Matthew 26:6-13 The Anointing at Bethany
There was a missionary surgeon who was rather hardened -there wasn’t much in life he didn’t see or experience.
He stopped by a peasant village to check on a woman on whom he performed surgery. She lived in a shack and was dirt poor. She had one Angora rabbit that she used the hair from to spin into yarn for income. She had two chickens that provided eggs for her to eat. The woman was so happy to see the surgeon. She was feeling better and she begged him to stay for lunch. The surgeon reluctantly agreed to return after he checked on another patient.
An hour and a half later he was back and peeked into the cooking pot to see what he was going to eat. He saw one rabbit and two chickens. The woman had shared her entire livestock supply…..her source of income….her food…..her everything. He was overcome with emotion and wept openly at this act of extravagant affection.
So important to the early Christian community was the anointing at Bethany that it appears in some fashion on all four gospels. Details differ such as time and location and the woman who anoints.
But the gospels do agree generally on two things ….the cost of the oil and that the money could have been put to better use. Depending on the commentary you read, the oil was worth one week’s wages… one year’s wages. In any case it was very expensive. Several gospels describe it as aromatic nard….meaning the oil was infused with aromatic spices that made it even more expensive and very fragrant when used.
The scene is the home of Simon the Leper. This is the first and only time we hear of him in Scripture. We might imagine - considering the status of lepers- that the dinner guests were a motley crew the outcasts and marginalized.
One can only wonder what went through the mind of the woman as she made her way to Jesus. In a total outpouring of love and emotion, she breaks open the jar…. aroma fills the room ….oil sooths his body……her action agitates the disciples.
We DO know what is going through the minds of the disciples. They are indignant!
Using the money from the sale of the oil would have fetched a large amount. And it would have fulfilled a legal obligation to care for the poor.But we also know that money is not the only way we care for one another.
The woman’s response is grounded in love not legal obligation. Just like the peasant woman she gives all without counting the cost. Without realizing, she anoints Jesus’ body the only anointing it will receive. Her act of extravagant affection prepares Jesus before he turns toward Jerusalem and his own act of extravagant affection.
So while the others are indignant and cry out “what a waste…can we afford this?”….her actions speak…..”Can we afford not to?”
Jesus defends her from the scorn of others. “Why are you upsetting her. What she has done for me is one of the good works indeed! Amen I say to you wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be spoken of in memory of her.”
We gather tonight near the Feast of Mary Magdalene in memory of her and all the silenced voices in our past. And we must continue to do so. Forthe gospel proclaimed tonight is not included in the Sunday lectionary. So just like the familiar hymn: Christ has no body now but yours….no feet no hands on earth but yours. In her case, she has no voice on earth but yours, no memory, no proclamation but yours.
I have had an interest in MM. She is my mentor and guide in my own formation in finding my voice. She has all the attributes I admire in others and hope for in myself. Creative fidelity to the gospel, bold action in the face of adversity, and tenacity responding to her vocation. I crafted a letter to her that I would like to conclude with…..I began with a poem …
LETTER
My heart weeps for what was lost.
How we treated you, Divine Daughter on High.
I search Heaven and Earth and ask myself, why.
Mary, we did not know you.
May we now bring wrong to right.
We will sing of Your Queenship for all to hear.
We will ring your truth, north, south, far and near.
Mary, now all may know you.
(A portion of a poem by Maya, Priestess, Order of Mary Magdala)
Greetings Mary of Magdala! I write as your sister in Christ with the Good news that your name is being celebrated and many in the Church who seek justice and truth on your behalf are righting your reputation. In the zeal to restore your reputation and clarify your role in the early church, I write to ask for clarification about your life and ministry.
Though the details of each gospel differ, each attests that you are the one to whom the risen Christ first appears. In your time women’s voice had no importance, yet the four gospels each make you the primary witness and first voice to proclaim the most important event of our faith.
We celebrate your proclamation on the First Sunday of Easter. As told in the Gospel of John, you come to the tomb early. Finding the stone had been moved, you run to tell the disciples. They race to see for themselves but returned home not understanding.
But you stayed. You stayed at the tomb and your faithfulness was rewarded with Jesus’ appearance and command to “go to my brothers and tell them.” Many in the modern-day Church return the Second Sunday of Easter hoping to hear more about your encounter with the risen Jesus, but instead we hear the story of the doubting Thomas and fearful men in the upper room. The Church intentionally leaves you at the tomb in our lectionary. It is my heart’s desire for our community to hear the whole story.
In the days immediately following Jesus’ death and resurrection, you rise to prominence as the Apostle to the Apostles and preacher to the pagans. Why, then, is your name and reputation more commonly misunderstood as a prostitute than the first bearer of the Good News?
Could it be the alabaster jar and multiple Mary’s in scripture? The unnamed sinful woman in Luke 7 bathes Jesus with her tears and anoints his feet with oil from her alabaster jar. Shortly after in Luke 8 you are identified as the woman whom Jesus cast demons from. And finally Mary of Bethany, Sister of Martha and Lazarus, will also be described as anointing Jesus feet with oil from her alabaster jar in John 12. Our brothers and sisters in the east have consistently kept these three Mary’s distinct, however, your reputation in the west as a prostitute was sealed when Pope Gregory the Great proclaimed in his 33rd homily that the three were one.
You are known as Mary of Magdala, resisting definition in relation to another person such as wife, mother, daughter. That you are identified with the city of Magdala evidences your prominence in that coastal town (similar to that of Paul of Tarsus, for example). Your name is spoken at least a dozen times in the New Testament, second only to the mother of Jesus, revealing the high esteem with which the early Christian community held you. Why is there no mention of you in Acts of the Apostles as the community is being formed? What was your role in the early Church? Who were your contemporaries who joined you in the ministry?
Scripture indicates you ministered to Jesus out of your own finances. Where would your money have come from? Who were you before you met Jesus?
You inspire a rich history in art, legend and devotion tempered by the times within which it grew. We are beginning to understand the impact of your role as apostle and preacher of the gospel. We excavate the earthy materials of ancient sarcophagus and frescos to learn what they reveal about your preaching and liturgical status in the Church. They unearth evidence so that your story can be told truthfully not dramatically romanticized or distorted. We study ancient hymns and prayers to hear the words spoken of you so that we can proclaim the good news as you did.
Most recently, Mary, your feast day is celebrated around the world on July 22. The Church’s liturgical calendar no longer refers to you as a repentant sinner on this day but rather as a witness to the resurrection. Prayer services and celebrations have gained popularity as they offer women an opportunity to evidence visible liturgical leadership. Equally important is the scholarship that counters the distortions of your life. In correcting your memory, Mary, men and women find a role model worthy of emulation. We need not idealize or distort you beyond who you are as the first preacher of the gospel.
Your sister in Christ,
Debbie Dacone