Todays gospel speaks of the anointing of Jesus with costly oil. This passage always seemed out of place to me, and unnecessary, but this extravagance, is not out of place when used on Jesus. This account is different from Mark’s in that the oil is used to anoint Jesus’ feet, but despite this difference, this is an extremely important moment, and has deeply profound theological implications.
Mary Magdalene was the woman of whom Jesus had cast out many demons. She is also believed to be the woman that was caught in adultery. The ointment was pure nard, which was extremely expensive. It was used, not only for the embalming of the dead, but also had a nuptial context as well. The only other mention of nard in the bible is in the song of songs, as a gift from the bride to her bridegroom. Mary here, is not only anointing Jesus’ feet for his upcoming passion, but she is giving a gift of great value, and meaning, to her bridegroom.
So the next logical questions is to ask why all of the marriage talk. That is because this is God’s greatest desire, to be wedded to us all through Jesus. It is extremely important, at this point to note, that when Jesus talks of marriage and weddings (in Heaven), there is not a sexual aspect to it. It speaks only to the deeply intimate connection that is built up between Husband and Wife through the institution of holy matrimony. That intimacy is what God seeks to have with all of us.
When Jesus freed Mary from the bondage of sin, He opened the gates of Heaven to her, and the eternity of happiness and joy with Him forever. This was not a one-way gift, not a one time transaction, it is a covenant between souls, pledging “I give myself to you, and you will give yourself to me.” Marriage is the only sacrament in the church where the minister is only a witness. He plays no part in the institution of the blessing. The sacrament of marriage is bestowed on the wife by her husband, and on the husband by his wife.
So too, Jesus gave everything to us on the cross, and he opened the gates of Heaven to us all. He pledged everything He had, His whole self, to us in that wonderful, horrible, sacrifice of love and mercy. But in order for Mary to “wed” herself to Him forever, she had to change her whole life, and give everything she had, her whole self back to him. This is what that gift of nard means, and this is why Jesus so fervently defends her.
So Mary is a model for us all, of how we are to respond to the ‘marriage proposal’ Jesus made to us on the cross. And she shows us how to approach the personal relationship with Him, that Jesus offers to us all. He wants us all to turn from our sin, He “weds” himself to us through the gift of His sacrifice on the cross, and His offer of infinite mercy and forgiveness, and we in-turn “wed” ourselves to Him by turning away from sin, and seeking that most intimate union of our souls to His.
This mystical union is why I believe Jesus uses the marriage feast and nuptial metaphors all throughout His teachings, because that is what Heaven is, a perpetual, eternal, wedding feast where the bridegroom Jesus, celebrates his bride (the church), and their mutual triumph over satan and sin. Don’t you want to be at that feast, don’t you want to celebrate eternity with Him forever in Heaven? Don’t you want to spend eternity with your bridegroom, the king of the universe, the creator of all things? That is what He wants, more than anything! Can you even comprehend something so incredible. That God wants to be wedded to you, and wants more than anything, for you to want to be wedded to Him. It boggles my mind to think that this could possibly be true, but it is, He is waiting for you to make the first move. What are you waiting for?
