She has done what she could

Mark 14:6-8
But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you bother her? She did a good work to Me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me. She has done what she could; she anointed My body beforehand for the burial.”

An unnamed woman lavishly anointed Jesus’ with rare perfume that was so valuable that it would have cost the equivalent of a year of workers’ wages.

Some reclining at the table with them were indignant (literally “bent out of shape”). They muttered to each other, “What a waste? And for what purpose? This perfume should have been sold and the money donated to the poor.”
 
Jesus told them to leave her alone and challenged them with their reference to the poor.
 
Jesus' quote from the Old Testament regarding the poor acknowledged our great responsibility: “For the poor you will always have with you in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land’" (Deuteronomy 15:7-11). Those who were listening knew the whole passage. Our commitment to the poor is the perpetual work of His followers and the church: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31).

The poor are a priority. But the woman’s act had urgent significance. “You do not always have Me.”
 
With her anointing, she acknowledged Jesus: who He was, what He said, what He did and was going to do as King, as Prophet, as High Priest and suffering servant. In the Old Testament kings (1 Sam. 10:1), prophets (1 Kings 19:16), and priests (Exodus 28:41) were anointed to their offices. The word “Christ” itself means “Messiah” or “anointed One.” As Jesus said, the anointing also anticipated His burial. His followers did not really understand any of this.
 
This woman’s act had additional meaning. She anointed Jesus as an act of love, echoing the only other reference to spikenard in the Scripture: “While the king was upon his couch, my spikenard gave forth its fragrance. My lover is to me a sachet of myrrh” (Song of Songs 1:12-13). Like this woman, our life of following Jesus should be one of progressively deepening love for the Savior, something that has characterized the lives of the great saints throughout history.

Those around the table were scolding and shaming the woman. But Jesus had something different to say about her, something that He said only once in the gospel. And it was in reference to this woman and what she had done: “And truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman did will also be spoken of in memory of her” (14:9).

As we begin our observation of Lent we start by remembering this woman.
We honor the symbolism of her bold and generous act.
And we join in her confession of love.