What We Have to Offer the World
Extending Healing and Wholeness to All
Reflection By Robbin Brent
Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair.
- John 12:3
Six days before the Passover, an intimate and extravagant act of love takes place in the village of Bethany. Mary, the sister of Lazarus, takes a pound of pure nard, an incredibly expensive perfume, and anoints Jesus’ feet, wiping them with her hair. It’s a scene of startling intimacy as Mary pours out her most precious possession in a gesture of pure devotion.
Mary’s act challenges the limits of our love. She gives without calculation, without holding back, offering her whole self in service to the One who is life itself. Her anointing of Jesus foreshadows the self-giving love that will ultimately triumph over death, bring forth new life, and make all things whole.
As we stand on the cusp of Holy Week, Mary’s example speaks to a question many of us wrestle with: in a world of overwhelming need and uncertainty, what can I, one person, do that will make a difference? Mary didn’t try to solve everything. She simply offered what she had—her treasure, her presence, her whole self—in that moment. Her anointing planted a seed of extravagant love that rippled outward in ways she could not have predicted or controlled. Like Mary, we can show up and be fully present in the moment: noticing where we are, who is before us, what we have to offer. This is how the world is healed—not through grand actions—but through small acts of love offered fully and without reservation. David Brooks described this beautifully: “Culture changes when a small group of creative people find a beautiful way to live and the world wants that.” We are never alone in this work of healing. Even when we cannot see the full impact of our efforts, we can trust that God does.
Making It Personal: How does Mary’s act of anointing Jesus challenge or inspire you? What might it look like for you to love extravagantly this Holy Week?