A Perfume by Any Other Name
Nov 09, 2021
“That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” mused Juliet in Shakespeare’s play bearing her name in the title. But could the same be said for perfume?
The world’s most expensive fragrance – of which only one bottle was crafted -- is remote controlled and listed in the Guinness World Record for boasting the most diamonds inlaid on any perfume bottle. Valued at $1.29 million, “Shumukh” will linger on your skin for half a day. Yet I wonder, would the same aromatic fluid placed in a glass bottle from the local craft store smell be worthy of its own website?
Smell may be the strongest of our five senses; perhaps because this sensory organ is connected directly to the brain. It’s often treated as a non-essential sense – until someone loses it! Many who lost this ability or had it significantly reduced during a bout with Covid came to appreciate the powerful and precious part it plays in our life.
My nose’s capacity leans more towards the sparse than the robust. Which, with five active boys in my home for a number of years – plus countless friends and teammates, was a blessing. If I could smell the bacteria escaping from shoes slipped off in the backseat after a basketball game, I knew everyone was in danger of passing out and ordered necessary measures to be taken immediately to restore air to inhalable levels. I refereed more than one skirmish over smelly feet, arm pits, hair, or general body odors leeching into our conversion van’s atmosphere.
Smells can incite significant hostility.
Three of the four gospels record a scent-story. And the timing of this event makes it all the more noteworthy. I’m not sure what most people would be doing if they knew they only had a few days to live, but I’m guessing it might be something like: reviewing (or perhaps completing) a will or trust; making phone calls or writing letters to loved ones; recording a video for posterity; eating favorite foods. Jesus attends a dinner party.
Whereas many Bible stories are short on details, this account includes several. First, the homeowner’s name: Simon. And given this was a common name, it’s clarified for us by specifying “Simon the leper.” Whoa! That means of identification surely wouldn’t fly in today’s culture. Try posting “#dinner@joewithherpes” and see where that lands you!
The interesting thing is we don’t even know if the homeowner was there! Whether Simon still carried this disease and was living as an outcast in a leper society, had recovered from this socially and physically destructive illness, or had died of it, isn’t clear. What we do know Jesus is having a Passover meal there. For a very rough comparison, think Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner in terms of significance.
We're also told Lazarus – as in “Tomb Raider” infamy is attending with his sisters Mary and Martha. While we can’t know for certain, it’s reasonable to conclude the Mary who shows up at this banquet is the same one whose sister Martha, at a previous meal, tattled on Mary to Jesus only to learn being present was more important than being impressive. I wonder whether Martha was more focused on the service or the Savior on this day.
Mary enters, carrying an incredibly expensive bottle of nard. Now “nard’s” not an everyday word. At least not here in the U.S. What was this concoction? It was, in modern lingo, an exquisite essential oil, derived from a plant grown in the Himalayan mountains. In case you’ve forgotten your geography, this required traveling from Israel through modern-day Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, a distance of about 3,000 miles, roughly the mileage between Boston and Los Angeles. By camel, horse, or on foot. In Jesus’ time, importing anything from a place this distant automatically qualified it as Elon Musk pocket change. A year’s wages for ordinary folks.
How Mary came to have this precious item is uncertain. Was she wealthy? Had it been a gift? Was it the equivalent of the “family jewels?” A solid “nest egg,” or retirement account? Proceeds from Lazarus selling the book and movie rights to his story, “Dead Man Walking?” We don’t know.
What we do know is Mary doesn’t pull out a dropper from her pocket and gingerly draw up three drops, placing one on Jesus’ forehead and one on each foot. Nope. She breaks the bottle and drenches Jesus with an entire pound of this cherished possession.
Sometimes love busts our treasures wide open.
Mary leaves no room for anyone to question her devotion to Jesus. Let’s not forget the society in which this occurred. Women didn’t have careers and received little, if any, education and were, culturally, considered inferior and dispensable. It was indeed a “man’s world.” Women were dependent on a man – a husband, father, brother, uncle, son, or some other male relative – to take care of them.
For Mary, this perfume preserved security. But power, independence, and prestige weren’t her priorities.
The aroma of this liquid-love engulfs the house. Every person stops what they’re doing! “What is that smell?” The sounds of clanging, clamoring, and chewing cease.
Every eye stares in shock. Every nose involuntarily inhales the fragrance of lavish gratitude. Every pulse quickens.
As abruptly as conversation had halted, it lurches forward.
“Did you see that?”
“Did she really pour out the entire bottle?”
“Surely it was a mistake. She must have dropped it by accident.”
“I’ve never seen Martha at a loss for words!”
One heart beats erratically. Judas expresses the “religiously correct” response – “This should have been sold and the money given to the poor!” But he’s had it. Jesus doesn’t rebuke Mary. There’s no pushing her away with a harsh and demeaning, “Woman! What have you done?! How stupid can you be?!” No, there’s only consent. The kind of acceptance rooted in humbly embracing someone else’s gift. It’s the last straw for Judas.
One person's waste is another person's worship.
In this season of Thanksgiving, may this story not be a tale scribbled on ancient scrolls which we read, yawn, and say, “How quaint.” Rather, may it call us to choose His presence with the same extravagant, joyful, effusive love Mary modeled so many centuries before. We may feel like dollar-store glass bottles and cheap perfume, but every Christ-follower is a priceless, dazzling, opulent vessel, brimming with divine news just waiting to enrich and engulf one’s world with astounding goodness.
