The anointing of Jesus is told by all four of the evangelists but situated at different moments in the life of Jesus and each gospel emphasizes a different aspect of the story. Apparently the early Church remembered this incident from the life of Jesus but didn’t now exactly what to do with it. One thing all four accounts have in common is criticism of the woman doing the anointing. In St. John’s account the anointing was done by Jesus good friend, Mary of Bethany, and was apparently an act of gratitude for raising her brother Lazarus from the dead. But the criticism: “Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?” That serves as a reminder that no matter we do we will get criticized. The human tendency is to tear down whoever is making us feel bad about ourselves. The better idea would be to do something good ourselves. It doesn’t have to solve all the world’s problems but if each one does what they can to care for somone hurting, soon God will transform our world into a place of justice and peace.
