She did what she could

A ninety year old woman was asked for her favorite Bible verse and she quoted from the book of Mark, “She did what she could.” The phrase comes from an event at a dinner towards the end of Jesus' life. He and his disciples were at a friend's house when a woman joined the gathering. She had a jar of very expensive perfume which she poured on Jesus' head.

So, picture it. People are sitting around, talking and eating, when someone comes in with a jug and pours its contents over a guest's head! At a frat party it would be beer, the end of a championship, champagne. Here, it was expensive perfume and no one reacts to the act itself. What many of those in attendance got upset at the waste of a valuable resource. One said, "That's criminal! It could have been sold for a lot of money and handed out to the poor," in fact another translation of that passage states the perfume was worth a year's wages. 

Jesus rebuked the complainers and stated that she had done something good in anointing him for burial. They didn't know that his death was eminent, so they didn't understand his comment nor his follow up remarks indicating that "she did what she could when she could" and that her act would be remembered for generations to come.

The author then concludes this part of his narrative with "Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the cabal of high priests, determined to betray him. They couldn't believe their ears, and promised to pay him well. He started to look for just the right time to hand him over."

It seems that the extravagance of that one act by that one woman was the straw that broke the camel's back for the group's treasurer. What that event did for our ninety year old believer was to give her courage for her whole life. 

The fact that it seemed normal for a woman to join the party supports the premise that women were an accepted segment of Jesus' inner circle. My guess is that she was a neighbor of the host and known to most present. At least she wasn't a stranger since no one was alarmed when she showed up.

Her anonymity means she represents all of us, challenging us to do what we can do when we can do it. So whether it is a large donation in a red bucket, a granola bar for the homeless on the corner, setting the communion table at church, fostering stray animals or cooking a meal to share, as long as we do what we can, we are making a difference. Sometimes we do what we can by ourselves, sometimes as part of a team or a relay. Sometimes our acts recognized, but most often not. Our acts may seem like a drop in a bucket and individually will not be remembered, but collectively we mold the world we want to live in.

“She did what she could" is a pretty nice epitaph and words to live by.

Marilyn