“The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.”
Mary’s act of love was unforgettable, the sensory details filling John’s memory as he wrote his gospel.
The story of Mary anointing Jesus has captivated me for years. Her extravagant gift was an act of ministry to Jesus, and it has shaped my thinking about women’s ministry in the church. Just as Mary served the body of Christ in those beautiful moments, so women today who love Jesus long to offer their gifts in ministry to his body in the church. But like Mary, our gifts are often dismissed or criticized by men who claim to speak for the Lord.
I know this experience, and I’ve felt the brokenness of the local church. The body of Christ, broken by abuse. The brokenness between ethnicities and socioeconomic groups. And sometimes the deepest and most easily overlooked brokenness is between men and women.
So much is broken, but I believe Mary’s story can offer hope and a way forward. I believe we need to do what Jesus told his disciples when they criticized her gift: to remember her.
Mary’s story points towards a model of worship based on gifts. A church characterized by abundance and not scarcity; generosity and love rather than power and control.
Remembering and reflecting on Mary’s story can help us think about questions of ministry and church structure today. I want to consider these issues while also sharing parts of my own story. I hope what I write here can help to “re-member” the parts of Christ’s bride that have been fractured and broken; that aren’t caring for or building up each other. So that we can tell the story of Mary and ultimately the story of Jesus more faithfully, in memory of her.