Monday April 10
A few days before he would die, Jesus visits a family that had always been dearly beloved for him. How poignant a get-together! Jesus, who would soon be killed and then be raised, gets together with Lazarus who was once dead but was raised, with Martha waiting on him, and Mary anointing his feet with fabulous perfume. John does not mention them talking about anything. They didn’t have to. It is as if they read each other’s heart and words would only be superfluous. Of everyone present, Lazarus would have felt most clearly what was in the mind of Jesus, for to some extent he had been there where Jesus would soon be. And how deeply reassuring it would have been for Jesus to be with the one whom he raised from the dead! What he did to Lazarus, his Father would soon do to him. The visit would have given him the strength to face the next six days.
It is a pity that Judas could not make any sense of the intimations of the hearts assembled. He dared to speak and his words vitiated the fragrance of the silence.
Several iconic characters are presented through this story: the crowd that wants to satisfy its curiosity and represents the common evil of superficiality; then comes the hostility of the chief priests, who are ready to kill to defend their prerogatives; followed by Judas, the traitor, who can no longer hypocritically hide his lust for money. But amidst them all, we find Mary who welcomes Jesus into her house in Bethany: her luminous gesture of love and generosity points to the dramatic end which awaits Jesus but, in any case, breaks the cruel darkness of hate.
