Jn 12:1-11
1Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him. 3Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. 4Then Judas the Iscariot, one [of] his disciples, and the one who would betray him, said, 5“Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?”
6He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions. 7So Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. 8You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
9[The] large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came, not only because of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too, 11because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him.
Mary of Bethany: The one who anoints Jesus’ feet in the Gospel of John is Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. All three are friends of Jesus. This Mary is at times mixed up with Mary Magdalene who is seen as a sinful woman. The version by Mark and Matthew of the anointing has an unnamed woman anointing the head (not the feet) of Jesus with costly perfume in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper (Mk 14:3; Mt 26:6-7). Luke has a story of a sinful woman who anoints the feet of Jesus in the house of Simon the Pharisee in Galilee (Lk 7:36-38). (Popular imagination, plus a Pope no less [Gregory I], realigned the three women to come out with one sinful Mary Magdalene doing the anointing. The Church has since corrected this mix-up and separated the three women.)
The anointing expresses Mary’s loving gesture for the Master who has restored her brother Lazarus to life. The fragrance of the ointment signifies the abundance of affection. Contrast is made of a bad odor that would come from the grave of the dead Lazarus, as exposed by Martha (Jn 11:39) with the fragrance of life that Mary gives for the resuscitation of her brother. Another contrast is made with the objection of Judas. The juxtaposing of Mary’s abundant generosity, reflecting her great love, with the hypocritical objection of Judas reveals that a woman—not a disciple—has understood the significance of Jesus.