Six days before the Passover John's gospel tells us that Mary came to Jesus with a precious gift, a pint of pure Spikenard, and poured it over his feet as a way of honouring him, of valuing him, of anointing him for death.
A whole pint: precious, pungent, heady, thick amber oil.
Might this have been a family treasure? An heirloom passed down through the generations? Could this have been used for a dowry? Three hundred denaari's worth - it took a day to earn a denaari - three hundred days of labour and toil, gone in an instant, in an act of love.
Seeing this act as one of love, or one of waste, might be a matter of perspective. For Judas, desperate to get his own way, this was beyond understanding. For Judas living for today, in the here and now, this brought no value now and reached to no future purpose, at least in his mind. Judas was practical, he had shouted 'Hoshana' the day before, like the others, and meant it; he meant it with all his being, 'save us now... by ANY means'. Scheming and conniving and betraying - the means that value cause, reality and immediacy above symbol, metaphor and possibility. His was a small story.
Mary entered into the bigger story. Mary, unlike many of the disciples, had listened well, she knew time was short and there was an opportunity now. She used what she had and gave it willingly, lavishly, lovingly, she was to echo - his story - Jesus' story.
Some things are made 'for-giving', lavishly, willingly, lovingly - to the last drop.
Spikenard.
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