“… God will wipe every tear from their eyes.  Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more …” Rev. 21:4

This is ‘Holy Week.’

One of the powerful images we are given in Scripture is of the woman anointing Jesus with nard.  This woman goes unnamed in several narratives; the Gospel of John names her as Mary, sister of Lazarus and Martha. I’m not so sure that the ‘who’ question is the correct one to be asking. Some narratives place this anointing event in the home of Simon the Leper. And, again, perhaps the ‘where’ question might not be the central lesson. In three narratives Jesus has made his triumphal and humble entry into Jerusalem. Jesus enters Jerusalem not in warrior-fashion on a nervous, prancing steed but rather fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah (9:9). Jesus leaves Jerusalem and continues to be faithful to who he is—one who will stay at the home of a sinner—‘the Leper’ in Bethany, a short walk from Jerusalem. It is here in the home of the sinner that several narratives place the woman coming with her gift.

The woman loves Jesus. I am imagining this woman, probably, was one of the women who traveled around with Jesus and supported his ministry with her finances.  I am imagining this woman has heard and understands as Jesus has spoken several times about his upcoming death—the disciples have not heard, much less understood, up to this point.  I am imagining this woman wondering what she could offer this man, Jesus, who has given her so much—understanding, forgiveness, love and ‘living’ water. I am imagining this woman having an “Aha!” moment of overwhelming joy as the idea is planted in her as to how she can honor this one who has given her new life. I imagine her as she is energized by the idea and takes action by going to the exclusive end of the marketplace to purchase the nard—this most expensive oily perfume.

[I am just now struck with the similarities between not only the gifts of the Magi and this woman but also the similarity of attitudes. In both scenarios there is this overwhelming joy of being able to bring their finest gifts. I wonder if we have this same sense of overwhelming joy as we bring our offerings each Sunday.]

Jesus loves the woman. Jesus defends her actions when the disciples chide her for ‘wasting’ so much money. Jesus, I imagine, loves her—all of her - her courage, her boldness, her willingness to hear, her understanding that he will die and her grief that will be at his death; her willingness to demonstrate her love without being worried about the cost to her.

The new commandment that Jesus gives us, is: “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34b-35)

This woman was putting her love into action. I am wondering how we put our love into action.

On this day, five years ago, the War in Iraq began.  As of today, nearly 4000 service personnel have been killed; we do not keep count of how many Iraqis have been killed.  I read in the paper this morning that 2.7 million Iraqis have been displaced and are now living as refugees. We grieve this loss of life, this loss of infinite potential.

I have no nard.

I have something stronger than death and destruction. I have faith in the one who overcame death and destruction. I believe that following Jesus’ commandment to love may be the single most important and, at the same time, the most difficult task we undertake in this life.