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Mokoto Fujimura is a renowned Japanese American author and painter. In his recent book Culture Care: Reconnecting with Beauty for Our Common Lives, he tells an interesting story about the time his wife infuriated him by bringing home a bouquet of flowers. Listen to the story in his own words:
“As newlyweds, my wife and I began our journey with very little. After Judy and I got married in the summer of 1983, after college, we moved to Connecticut for Judy to pursue her master’s degree in marriage counseling. I taught at a special education school and painted from home. We had a tight budget and often had to ration our food (lots of tuna cans!) just to get through the week.
One evening I was sitting alone, waiting for Judy to come home to our small apartment, worried about how we were going to afford the rent and pay for necessities over the weekend. Our refrigerator was empty, and I had no cash left.
Then Judy walked in and had brought home a bouquet of flowers. I got really upset. “How could you think of buying flowers if we can’t even eat?” I remember saying, frustrated. Judy’s reply has been etched in my heart for over thirty years now. “We need to feed our souls too!”
The irony is that I’m an artist. I am the one, supposedly, feeding people’s souls. But in worrying for tomorrow, the stoic responsibility I felt to make ends meet, to survive, I failed to be an artist. Judy was the artist: she brought home a bouquet.
I do not remember what we ended up eating that day (probably tuna fish.) But I do remember that particular bouquet of flowers. I painted them. “We need to feed our souls too! Those words still resonate with me today. Is Judy still right? Do we, as human beings, need more than food and shelter? Do we need beauty in our lives? Given our limited resources, how do we cultivate and care for our souls?”
For just a moment, put yourself in Mokoto Fujimura’s shoes! How would you have reacted to Judy’s exhibit of aesthetic extravagance? Would you have complained about her choice of aesthetic impracticality over nutritional necessity? Be honest with yourself: which would you value more, a bouquet of flowers or a basket of food?
This story compels us to contemplate the question: Do our souls need beauty as much as our bodies need bread? What value do you place on aesthetic beauty in our life?
Jesus helps us answer some of these questions in Mark 14:1-11, where we encounter the surprising scene of Jesus defending an act of aesthetic extravagance against the conventional concerns of his disciples. As we examine this story together, notice how Jesus values art, aesthetics, and beauty for our common lives. You just might become convinced that beholding beauty is essential for a healthy soul.
An Act of Aesthetic Extravagance (1-3)
It was a few days before the Passover Feast. As Jerusalem swelled with people from all corners of the country to celebrate this sacred Jewish holiday, the chief priests and teachers of the law were conspiring to kill Jesus.
But just three miles outside Jerusalem, in the little village of Bethany, Jesus and his disciples were attending an intimate dinner party at the home of Simon the Leper. We don’t know much about Simon the Leper or the reason for this meal. He was probably one of the lepers whom Jesus healed; perhaps the meal was given as an expression of gratitude. Mark doesn’t tell us what was on the menu that night, but in a Jewish home like this we can be certain that shrimp scampi or pulled-pork BBQ didn’t appear on the plates.
After the meal was finished and everyone was relaxing around the table, a woman came to Jesus with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume. Mark doesn’t tell us the woman’s name, but John’s gospel reveals that it was Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, who were also from the village of Bethany. We don’t know how Mary acquired this precious jar of pure nard, but we know that it was rare and very expensive because spikenard was imported all the way from India. (Back in those days, Amazon Prime didn’t offer free delivery.)
Nevertheless, Mary took her most precious earthly possession, broke the alabaster jar, and poured a year’s worth of wages over Jesus’ head, and as John’s gospel tells us, she also poured some on his feet and she washed them with her hair. A beautiful fragrance filled the room. What an extraordinary expression of aesthetic extravagance! What a demonstrative display of devotion to Jesus!
When we consider Mary’s audacious act, it induces us to think about how we express our love and worship for Jesus. Would we be willing to sacrifice our most precious earthly possession for such an act of adoration to the Lord? Would we offer our time, our talent, and our treasure?
Wasteful Spending (4-5)
Well, not everyone was impressed with this act of aesthetic extravagance. Mark does not name those who reacted negatively to the “waste” of perfume, but Matthew tells us that it was the disciples and John tells us that Judas Iscariot led the charge. They protested by asking, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” Judas’ indignant objection seemed pious, but he didn’t really care about the poor; he was the treasurer of the Twelve and he had a habit of dipping into fingers into the money bag for his own selfish purposes.
It is also interesting that these disciples railed on Mary for her wastefulness when they were often the beneficiaries of her hospitality. I guess they never learned the proverb: “don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”
People always like to complain about other people’s wasteful spending. For instance, how many of you have family members or coworkers who waste money? How many of you believe that our government wastes money? Accusations of wasteful spending are always due to differences in values. What you think is a waste, someone else may consider important; what you think is important; someone else may consider a waste. Our spending always shows what we value!
What do you think? Was Mary’s act of aesthetic extravagance a waste? Mary certainly didn’t think so! Did Mary not care about the poor? I’m sure she did; but she valued Jesus more. What do you value most in your life?
The Beautiful Rebuke (6-9)
What did Jesus think about this act of aesthetic extravagance? We would expect him to react with the same modesty and utility as the disciples, but he doesn’t. He immediately comes to Mary’s defense. Instead of condemning her, he commends her audacious action as a beautiful expression of love and gratitude toward him, and she should not be berated for it.
In addition to this being an expression of sacrificial love, Jesus interpreted Mary’s artistic act as a pre-anointing of his body in preparation for burial (This is somewhat like making funeral prearrangements). Typically, bodies were anointed with perfume after death, not before. Time for such an act of adoration while Jesus was with them was running out. On the contrary, opportunities for helping the poor would continue. As one commentator notes, “Mary seems to have been the only one who was sensitive to the impending death of Jesus and who was willing to give a material expression of her esteem for him. Jesus’ reply shows his appreciation of her act of devotion.”
In fact, Jesus was so moved by Mary’s gesture that he says, “Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” In a stroke of unintentional irony, Mark quotes Jesus predicting that this story will always be told in memory of a woman whose very name escapes him. Nonetheless, here we are some 2000 years later still telling this story!
But still, you may be wondering: Does Jesus’ rebuke show a lack of concern for the poor? Absolutely not! Jesus constantly showed his compassion for “the least of these” throughout his ministry, but he would not take this expression of love away from Mary.
Some people have posed the questions—how, as Christians, are we able to feast in a world where there is so much hunger? How can we celebrate when there is so much sadness and suffering all around us? How do we reconcile our lavish Thanksgiving dinners and Christmas gifts when there are so many people living in poverty? How can we purchase a painting, attend a concert, go to a play, put on a dab of perfume, or buy a bouquet of flowers when there are so many more practical needs in life? Is there ever a place for aesthetic extravagance in the Christian life?
Here is the way I believe Jesus would answer these questions: balance! If we constantly neglect the poor to support an extravagant lifestyle, we are guilty of selfishness. On the other hand, occasional extravagance can be a beautiful thing and have a profound and lasting impact on our souls. So, enjoy your holiday feasts and celebrations; just don’t do it every day! And when it comes to art, aesthetics, and beauty, we must remember the importance of feeding our souls!
A Costly Betrayal (10-11)
Immediately, after the anointing, we learn about Judas’ duplicity as he offers to betray Jesus to the chief priests. Mary’s extravagant act of devotion stands in stark contrast to Judas’ act of betrayal. Isn’t it ironic that right after Judas complains about Mary’s extravagant waste, we find him betraying Jesus to the chief priests for a few silver coins? He is willing to sacrifice Jesus to obtain material gain for himself; on the other hand, Mary sacrificed her most precious material possession for Jesus. Mary will always be remembered for her act of devotion; Judas will always be remembered for his act of betrayal.
These verses cause us to ask some penetrating questions: How will I be remembered when I’m are gone? Will I be remembered for my greed or my generosity? Will I be remembered for my duplicity or my devotion? Will I be remembered for my selfishness or my sacrifice? Will I be remembered for my betrayal or my faithfulness to Jesus?Conclusion
Some of you may be familiar with Isaak Dinesen’s short story “Babette’s Feast.” It was adapted into a film and won the Academy Award for “Best Foreign Film” in 1987. It is my favorite film of all time and I watch it every year on the night before Thanksgiving. It is the perfect illustration of beholding beauty in aesthetic extravagance.
The story is set in 19th century Denmark and centers around two sisters who live in an isolated village with their father, who is the honored pastor of a small Protestant church. Although they each are presented with a real opportunity to leave the village, the sisters choose to stay and serve their father and their church. They always ate a meager meal of bland fish soup so that they could use their modest resources to help people in need.
Many years later, after the sister’s father is dead and buried, Babette, a refugee from the French Civil War, arrives at the sister’s door, begs them to take her in, and commits herself to work for them as maid/housekeeper/cook. Sometime later, the sisters decide to hold a dinner to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth. Meanwhile, Babette unexpectedly wins the lottery and implores the sisters to allow her to prepare an authentic French feast for the celebration. Although they are secretly concerned about what Babette, a Roman Catholic and a foreigner, might make, the sisters allow her to go ahead, but the church members all agree in advance not to enjoy the meal.
Babette purchases fine china, crystal, and linen with which to set the table and imports the most luxurious ingredients from France. Then she prepares the feast of a lifetime, with the perfect wines to complement each of the six courses. The church members simply cannot resist enjoying the meal and the whole experience transforms their lives—old conflicts are healed, prejudices pass away, memories are celebrated, and new relationships begin. After the feast, they discover that Babette was the famous former Chef of the Café Anglais, the most prestigious restaurant in Paris. They also discovered that the meal cost 10,000 francs, the full amount of her lottery winnings.
Babette sacrificed everything she had to show her love and devotion to her friends. She, like Jesus and Mary of Bethany, knew the value of aesthetic extravagance! For even a tuna fish sandwich tastes better when you’re looking a beautiful bouquet of flowers!