Possible New Light On A Puzzling Passage

This is how you should bless the poor.

One of Sunday's lectionary texts, from Mark's gospel, is about a potentially embarrassing incident in which a woman interrupts what was likely an all-male dinner to anoint Jesus' head with some outrageously expensive perfume.

Judas, the treasurer for Jesus' band of followers, deplores this as a sheer waste, representing a year's worth of wages that could have been given to the poor. Jesus, however, goes out of his way to affirm the unnamed woman, suggesting that it was a sign of his soon-to-be burial, and that her sacrifice would be forever remembered by people all over the world. And then he reminds them that taking care of the poor is an ongoing opportunity and obligation ("The poor you will always have with you.").

In our  house church Sunday, some questions were raised about what kind of woman this was. Was she an upscale prostitute who was breaking her precious bottle of pure nard as a sign of a new found love and loyalty to God?

Or could she have been a close relative, someone quite at home in the house of the host, Simon the Leper? And might Simon have been fully cured of his leprosy by Jesus himself, and invited Jesus and his disciples to a banquet to celebrate the miracle? And if the woman was a close kin of Simon, perhaps his sister, mother or a long time friend, might she have wanted to demonstrate an outpouring of her own gratitude in this extravagant way?

We may never know for sure, but Jesus is clearly praising her for her good intentions rather than embarrassing her for her bold action.

And perhaps he is saying, That is the way you should treat the poor, with heartfelt generosity and abandon.

In any case, there may be more to be learned here than meets the eye.