One day when I was riding a rapid transit in Arabia, I stood beside a young Muslim woman garbed in black. Her fragrance was so enticing that I asked what it was. She said it was jasmine. Perfume and cologne are a big business. We all like to smell good!
Here is a chapter from my book “Voices: God Speaking in Creation” that deals with perfume.
Every Gospel relates the story of a woman who anoints Jesus with perfume. In Matthew’s and Mark’s accounts, she is just an anonymous woman in Bethany who pours the perfume on Jesus’ head. In Luke, she is a sinful woman whose tears fall on his feet. She dries his feet with her hair and then ours perfume on them. In John, Jesus is dining with Lazarus while Martha serves. Mary pours the perfume on his feet and dries them with her hair. Depending on the version read, the shock value of the deed is augmented by the facts that the lady crashed the party, she shattered the alabaster jar in the process of anointing, her hair was loose as no respectable Jewish woman would have it, and the perfume was very expensive.
The dramatic impact of the extravagant gesture has not been forgotten. As Jesus predicted, “Wherever this good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her” (Matthew 26:13).
Onlookers resented the waste of the precious ointment. If it had been presented as a gift to Jesus, they reasoned, he could have sold it and used the money for other things. Instead, the perfume was consumed to the last drop in one brilliant moment.
The anointing was a lavish act of love. People in love with other human beings are capable of seemingly insane actions. They do not care what others think. They sacrifice anything for the sake of their beloved. O. Henry’s short story “The Gift of the Magi” illustrates this truth poignantly. Della and Jim are a young couple struggling to make ends meet. Della’s prized possession is her long hair; Jim’s is his gold watch. At Christmas time Della sells her hair to obtain enough money to buy Jim a watch fob, only to learn that Jim has sold his watch to purchase a set of combs for her hair!
How much more unreasonable are those who are in love with God. They are willing to pour out themselves for his sake. Oblivious to the amazement, criticism, or denunciation of others, they live as they must in order to be united with the One who is everything to them. Their attitude is not “What do I have to do?” but “What more can I do?”
Love-gifts are never wasted. Ask a contemplative who has sacrificed a promising career for a life consecrated to God. Giving joy to the Beloved is worth any price.
Sometimes what appears wasted is ultimately very beneficial. When time and money are poured into a project that fails, when efforts to aid a troubled person yield no results, when overtures of love are spurned, then we can trust that in the divine economy a good has been achieved. And goodness, like beauty, is its own excuse for being. The shattering of the alabaster jar and the spilling of every drop of perfume was not in vain. Jesus claimed it served as an anointing for the time when his lifeblood would be poured out for love . . . another startling extravagance.
This song is a meditation on the fitting “waste” of the alabaster jar’s perfume…
The fragrance of perfume filled the house. Invisibly and swiftly it permeated the air and touched all who were present, clinging to them and making them bearers of its loveliness. One of Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman’s prayers begins, “Dear Jesus, help me to spread thy fragrance everywhere I go.” The fragrance of Jesus. If we bring to others the sweet, fresh scent of integrity, purity, and divine love, it will change them and brighten their lives. The odor of sanctity is strong enough to overpower and drive out the stench of evil. But it is a mistake to equate it solely with the odor of incense, scented candles, and antiseptic. The smell of holiness is like the smell of bread baking, newly mown grass, and honest sweat. It is the smell of life, not death.
Good smells are pleasing to us. Women dab on perfume and men splash on cologne and aftershave lotions with a distinctive scent to make themselves more attractive. In designing the world, our provident Creator invented myriad flowers that are beautiful not only in appearance, but in their fragrance. He also saw to it that the aroma of food would enhance the delight of eating it. Praise God for the sense of smell!
The woman, whoever she may be, was right to anoint Jesus. “Christ” means the anointed one. The Hebrews anointed their kings, priests, and prophets with oil. The ritual of anointing consecrated them, set them apart, for their special tasks. Jesus was the Christ anointed by the Spirit to redeem the world. He filled all three roles: king, priest, and prophet. Just as the woman poured out her love for Jesus with perfume, he shows his love for us in anointing us with sweet-smelling chrism at baptism and again at confirmation. By our anointing we participate in his kingly, priestly, and prophetic missions. During the sacrament of Holy Orders chrism is placed on the hands of the new priests and on the heads of new bishops. This aromatic oil is also placed on the altar and walls of church that is being dedicated.
Jesus is Lord and king. On Calvary the inscription over his head, intended to be a statement of his crime, read, “Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews.” This was a true epitaph, but too limited. Jesus is king of the universe. When the Father spoke the Word that brought all things into being, the Son was with him. When creation was held captive and tyrannized by the dominion of Satan, Jesus wrested it back by his death and resurrection. The Book of Revelation describes him riding a white horse: “On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, ‘King of kings and Lord of lords’ ” (Revelation 19:16). His kingdom prevails over the kingdom of evil and is everlasting.
Through the sacraments of initiation, we become Christians, anointed ones. We are consecrated and become royalty: sons and daughters of God and heirs to the kingdom of heaven. We are consecrated to the spread of the kingdom of peace, justice, and love. We engage in the war against evil. Our motto: “To know him is to live; to serve him is to reign.”
Jesus is priest. The Letter to the Hebrews explains how far his priesthood surpasses the priesthood of old. The sacrifice of Jesus is superior to the holocaust of animals. It is infinitely pleasing to the Father. Jesus himself is leader of the people. He leads in service, teaching through his life of compassion and concern.
We are a priestly people. The Jewish people saw themselves as priests. During their celebration of Sukkot, they offered seventy-two sacrifices, one for each known nation of the world. We, too, intercede for others as we pray the universal prayers, the Prayers of the Faithful, at Mass. Then through the Eucharist we offer Jesus to the Father, the perfect sacrifice that has replaced all others. We also offer ourselves and hope that we, too, are sweet-smelling holocausts. We hope that by following the example of our High Priest we influence others, using our charism, our personal grace-gift, to lead all people to the Father. Our prayers, our deeds of love, our Christian bearing make us ministers to the needs of the world.
Jesus is prophet. He reveals God to us and proclaims what God desires of us. He calls us to live up to our covenant, our baptismal promises. As other Hebrew prophets were, he was ignored, mocked, despised, and eventually killed. His life and death were crystal clear proofs of his message: God is love.
Our anointing consecrates us as prophets. We witness to Jesus, see reality as he sees it, and live according to his countercultural values. Not surprisingly, we experience the same reactions he did: apathy, scorn, hatred. A bishop leads his people in a nonviolent attack on pornography and is criticized by the city’s newspaper. A woman refuses to cooperate with the illegal practices of her boss and is fired. We join a packet line protesting abortion and are mocked. Undaunted, we Christians go on, relying on the power of the Spirit of Jesus.
The woman’s anointing of Jesus was a prelude to his death. At baptism Jesus anoints us, too, for our death. He enables us to live dead to sin in this life. In the end we will share his victory over death when we are raised to new and eternal life. Then, according to the revelations of the mystic Julian of Norwich, God will thank us for our service. And God’s thanks will be so great that we will be filled with bliss. Then we will truly know the meaning of love.
• What are your favorite things to smell?
• How have you or someone you know given God a lavish gift of love?
