Day 27
“Maria” - The Sound of Music (1965)
“How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?” This question is asked and comically answered in the 1965 musical, The Sound of Music by the nuns at Nonnberg Abbey in Salzberg, Austria. They express their exasperation over postulant Maria’s free-spirited and undisciplined nature. While she possesses so many wonderful qualities, and exudes joy in all her observations and undertakings, Maria will not be forced into the conventional, strict and structured life of a convent.
The sisters bring their complaints to Mother Superior concluding that Maria isn’t an asset to the Abbey. She climbs a tree, scrapes her knee, and waltzes and whistles her way through life - behavior not at all becoming of a proper nun. Mother Superior listens, but then asks, “How do you solve a problem like Maria?” It’s much like trying to pin a cloud down or stopping a wave on the sand.
In today’s reading there is a problem that demands resolution. Lazarus and his sisters continue to have regular access to Jesus and unorthodox, bothersome, offensive information continues to be reported to the religious leaders in Jerusalem. How will they solve the Bethany problem?
Read John 12:1-11
The week before the official start to Passover, Jesus and His disciples come to Bethany. While there, Lazarus and his sisters host a dinner party for Him. They had so much to celebrate, as Lazarus was completely dead, but now is alive. They had no one else to thank but Jesus!
Martha was serving the guests and Lazarus was reclining with Jesus and the others at the long table. I imagine they were laughing, joking, retelling the miracle they witnessed of Jesus calling Lazarus’ name and him walking out of his tomb from each of their perspectives. Perhaps they were peppering Lazarus with questions, “What was it like to be dead?” “Did you see anyone in heaven?” “What did you think when you woke up with burial cloths wrapped around your head?” “Why didn’t you take off the bandages covering your face at least, so you could see clearly?”
Then all of a sudden, Mary enters the room, carrying perfume, and approaches Jesus to anoint His feet. Jesus and the others may not have noticed Mary, as they were all reclining at the table, perhaps on pillows and rugs, propping themselves up on one of their elbows while eating and drinking with the other hand; their feet extended out. But then the fragrance began to waft throughout the room, as Mary opened the perfume and began pouring it over Jesus’ feet, even wiping His feet with her hair.
There are so many problems with this scene: First, attending to the feet of guests in a home was the work of servants, not hosts. Mary’s posture automatically reveals humility and devotion to Jesus. Second, her gift was extravagant. A pound is a very large amount of fragrant oil or perfume. Pure and expensive nard was imported from northern India and used by the Romans for anointing the head. We later learn from Judas that it was worth at least three hundred denarii, which would be the equivalent of about a year’s wages. Other gospel writers, Matthew and Mark, indicate that the perfume was kept in an alabaster jar. It is recorded here that Mary anointed the feet of Jesus, while the Synoptics mention that she anointed Jesus’ head. Considering the large quantity of ointment, Mary apparently moved from Jesus’ feet to His head. Lastly, Mary’s wiping of Jesus’ feet with her hair is also remarkable, since Jewish women rarely unbound their hair in public. While she was in the privacy of her own home, there were many men in attendance that day. Mary would not have walked about the dinner party with her head uncovered.
Lazarus’ guests were on sensory overload in that moment. The scent of the perfume was overpowering, the sight of Mary so lavishly and intimately caring for, even worshiping Jesus was uncomfortable to watch. Everyone was stunned and silent, taking it all in. And then Judas Iscariot asked, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” (v 5) Judas’ motivation was anything but pure. Even before he betrayed Jesus, he had already been a thief. In fact, Judas, who was in charge of ministry finances, would regularly skim money off the top and pocket it for himself.
Jesus responds quickly and shuts down any further comments on Mary’s display of love, “Leave her alone; she has kept it for the day of my burial. For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” (vv 7-8) Jesus is in no way discouraging helping the poor, but highlighting that time is of the essence. There is little time left when they will all be together in this way. Mary’s lavish, even ridiculous gift was a perfect foreshadowing of what was to come.
The Bethany Problem continued as people heard that Jesus was eating with Lazarus, who was dead but now was alive and came to see Lazarus for themselves. Perhaps they smelled the perfume all the way down the street! When the chief priests heard this, they made plans to put Lazarus to death, demonstrating an astounding refusal to allow their beliefs to be changed by undeniable facts. They would rather destroy the evidence than change their minds. How many would have to die to keep this story of Jesus’ resurrection power under wraps? Only one more would die and be raised to life and the true problem - the sin problem - would be solved once and for all.
“For His divine power has bestowed on us [absolutely] everything necessary for [a dynamic spiritual] life and godliness, through true and personal knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” (2 Peter 1:3, Amplified Bible)
Big Picture Questions for Today:
The Creator’s providence, Reformer John Calvin says, will ensure that events turn out exactly as He has planned. Assuming that is true, can we agree that our greatest problem - our sin problem - has already been solved in Jesus’ sacrificial death on our behalf, according to God’s sovereign plan?
Do you tend to advise God, similar to Judas, as to appropriate solutions to the problems in your life, your family, this country, the world?
Pray for faith to trust that God in His sovereignty has solved for every need, every problem we have in and through His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.
