Thought for the Week: The impact of someone else’s humble sacrifice - Rev Dr William Morton

They are all very distinctive.

There are ones, like, for example, lavender, which, if lighted, fills a room with a lovely relaxing odour; on the other hand, a choice like sweet citrus, or grapefruit, will energise and re-invigorate the mind. I’m very fond of the ones which linger, and seem to pervade the house right through the day.

There’s a lovely verse in St John’s Gospel, chapter 12, from one of the readings for tomorrow, the fifth Sunday in Lent, and it’s all about a beautiful scent: “The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume”. This rather unusual, but quaint, observation by St John relates to how, while at a dinner in his honour in the home of Martha and Mary, and their brother Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead, Jesus has His feet anointed by Mary with a large quantity of expensive perfume.

Mary’s generous gesture invoked criticism - there is always someone to criticise – and Mary could have quelled the objections by using only some of the perfume and giving money from the sale of the remainder to the poor. But then, the house would not have been filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

In Saint Matthew’s Gospel, it is interesting to note that Jesus says to Mary’s critics: “She has done a lovely thing for me. Leave her alone”’.

Mary’s life was ruled by love, and not only duty. The fragrance of the perfume refreshed the others present, as well as Jesus.

The whole house, even the mundane areas of that home, were refreshed by the aroma.

The fragrance of our love for Christ within our hearts must be such that it pervades the rest of our lives; our acts of service, through love for God, should be evident in every dimension of life.

Mary knew exactly what she was doing – she was anointing the feet of the Son of God, Jesus, who would suffer death on the Cross, to die for the sins of the world. The perfume was strong enough to fill the house with its fragrance. This means that although Mary intended only to anoint Jesus, she ended up changing the entire atmosphere and marking everyone present with the scent of sacrifice.

How do you imagine the aroma of the perfume would affect them all in years to come? Let’s think about our own lives. Have we ever been impacted by someone else’s humble, selfless sacrifice?

Were we ever the direct recipient, or a silent observer? In what ways has it changed how we think or act today?