Contrast

After receiving the Lord's rejection in Jerusalem, and the hospitality of those three friends in Bethany in their last week, the Gospel of Mark records a final, deeply significant double scene.

The first part of it is the anointing of the Lord by Mary, a fact that is shown here in surprising detail: "…and breaking the alabaster vase, he poured it out on his head" (14:3). Because of the symbolism of this scene, this is very relevant. The mere spilling of the perfume was not enough: the glass had to be broken. Why?

The glass is the soul, while the perfume is the spirit of man that can only be released if the soul is broken. Only a broken soul can anoint the Lord and fill the house with the aroma of life. Wonderful lesson that transcended the act itself, so incomprehensible to the disciples!

But, right away, the story makes a cold contrast, as we go from love to betrayal: Judas makes agreements with the main priests to deliver the Master (14:10). He didn't even wait for the tears to dry on Maria's cheeks, and for the Master's words to fall silent. His twisted heart was filled with haste to consummate the fatal design. Having been so close to heaven, he is now pushed through hell.

But the contrast does not end there: it is a woman –very little appreciated in the virile environment of the Jews– and it is a woman from a common family and village, the one who loves him so delicately; inasmuch as he is a man, and not just any man, the one who sells him – he is one of those blessed Twelve for whom the heart of Jesus was always so open.

This is how man is: a continuous oscillation between two extremes, love and hate. And our Lord exposed himself to all of this, suffering our betrayals, and enduring our whims, loading everything on the wood of the cross so that we could write a different story!

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