\u201cWhat a waste.\u201d When a young person dies recklessly and unnecessarily, friends gather and respond, \u201cWhat a waste.\u201d When I spend an afternoon waiting and waiting (and waiting) at the dentist\u2019s office or at the bank I conclude, \u201cWhat a waste.\u201d When I scrape mounds of uneaten food off my children\u2019s plate into the trash can I wince, thinking of the very lectures my parents delivered to me about the starving masses, and I say to them, \u201cWhat a waste.\u201d Sometimes when I see the actual value of my tax dollars at work I complain, \u201cWhat a waste.\u201d<\/p>\n
The dictionary defines waste as an act of \u201cspending thoughtlessly; to use inefficiently or inappropriately; to throw away.\u201d The disciples of Jesus witnessed just such a careless act first hand. The event is recorded in some form in all four gospels.<\/p>\n
Jesus, just days before his death, was at a party. Jesus loved parties. We seem to find him attending them more often than attending synagogue. This particular party was interrupted by a woman who forced herself upon Jesus and his fellow revelers. We are not certain of the woman\u2019s name, though a similar woman in John\u2019s gospel is called \u201cMary.\u201d But we do know she was an immoral woman. A prostitute. A whore. It is likely that she had been the object of Jesus\u2019 grace and goodness. She had been a recipient of his forgiveness. In gratitude she seeks out Jesus with a near priceless gift \u2013 an expensive bottle of perfume.<\/p>\n
The gospel writers value the sweet-smelling bottle at a year\u2019s wages. Let\u2019s put that in perspective. At today\u2019s federal minimum wage this was a gift that cost at least $10,000. In the economy of the first century it might be the equivalent of more like $50,000 today. This was the kind of perfume or gift that served as a family heirloom. Likely, it had been passed along to the woman from a mother or grandmother. Over generations the family fortune had been spent to acquire this prize. It was an invaluable keepsake; an inheritance to be protected and safeguarded. It was the kind of ointment saved for the day when a loved one died and the body must be embalmed. But this nameless woman squandered it on this traveling rabbi, this itinerate preacher.<\/p>\n
She gathered herself at the feet of Jesus. Her tears dripped from her face onto Jesus\u2019 ankles and calloused feet, washing away the Palestinian dust. Her long, oily hair served as a thirsty towel. Then, stunning the onlookers, she poured out the expensive contents of the bottle on Jesus\u2019 feet, hair and body. Jesus\u2019 disciples, after reeling in their slack jaws, were indignant. They snorted and protested, clucked their tongues and scratched their heads. \u201cWhat a waste!\u201d they cried out. Their motives were seemingly pure. \u201cThis expensive perfume could have been sold and the money given to the poor\u201d they scolded. But you can hear the sarcastic judgment in their objections.<\/p>\n
Who does this woman think she is? Why has she wasted this kind of priceless treasure? How can one person be so stupidly irresponsible? But Jesus scolds his disciples in return, and turns to the woman with genuine gratitude. His reply from Mark\u2019s gospel is beautiful: \u201cLeave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me\u2026She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time.\u201d<\/p>\n
This worthless woman with a worthwhile gift had completed a worthy act. She, not the religious leaders and Christ-following disciples in the room, she \u2013 the outsider, the untouchable, the marginal \u2013 understood Jesus\u2019 coming passion and death. She poured out her treasure in advance of the burial she knew was coming. She \u201cdid what she could.\u201d Extravagantly. Willingly. Intentionally. But not thoughtlessly, inefficiently or inappropriately. She threw nothing away. She gave out of a heart of devotion, and that made all the difference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cWhat a waste.\u201d When a young person dies recklessly and unnecessarily, friends gather and respond, \u201cWhat a waste.\u201d When I spend an afternoon waiting and waiting (and waiting) at the dentist\u2019s office or at the bank I conclude, \u201cWhat a waste.\u201d When I scrape mounds of uneaten food off my children\u2019s plate into the trash…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":441,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grace","category-sacrifice"],"yoast_head":"\n