Monday in Holy Week
by the Revd Dr Robert Wilson PhD (Cantab), Old Roman Apostolate UK
Today’s lesson from Isaiah records the prophet’s words: “The Lord God hath opened my ear, and I do not resist: I have not gone back. I have given my body to the strikers, and my cheeks to them that pluck them: I have not turned away my face from them that rebuked me and spit upon me.” Relying on the help of God he would not be confounded. His adversaries could come near and he would not be condemned. “Who is there among you that feareth the Lord, that heareth the voice of his servant? He that hath walked in darkness, and hath no light, let him hope in the name of the Lord and lean upon his God.”
These words speak of the power of non-violence, of one who took evil upon himself and somehow subsumed it into good. It is the image of the suffering servant, who is spoken of in another passage as despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, who bore the sins of many and made intercession for the transgressions. They would find their fulfilment in the life of Jesus, who not only preached about turning the other cheek and going the second mile, but embodied it, above all when the time came when he no longer taught, but acted and suffered.
The Gospel of St. John (which we heard today) records that six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where he had raised Lazarus from the dead. Martha served the supper and Lazarus was with him at the table. “Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of right spikenard, of great price, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.” Judas Iscariot asked why the ointment was not sold for three hundred pence and given to the poor. “Jesus therefore said: Let her alone, that she may keep it against the day of my burial. For the poor you have always with you: but me you have not always.”
The Gospel has explained that Jesus had made his final challenge to the Jewish nation at the feast of Tabernacles and then the feast of Dedication. He had met with attempts to arrest him and also to stone him to death. He had therefore withdrawn to Bethany beyond the Jordan, but had been persuaded to return to Bethany near Jerusalem at the request of the sisters Mary and Martha. The furore provoked by the raising of Lazarus had led the Jewish authorities to finally take action. They had called a meeting of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Supreme Court, where they had decided that Jesus was too dangerous to be allowed to remain alive. They determined that he should be put to death and that a reward would be given to whoever found him. Jesus had therefore withdrawn to a town called Ephrem on the edge of the Judean wilderness, biding his time in a place of seclusion where he would be undetected, before appearing again in public.
The moment for the final confrontation with the powers that be came when he journeyed to Jerusalem for the Passover where he met his death. As before, he stayed at Bethany with the sisters Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus, whom he had recently raised from the dead. Martha, the more active personality, served the supper, but Mary performed the dramatic action of taking a pound of ointment and anointing the feet of Jesus. Despite Judas Iscariot’s protestations, Jesus said it was a fitting anticipation of his burial at a time when his death was so clearly imminent.
It is characteristic of St. John’s Gospel that it provides the detailed topographical and chronological precision that is lacking in the others. St. Luke names the two sisters Mary and Martha and notes their contrasting personalities, Martha serving while Mary sat listening at Jesus’ feet. But he tells us nothing about where and when the incident take place. It is from St. John that we learn that they lived in Bethany near Jerusalem and that they had a brother called Lazarus. The characterisation of the sisters is strikingly similar in both Gospels. In St. John as well as St. Luke, it is Martha who takes the initiative and serves, whereas Mary is praised for grasping the secret of Jesus’ ministry. The protest that the ointment should have been sold for three hundred pence and given to the poor is specifically attributed to Judas, anticipating his coming betrayal.
The reason for Judas’ betrayal was a mystery then and has never been satisfactorily explained. It has been suggested that he had been hoping that Jesus would fulfil the role of another King David, a warrior and conqueror who would take on the might of the pagan oppressors of Israel. After the Feeding of the Five Thousand Jesus had withdrawn from the crowd who had attempted to make him king by force. He had taught his followers that his messianic destiny, enthronement and rule would only come about through reversal, repudiation, suffering and death. All the disciples had been baffled by this, but had determined to remain loyal. Perhaps it was the case that whereas they were only half convinced Judas was not at all. At any rate Judas’ protest at Mary’s anointing of the feet of Jesus suggests that he had now reached the point of no return. It was clear that Jesus was anticipating death. It may be that Judas betrayed him because he was looking for a way out of the situation. Ultimately, this is all an attempt to explain the unfathomable. Both St. John and St. Luke state that the betrayal was demonically inspired, and that is as far as we can get.
The saying that the poor will always be with us has often been misused to mean that the Church should not be concerned about social justice and helping improve the material conditions of the poor. In fact, Jesus was making a very different point, namely that, as he now clearly faced imminent death, Mary had performed a powerful symbolic action that anticipated his burial. It is also suggested that Judas’ anger that the ointment had not been sold and given to the poor was not as principled as it might have appeared, for he bore the common purse and was known to help himself to some of the funds.
Let us pray for grace that we will be enabled to follow the example of Mary, who anointed the feet of Jesus, rather than that of Judas, who betrayed him.
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