold as humans. The economy of heaven is beyond our wildest comprehension but all we need to do is accept it.
Mary of Bethany loved Jesus her Saviour. In the three occasions we know of that she sat at his feet, we are taken on an incredible journey of the hope we have in Christ. First, she learnt and listened, next she grieved and experienced the humanity and saving power of Jesus when he raised her brother and finally, she anointed him in a beautiful expression of the grace we receive. I hope you can take a moment this week to sit at his feet and experience the same.
Michelle
Artwork is “Alabaster” by Jun Jamosmos at FineArtAmerica.com