2There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.
3Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment."
John 12: 1-3, KJV
I am sure most have heard the story of Mary washing the feet of Jesus with oil, but like all passages of the Bible what did you get out of it? Does this story merely sound nice and any form of meaning fly right over your head completely? What does the oil symbolize? What does the story mean at all?
First I will explain what spikenard is and what it signified in Bible times. Spikenard is a flowering plant that if you crush and distill the underground stems can make rich perfume. Back in Bible times spikenard perfume was very expensive. In fact spikenard could be sold for 300 denarii which was about a years wages. This fact was pointed out by Judas Iscariot after Mary anointed his feet. Judas was the keeper of the money-bag and complained that the money from the perfume could have been used to help out the poor. Judas really didn't care about doing good works but secretly wanted the money for himself; a fact that Jesus knew of plainly. Judas had a history of stealing from the money-bag. But even his excuse, if ethically and morally sound, still wouldn't hold up to Jesus who said, "Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always."
The anointed spikenard oil was the most expensive thing Mary had and she gave it to Jesus. And that's what Christ wants out of all of us.
Your most expensive perfume? NO DUMMY!
The perfume symbolizes so much more.
My favorite verse of this chapter is the last half of the final verse: "...and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment."
Probably because this verse stuck out to me so much that I finally understood what the oil symbolized.
Love. Pure, unconditional love. Mary didn't wash Jesus' feet to kiss his butt. She didn't wash his feet because they stank from walking barefoot all day long. No. Mary washed the feet of Christ because she loved him. Above all other things. Above her expensive perfume. Above the poor. Above the disciples, Lazerus, her family, and friends. Mary loved Jesus above all things and that's what God wants out of us all. Because when you love God above everything else, like odor of the ointment, it fills the room you are in.
Later on Jesus washed the feet of his disciples during the Last Supper. He also had them wash each others' feet. He even washed the feet of Judas Iscariot, who he knew would later betray him.
I don't intend on blogging everything Jesus stood for because he stood for quite a bit. But in a span of two days I can tell you some of the last few things he told his disciples, Mary, and even all of us before he was crucified.
1. Love God above all things. Your most precious love goes to Christ.
2 Love all others, including your enemies. If you think it's hard to love people who have done you wrong think about what Christ went through knowing BEFORE they even did it.
3. Love yourself. This is the hardest one to explain, but note that it is below everyone else including your enemies. There is no greater love than the one shed his blood for his friend. (John 15:13).
But when Christ answered Judas it wasn't just a "IN YO FACE" reply but also a warning from a loving father. Jesus didn't want Judas to do wrong. So obviously he didn't want Judas to want to do wrong either. Because Christ loves us and wants us to do the right thing. And not only does that mean the only way to truly love ones self is to do right but also to be completely selfless.
I told you it is hard to explain. Self worth is a fickle mistress...
So I guess it goes to show that bad love may stink, but true love leaves room filled with the finest of fragrance.
Hypothetically (since we both know I'm not a believer), if someone were to give everything they had to someone that took it for granted over and over again, would God want that person to continue giving love to that particular person? Just a thought I had as I read this.
ReplyDeletewell it depends what you consider love.
ReplyDeletea father can consider loving his son by verbally putting him down for being a failure. Or a lover can commit suicide as an act of love for his soul mate. i don't consider these these as love. i consider a father who loves his son and stands by him through everything and only disciplines out of love and protection and not out of false pretenses of what he thinks success is. and i consider a lover willing to die saving his soul mate and not offing himself in a "act of expression romeo style." since i'm a christian i go on what the Bible considers love and not merely my own comprehension.
but yes i think if you're truly loving that person then God wants you to love that person unconditionally. which i believe in latin is called agape.
have you ever heard of a book entitled the four loves by cs lewis? yes it's by the narnia guy but his non fiction is seriously amazing. you should def check it out.
sorry for the long drawn out reply but my answer is "if it's true love than yes. never stop. but that has a BIG disclaimer."
I guess when I was thinking of love I wasn't thinking of any of the negative aspects that come with love. Like you said about a father disciplining his son (the one out of love not the one that beats his son), love doesn't always mean giving the person everything they want.
ReplyDeleteSo I guess a better way to phrase would be is it alright to love someone to the point of hurting (not physically, but emotionally) yourself? To give of yourself until there's nothing left, not even for yourself? I would think that to help yourself and the one you love there'd be a point that while you may still love and care for the other person it would be better to stop showing it. Which would come off as not continuing to love, at least to that other person. Don't you?
Just thoughts, of course.
Perhaps we could discuss this one on one over IM or something and not on a live forum. That is if you'd like. But that's a pretty complicated question to answer in a comment.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a matter of deciding what love means to you. (Hi, just jumping in univited, don't mind me...)
ReplyDeleteI really think you have to be very sure about what love IS because our culture has tainted it so much. It really has become a belief that "If you love me, you'll give me whatever I want". I don't think that's accurate. I think love has to do with wanting the best for the other person. I try not to quote much of anything without giving it tons of thought, but I think the cliche love chapter from the Bible can be a helpful jumping off point. Especially in listing characteristics of love. So let's say that love is patient, kind, not jealous, doesn't brag, not arrogant, doesn't act like an idiot, isn't selfish, isn't irritable, forgives wrongs, is true, bears, believes, hopes and endures. Agree? Disagree? Seems to me that these are more characteristics of how we relate to someone than what we give them. And yes, much of time, really loving someone can be emotionally painful because people are messed up. And love seeks to see people be NOT messed up. So it's a process. I would never tell anyone NOT to love someone...I would just advise them to examine the way that they were expressing that love to make sure that it was truly seeking the best.
I wouldn't mind discussing it over IM, but I never see you on IM. I'm pretty sure you aren't on my msn list anymore, but I never see you on Facebook either.
ReplyDeleteI'm on Facebook IM sometimes. I don't use MSN anymore. Check your facebook. I left you a comment.
ReplyDeleteI knew you would chime in eventually Rachel! :P