Man has power over nature and the rest of creation because of his capacity to reason. Through this capacity, man has learned to harness the forces of nature, to make the fields bear fruits, to tame wild beasts and animals for his use and, then to use of all of these to make his life better. But man’s capacity to love is a more powerful gift than his capacity to reason. Often man does things out of love that do not stand to reason. A man would give up everything for the people he loves. In many extreme cases, a man would even give up his own life so that the people he loves may live. Love is wasteful and is prodigal in giving but it is the only way to live life as an authentic human being. Love brings light and salvation to men. Mary wasted very expensive perfume, often a woman’s most cherished possession, on the feet of the man she loved. What do I treasure most among my possessions? Can I willingly give it up for the people I love?
Often protestations of love and concern sound and appear reasonable but can sometimes be but greed and selfishness masquerading as true love and generosity. Indeed, why waste good perfume on the feet of an itinerant preacher? He will soon be on the road again and the perfume will just be wasted on the roads he will be walking. Wouldn’t it have been put to better use if it had been sold and the money used to feed the poor and hungry? A perfectly reasonable suggestion. I probably would have made it myself. But the real issue is the willingness to part with material possessions. Can I truly give without counting the cost? Can I labor and not be asking for rewards? Can I keep on giving until it hurts and hurts and finally hurts no more?
These are questions that I keep on mulling over in my prayers. In my head, I know the answers to my questions. My challenge is to let my heart feel my answers deeply that my life is changed to become Christ-like.
The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany,
where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served,
while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him.
Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil
made from genuine aromatic nard
and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair;
the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples,
and the one who would betray him, said,
“Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages
and given to the poor?”
John 12:1-11