Monday of Holy Week
Readings: IS 42:1-7; JN 12:1-11
The first reading from Isaiah 42 tells the story of the “suffering servant” – the one who suffers so the victory of justice may come about. These are the passages that the Jews who were followers of Jesus reread after his death and saw the life and work of Jesus in them. We even hear echoes of Jesus’ ministry in this passage when it says that this chosen one will “open the eyes of the blind, bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.”
The gospel tells the story of Jesus’ visit to the house of Mary, Martha and Lazarus (yes, the Lazarus that was raised from the dead). During the dinner, Mary anoints Jesus’ feet with a costly oil and Judas raises his protest that the money could have been spent on the poor. Jesus offers his famous phrase, “You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
This verse from scripture has been used in so many ways throughout the centuries.
It is likely that Jesus was quoting a passage from Deuteronomy which his hearers would have been familiar with. We, however, only hear the first part, but listen to what follows in Deuteronomy 15:11, “There will always be poor people in the land [the poor you will always have with you]…Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.”
This passage from Deuteronomy is actually a part of the “jubilee tradition” whereby debts are forgiven, servants are freed and the land is returned to its original owners. So Jesus quoting about the poor always being with people is true, but also possibly meant to be heard as tongue-in-cheek. Because if people were practicing the jubilee commands, there would not be poor people!
But regardless of what he exactly meant, Jesus spent his life openhanded to people. He gave away everything that he had, and this week we witness his giving away his very life.
So many of us know this openhanded way of living because we are parents or caregivers for people in our families. I have found that grandparents and elders especially have this kind of love. They don’t hold back.
This is exactly the kind of love Jesus is speaking about.
He, however, wanted us to extend it to everyone – not just the people in our families or the people we love. He said extend this love to the poor. Extend this love to the outcast. Extend this love to the people on the margins. Extend it to people we don’t know. Extend it even to our enemies and the people who have hurt us. This is, in part, why he attracted such a following (which made the religious authorities angry). He embodied this love and extended it to everyone – especially the people that were thought to not deserve it.
Perhaps for today and for the rest of this week we might practice this openhanded way of living (which goes quite well with the openhearted way of living that we reflected upon on the first day of this Lenten journey). Can we live openhandedly (with our time, treasure and talent) with the people close to us as well as those we do not know? Can we live openheartedly with a spirit of humility, gratitude and freedom? Start with today.