Extravagance

"Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. ... [And] when the great crowd learned that Jesus was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead."

What extravagance. An extravagance of cost, an extravagance of fragrance, an extravagance of gesture, an extravagance of love, and extravagance of life that is so strong it overcomes death.

"So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus."

And so again the extravagance is met with not just resistance but fear and loathing. Too much cost. Too much fragrance. Too much love. Too much life. It was all just too much for everyone.

There was too much love and it just had to be stopped.  It had to be fought against.  It had to be killed.

It threatened everyone around Jesus except for Mary, whose brother Jesus had raised from the dead after four days in the tomb.  For Mary, there was no such thing as too much love or too much life.  There is so much love and life that you can bathe in it.

Plenty fosters plenty and diminishment fosters diminishment.

He came that we might have life and have it abundantly. Amen.