Wednesday 22nd March
Read John 12:1-3
“Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honour. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about half a litre of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” (NIVUK)
How often do you associate smells with places and events? There is a certain fried peanut oil smell I will always associate with Myanmar from many trips there. English country gardens in spring have a similar effect, as do Australian rainforests! On the rare occasions my lovely wife wears perfume, it is a familiar and comforting scent. There are likely many reasons John remembers and recounts this meal in Jesus’ honour but I can’t help feeling that at least one of them is related to smell; “And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” (v3c).
It is surprising how frequently smell is associated with worship and sacrifice in Scripture. The Torah constantly refers to the sweet aroma of the sacrifices rising to please Yahweh. The tabernacle itself was alive with smells and perfumes enhancing worship and linking people to Yahweh through olfactory associations that can last surprisingly long. Paul gives thanks to God for his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ – likening them to the very aroma of Christ! “But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?” (2 Corinthians 2:14-16) (NIVUK). I could go on.
This contrasting aroma that Paul writes of is likely behind one of CS Lewis’ stranger observations on the anointing at Bethany. He wrote in one of his letters of a sudden, surprising insight into Mary’s act of devotion.
“The allegorical sense of her great action dawned on me the other day. The precious alabaster box which one must break over the Holy Feet is one’s heart. Easier said than done. And the contents become perfume only when it is broken. While they are safe inside they are more like sewage.”.
Lewis seems to describe a picture of complete, heartfelt devotion outwardly expressed in sacrifice and love. Those public, outward acts create the aroma that ‘fills the house’ (John 12:3) and then ‘fills everywhere’ (2 Corinthians 2:14). I suspect it is as difficult for those who are introverts as those who are extroverts to display such heartfelt, vulnerable devotion and worship – but if it is not expressed it just remains the stench of death and sewage.
What smell would people associate with you?
