Costly extravagance

  Last Sunday—the fifth Sunday of Lent—our pastor preached on John 12:1-8, when Mary anoints Jesus’ feet with costly perfume. In the silence that followed the sermon, the phrase that emerged for me was “costly extravagance.” Mary’s gift—expensive perfume poured over Jesus’ feet and wiped off with her own hair—was certainly extravagant. The overwhelming aroma and  Keep Reading…