How to explain Mary's extravagant act of love?
JOE MILLER JR.

John 12:1-8

Why did Mary use a whole pound of oil of spikenard when one ounce would have been plenty? Imagine that you have some "Joy," which is an established, old-line, French perfume. It was created by the Jean Patou Company in 1930 and sells for $100 for 0.2 ounces (6 ml) from Amazon.com. That translates into $500 per fluid ounce or roughly $8000 per pound.

Although Joy is considered a "moderate strength" fragrance, can you imagine the overpowering aroma if you used a pound before you went to church? Your brothers and sisters at church may not consider the effect an aroma but a "stench." Even those without allergies would cough and gasp for air and threaten to douse you with water. The Bible says, "The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume."

If Mary wanted to show her love for Jesus, why did she need a whole pound? We may also ask why she needed to perform this task at all. Why didn't she simply fix his favorite dish for supper? She could have purchased a new pair of sandals for him.

By the cultural standards of Jesus' era and our own, this was an illogical act. Once the perfume was used, it was gone. The aroma would wear off in about 12 hours, and it would all be for naught. Yet, her act was defended by Jesus and has been recorded in holy scripture and passed down from generation to generation for 2000 years!

There have been many interpretations of this act, and all of them try to establish a reason behind Mary's actions. Is it possible that there is no logical explanation?

How does one explain extravagant love? Her act was one of great extravagance that trumps all logical explanations. A mother who cannot swim will give her own life in trying to save a drowning child, even though the attempt is futile.

Our Lord and Savior chose the nails and gave his life to save an unappreciative bunch of sinners (us!). God sent His own Son to try to bring us back into the covenant that He offers to us. Yet, we turn Him down on a daily basis. We cannot explain God's seemingly illogical actions on our behalf except to say that Divine Love defies all logic. That is what makes Grace so amazing!

The best place to learn about and experience God's love is in church. If you have a church, worship passionately. If you do not have a church, find one. East Texas is full of good churches. Email me at newtonumc@ valornet.com with your thoughts.

Joe Miller Jr. is pastor of First United Methodist Church in Newton.