Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap
I have always been fascinated by John 12:1-8. I like it for its powerful irony.
This episode recounts the story when Jesus came to Bethany at the house of Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. Martha served as usual. Whereas Mary “took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment” (John 12:3). Judas Isacriot was appalled by Mary’s gesture. He put on the mask of the generous one: “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” (John 12:5). But the Lord unmasked his hypocritical attitude and told him squarely: “Let her alone, let her keep it for the day of my burial. The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me” (John 12:7-8). Continue reading “The Sweet Smell of Love and the Stench of Greed”