2 August 2026

Jesus says three important things about the extravagant gift which the woman with the alabaster jar of expensive ointment gave him. Firstly, ‘you always have the poor with you and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish.’   Jesus is not saying that the poor should be ignored at the expense of an extravagant gift. He is saying that the poor are part of us and we should be kind to them, literally treat them as our kin!

Secondly, he says of the woman’s extravagant gift, ‘She has performed a good service for me.’   The word which is translated ‘good’ not only has moral content – good as opposed to bad but also beauty. The word is used to describe goodness which is beautiful, attractive, bonnie, winsome and so on. God’s creation is described as good. It is beautiful. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. The beauty of his love attracts.

And that’s the point! The woman’s extravagant gift was not dutiful but spontaneous. She did what she did because she couldn’t help it. She did it because she loved the Lord Jesus! Giving is often dutiful but the giving which is the fruit of love has no bounds, no borders, no inhibitions. It’s free, generous, spontaneous, alive, beautiful. It comes from the heart of God.

Thirdly, Jesus says, ‘She has anointed my body beforehand for its burial.’ Later on, the women come to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. This anonymous woman has anticipated it. But the gift draws us into the more profound giving of Christ on the cross. This is where our offerings begin and end in that love which conquers death and of which St. Paul says, ‘nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’