While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, 'Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor.'
Jesus defends her against the criticism. 'Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.' She's done what she could, preparing his body for burial. And he honors it as beautiful.
There's something in this about the difference between efficiency and devotion. The critics are thinking economically—how can we maximize the value of this resource? But she's thinking relationally—I will give my best to the one I love. Jesus honors the relational logic. Not as a rebuke to caring for the poor, but as a recognition that some acts of love aren't primarily about utility. They're about honoring the beloved.
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