Six days before the Passover, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom he had raised from the dead.

Six days before the Passover, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they offered Jesus dinner; Marta served and Lázaro was one of those at the table with him. 3 Mary, taking almost half a liter of very expensive pure nard perfume, anointed Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair. The entire house was filled with the perfume of the balm. 4 Then Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, the one who was to betray him, said: 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred pieces of silver to give to the poor?” 6 Judas spoke this way, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he took care of the common purse and stole what was deposited in it. 7 But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she did this in view of the day of my burial. 8 Poor people, you will always have them with you, while you will not always have me.” 9 Many Jews, having heard that Jesus was in Bethany, went there, not only for Jesus' sake, but also to see Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 10 Then the high priests decided to kill Lazarus too, 11 because because of him, many people left the Jews and believed in Jesus. — Word of Salvation. Reflection Bethany was a village, a simple town 3km from Jerusalem, it was the home of Jesus' friends. Bethany does not have a precise meaning, but some say that it is “house of misery”, “house of suffering”, “house of dates”, among others. Among them, what interests us most here is being the home of Jesus' great friends, a place of life, friendship, familiarity, loving service, kindness and faith. It is a salvific meeting house and, therefore, dignifying for those who approach it. Two scenes of anointing, brought by Tradition, are presented to us in the Gospel texts: in Mark 14,3-9 and Luke 7,36-50. Matthew depends on the text of Mc. John, in turn, works with the two texts of Mc and Luke. Mc mentions the supper at the house of Simon the leper, in the city of Bethany. According to Mc, a woman poured expensive perfume on Jesus' head, as a sign of the advance embalming of His body for the tomb. At this moment, the scandal happens precisely because of the price of the perfume and not because of the woman's actions. In Luke, the supper takes place in the house of a Pharisee, who, shortly after, is identified as Simon, certainly the same one mentioned in Mc. The woman, who appears, is called a public sinner. Here, a little more elaborate than in Mc, the woman weeps, thrown at the feet of Jesus, a sign of repentance, love and hope in divine mercy, washing the Lord's feet with her tears, kissing them and anointed with perfume. In other words, everything she was and everything she possessed placed them there at the disposal of Jesus' judgment. In this case, the scandal presented by the text comes from the conception of the Pharisees, who judged her as a public sinner and, therefore, should not even be there. However, obeying the Jewish custom of anointing a guest's head, Luke notes that the Pharisee did not honor Jesus, failing to comply with the rule and Jesus, in turn, unmasks him, drawing attention to a humble woman, classified as a sinner by the Pharisee, but from whom she receives this honor. On the part of the woman, the anointing remains an expression of faith, and, as for the Pharisee's omission, an expression of disbelief. In John 12:3, the anointing performed by Mary on Jesus is understood as an anticipation of the anointing (as honor) of her body at death. According to John, the supper takes place in the house of Lazarus, Martha and Mary, in the same city of Bethany. He identifies the period of six days before Easter, a sign of what he already intends, such as the death of Jesus. The woman's gesture signals the grave. In this case, Jesus is the messianic king, who, despite being the Messiah, walks towards death, a necessary condition for achieving our redemption. In John's text, we have the characters well identified: the house belongs to Lazarus, the woman is Mary, and the disciple who questions the woman's action, spilling that very expensive perfume, is Judas Iscariot, who, according to John, is a thief and not he intended to help the poor, but himself. Let us note that in Luke it is the Pharisee who acts by questioning Jesus himself and his status as a prophet in the face of a sinner; here, in Jo, it is Judas Iscariot, who sees only the value of the perfume, criticizes Mary's attitude and, indirectly, denies the importance of Jesus in the face of a false interest in the poor, since, being a thief, he intended to pass hands on those 300 denarii. In both John and Mc and Luke, the emphasis is Christological, as honor and glory are due to Christ. Because of Him, we owe care to the poor. The anointing texts in Bethany make clear the need to turn absolutely to Christ. Furthermore, they emphasize the messiahship of Jesus Christ and His royal consecration. And yet, they highlight the hypocrisy of false religion, the need for true repentance, the manifestation of God's mercy in Jesus Christ.

Six days before the Passover, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they offered Jesus dinner; Marta served and Lázaro was one of those at the table with him. 3 Mary, taking almost half a liter of very expensive pure nard perfume, anointed Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair. The entire house was filled with the perfume of the balm. 4 Then Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, the one who was to betray him, said: 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred pieces of silver to give to the poor?” 6 Judas spoke this way, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he took care of the common purse and stole what was deposited in it. 7 But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she did this in view of the day of my burial. 8 Poor people, you will always have them with you, while you will not always have me.” 9 Many Jews, having heard that Jesus was in Bethany, went there, not only for Jesus' sake, but also to see Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 10 Then the high priests decided to kill Lazarus too, 11 because because of him, many people left the Jews and believed in Jesus. — Word of Salvation. Reflection Bethany was a village, a simple town 3km from Jerusalem, it was the home of Jesus' friends. Bethany does not have a precise meaning, but some say that it is “house of misery”, “house of suffering”, “house of dates”, among others. Among them, what interests us most here is being the home of Jesus' great friends, a place of life, friendship, familiarity, loving service, kindness and faith. It is a salvific meeting house and, therefore, dignifying for those who approach it. Two scenes of anointing, brought by Tradition, are presented to us in the Gospel texts: in Mark 14,3-9 and Luke 7,36-50. Matthew depends on the text of Mc. John, in turn, works with the two texts of Mc and Luke. Mc mentions the supper at the house of Simon the leper, in the city of Bethany. According to Mc, a woman poured expensive perfume on Jesus' head, as a sign of the advance embalming of His body for the tomb. At this moment, the scandal happens precisely because of the price of the perfume and not because of the woman's actions. In Luke, the supper takes place in the house of a Pharisee, who, shortly after, is identified as Simon, certainly the same one mentioned in Mc. The woman, who appears, is called a public sinner. Here, a little more elaborate than in Mc, the woman weeps, thrown at the feet of Jesus, a sign of repentance, love and hope in divine mercy, washing the Lord's feet with her tears, kissing them and anointed with perfume. In other words, everything she was and everything she possessed placed them there at the disposal of Jesus' judgment. In this case, the scandal presented by the text comes from the conception of the Pharisees, who judged her as a public sinner and, therefore, should not even be there. However, obeying the Jewish custom of anointing a guest's head, Luke notes that the Pharisee did not honor Jesus, failing to comply with the rule and Jesus, in turn, unmasks him, drawing attention to a humble woman, classified as a sinner by the Pharisee, but from whom she receives this honor. On the part of the woman, the anointing remains an expression of faith, and, as for the Pharisee's omission, an expression of disbelief. In John 12:3, the anointing performed by Mary on Jesus is understood as an anticipation of the anointing (as honor) of her body at death. According to John, the supper takes place in the house of Lazarus, Martha and Mary, in the same city of Bethany. He identifies the period of six days before Easter, a sign of what he already intends, such as the death of Jesus. The woman's gesture signals the grave. In this case, Jesus is the messianic king, who, despite being the Messiah, walks towards death, a necessary condition for achieving our redemption. In John's text, we have the characters well identified: the house belongs to Lazarus, the woman is Mary, and the disciple who questions the woman's action, spilling that very expensive perfume, is Judas Iscariot, who, according to John, is a thief and not he intended to help the poor, but himself. Let us note that in Luke it is the Pharisee who acts by questioning Jesus himself and his status as a prophet in the face of a sinner; here, in Jo, it is Judas Iscariot, who sees only the value of the perfume, criticizes Mary's attitude and, indirectly, denies the importance of Jesus in the face of a false interest in the poor, since, being a thief, he intended to pass hands on those 300 denarii. In both John and Mc and Luke, the emphasis is Christological, as honor and glory are due to Christ. Because of Him, we owe care to the poor. The anointing texts in Bethany make clear the need to turn absolutely to Christ. Furthermore, they emphasize the messiahship of Jesus Christ and His royal consecration. And yet, they highlight the hypocrisy of false religion, the need for true repentance, the manifestation of God's mercy in Jesus Christ.