Sunday, March 28, 2021

Monday of Holy Week, 29-03-2021

Isaiah 42:1-7 / John 12:1-11    

Perfume is meant to be sprayed or applied to those parts of the body where the scent is meant to be enjoyed by us and also by the people around us.

Especially if it is a costly perfume. All the more we would use it sparingly and on special occasions.

Nobody would think of spraying or applying a costly perfume on a part of the body like the feet.

That would seem rather wasteful and would sound ridiculous, unless there is a strange reason for doing so.

In the gospel, Mary brought in a pound of very costly ointment, pure nard, and with it, anointed the feet of Jesus, wiping them with her hair, and the house was full of the scent of the ointment.

What Mary did raised comments about being wasteful with costly ointment as well as probably being an inappropriate act.

But when seen from Mary's perspective, she could only see that the costly ointment was only fit for the feet of Jesus and that she was only worthy to touch the feet of Jesus.

That also reminds us that whatever we offer to God, no matter how costly, valuable or special, is not going to be of any worth if we do not offer it humbly.

Let us humbly and thankfully place our offerings, be it our service, our work, our time, and even our lives at the feet of Jesus. 

There is also no credit to claim for ourselves, as we must remember that all comes as a gift from God.