Extravagant love
by Rachael Stelzer
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She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial (Mark 14:8).
Read Mark 14:1–11
After Mark reports Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem on the back of a donkey foal and his visit around the temple, he includes a powerful event imbued with poignant power by the length of time between that event and its reporting.
The unnamed woman in this story has been variously guessed at and speculated about, but all we know for sure is that she wanted to show extravagant love to Jesus. And she did so, in the midst of a group of ‘righteous’ men horrified by this lavish act of care.
Jesus rebuked the men, telling them their thoughts of selling the perfume and giving the money to the poor missed the point. Readers of Mark’s Gospel have the benefit of hindsight. We can understand Jesus’ explanation that she poured perfume on his body beforehand to prepare for his burial. Jesus could see what was coming in the following few days, and for this act of generosity and care, he was grateful. And for this, the woman will be remembered through the ages.
How ironic that Judas Iscariot went straight to the teachers of the law after this event and agreed to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. He, too, will be remembered through the ages – in a completely different way.
Dear Lord, let me be remembered for my lavish generosity and care for the least of your children rather than for my rightness or efficiency. Thank you for your extravagant love for me. Amen.
Rachael Stelzer is the Primary Lay Chaplain at Coomera Anglican College near Brisbane. She is a member of Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Rochedale and teaches primary kids in the Growing Kids group. Rachael loves crafts, reading, and sharing meals, coffee and life with her family and friends.
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