Hard sayings

For me, one of the most difficult passages in the gospels is the moment where Judas rebukes Mary for anointing Jesus' feet with the words "Why were these things not sold and given to the poor?" John is careful to note that Judas was a thief, but Jesus does not reprove him on that basis. Instead he does something much more difficult. He says, "The poor you have with you always" and then praises Mary's gesture, saying she has anointed him for his burial.

We, of course, know where the story is going so we see the poignancy of Jesus' words. But those who don't much know or believe the story often see it as an inexplicable moment where Jesus is "unmasked" as a selfish peacock and exploiter of the poor. This is the sort of thing that makes Christianity fodder for Marxist complaints and for the accusation that Jesus didn't really care about the poor.

I think the shocking message of the gospel here is, oddly enough, that Jesus is *even more important than the poor*. That's a stunning non-PC sentiment. It's one of those things you are Not Supposed to Say. But I think it's the obvious message here and is, in its own way, a shocking claim to divinity. Judaism had had drilled into its head the understanding that the poor were specially beloved by God. Not for nothing does the Old Testament describe him as the Avenger of the Orphan the Widow. Not for nothing are the prophets particularly dire in their warnings to those who sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals. The duty of almgiving was not something Jesus invented. It was something he reiterated as part of common Jewish piety. Ancient Jews were of one mind with Cardinal Chaput, who bluntly summarized the Judeo-Christian moral tradition as follows: "If you neglect the poor, you will go to hell."

And yet, as utterly crucial as that is: our Lord tells Judas that there is something more important even than the poor: his own death and the honor Mary pays to him for it.

The funny thing is that the poor agree. Few people are capable of more generous acts of piety than those who have little.