Monday of Holy Week 2020 - A peaceful moment in the midst of the maelstrom


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.’ 

When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.
[Reading: John 12. 1-11]

Monday of Holy Week 2020 - A peaceful moment in the midst of the maelstrom


 Reflection
In the midst of the business of Holy Week, this is a moment of stillness, a moment of peace and calm before the storm. (We need to remember that the house of Mary, Martha and Lazarus was a place of safety and relaxation for Jesus, being located on the edge of Jerusalem, it was a homely house, one close to the centre of political power and the Temple, but far enough away to offer peaceful respite.) In our reading Jesus is tenderly anointed by his friend Mary. 

 The anointing has a double meaning and significance: Kings are anointed as part of their coronation, and on Good Friday Christ will reign as King, crowned with thorns, enthroned on the cross. But one also anoints the dead, and Mary is preparing his body for his burial. But I want us not to look ahead to the end, but to stay focused on the moment, to allow the fragrance to fill our senses, to hear the confused questioning of the disciples, the outraged grumblings of Judas, whose course of action is already set out for him.



The two images of the Anointing I have chosen, one an Icon, the other a modern painting by the artist Julia Stankova. Both show us both the whole story in miniature (the Icon), and the tenderness of the moment (the contemporary painting). Both reveal to us something of that moment in their own way.

Response: Take a moment to remember that tenderness of someone you love. If you can, try and live out that motherly tenderness that Mary shows to Jesus.


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