The message in today’s Gospel can be poignant yet threatening – Mary, a woman, kneels at the feet of Jesus, bathing them with costly, fragrant ointment. She is immune to the judgments that might be floating around. Where did she learn this kind of love, care, deep humility? Certainly, Jesus before whom she knelt had touched the divine in her heart. He was the one who did not “break a bruised reed” or “quench a smoldering wick.” He had come to bring justice to the nations, “to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.”
When the fragrance of a pure heart permeates an environment, a person can either be inspired to do likewise, or be threatened by one’s selfish ambitions. From what perspective do we see? Today let us be the servants, in the example of Mary, anointing those in need of our care. After all, Jesus waits for us in all the people who will come into our environment.