“Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil” (John 12:3).
Mary’s Part
Wanda MacAvoy
It lingers still: the sweet, sweet scent
Upon His robe, where’re He went.
Mary’s box of treasure rare,
Was also trapped upon her hair.
Into the city, Jesus rode,
A donkey held the Precious Load.
The palms were strewn upon the lane;
The fragrance followed as He came.
While questioned, “Which command is best?”
They tried to put Him to the test.
And as He spoke, His eyes aflame,
Because, in unbelief they came,
His words were strong, filled with demand:
“Tis love toward God and fellow man.”
But there it came: delightful trail,
That spoke of love, when they had failed.
And even as He washed their feet,
And served the bread and cup, the sweet
Now familiar, quite irksome balm,
Trailed every move, and sang its song.
“Do to others as I have done,”
His words and deeds did match the tone,
And brought the meaning to each heart,
As each remembered Mary’s part.
Did that sweet fragrance hedge Him in,
Kneeling alone—without, within?
Did the soldiers stop and question,
Why the scent was all about Him?
His robe was taken, thrown aside,
Yet wisps of perfume still abide
Upon His head and mangled beard,
Though torn and tainted now with blood.
“It is finished,” loud His cry,
And though the life within Him died,
Upon His broken body stained,
The sweet reminder of His claim.
Early, as the morning dawns,
And angels come and death is gone.
The clothes are all that still remains,
Except for one small whiff that came
And served its every purpose well,
Its small, but weighty story tells.
The story of a woman’s heart,
Who paid the price to do her part.
But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them,
Matthew 26:10-13 (NKJV)
“Why do you trouble the woman? F
or she has done a good work for Me.
“For you have the poor with you always,
but Me you do not have always.
“For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body,
she did it for My burial.
“Assuredly, I say to you,
wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world,
what this woman has done will also be told
as a memorial to her.”
Beyond Common Sense 
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