Extravagance

Read Matthew 26:1-16.

She brings an expensive gift, rare perfume, probably meant to be part of her dowry. But a husband had not yet come along and this man had won her heart in ways a husband never would. So carefully, lovingly, she has taken this perfume out of her hope chest, found the place where Jesus is staying, and crashed a dinner party to pour the oil on his head. Today, that would sound rather rude, but in Jesus' day, pouring oil on a person's head was a way of honoring them. It was an action used to set a priest part for service to God. And it was used to prepare a body for burial. Of course, that last one was usually done after the person was dead, but in this case, the woman becomes a symbol of what is about to happen to Jesus. She doesn't know how else to show her love and her devotion to him, so she gives to him the most expensive thing she has. She extravagantly pours it out.

They have given the last three years of their lives, following this man, listening to his teaching. Their devotion to him might not be on the same level as this woman, but they respect him. They are connected to him. They see themselves, in some ways, as his representatives. Love him? Maybe not yet, but they will come to do so. However, right now, in this moment, they don't quite understand what is happening. What they see is extravagant waste. Why would this woman waste something so valuable? Someone (other Gospels tell us it was Judas) does the calculations and finds out exactly how much was wasted. At the least, these good churchmen say, it could have been sold and the money used to help the poor, those folks Jesus always seemed to be caring about. Why would she pour it out so extravagantly?

He has had enough. He's watched this man he thought he should follow coddle the poor rather than telling them to get to work. He's watched him miss or pass every opportunity to seize power and become the messiah he ought to become. Now he watches with the rest of them as some woman pours oil over his head—like he's a priest or something! How could he accept such adulation? How could he allow that to go on? He's had enough. So bit by bit he begins to hatch a plan—either to end all of this or to force Jesus' hand. He's heard that there are certain powerful people who'd like to get their hands on Jesus. Maybe he could even make some money off of this...if he plays it right.

Now the question that will haunt us throughout the next several chapters...where are you in this story?