Never Too Much

People may do extravagant things when they are thankful.

Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?" (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, "Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me." - John 12:1-8

Mary chose to spend her money on expensive nard, probably intending to save it for when Jesus died so she could use it to perfume the body.

But when Jesus came to have dinner with them, she decided to share it with him while he was alive.

She and her sister were so thankful that Jesus restored their brother to life, at high risk to himself, that she anointed him.

When we look at it that way, the comment Judas makes sounds foolish and judgmental.  Who is he to judge?

But we tend to be more like Judas than Mary at times, don't we?

We see what others do and judge them because of it.

Maybe we should just be more accepting.  Not knowing the reasoning behind something makes that unbiased response tough, but if we realize it is not up to us to judge, we can simply let it go.

More to come...