This painting (Christ in the House of Simon) was created by the Netherlandish painter Dieric Bouts (1420-1476). It depicts the Gospel scene of Mark 14:1-11. It is a very important account for the Christian disciple:
Now the festival of Passover and Unleavened Bread was only two days off; and the chief priests and the doctors of the law were trying to devise some cunning plan to arrest Jesus and put him to death. 'It must not be during the festival,' they said, 'or we should have rioting among the people.'
Jesus was at Bethany, in the house of Simon, a man who had suffered from a virulent skin-disease. As he sat at table, a woman came in carrying a small alabaster bottle of very costly perfume, oil of pure nard. She broke it open and poured the oil over his head. Some of those present said to one another angrily, 'Why this waste? This ointment might have been sold for thirty pounds and the money given to the poor'; and they turned upon her with fury. But Jesus said, 'Leave her alone. Why must you make trouble for her? It is a fine thing she has done for me. You have the poor among you always, and you can help them whenever you like; but you will not always have me. She has done what she could: she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial. I tell you this: throughout all the world wherever the Gospel is proclaimed, what she has done will be told as well, in remembrance of her.'
Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted to hear it, and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
Verses 1-2: The religious leaders have decided that Jesus has to be gotten rid of because he makes them think about their religion in uncomfortable ways. He takes them to task for their superficiality and fakery. They also know Jesus is more popular than they are, and that if they are seen as responsible for the death of Jesus in an emotionally charged time like Passover and there is a riot, Rome will be unhappy, and the consequences could be dire.
Verse 3: This homeowner, Simon, is something of a mystery man. We don't know who he is, except that he's got his own problems with a bad skin disease. But the dinner takes place in his home in Bethany, where Lazarus, Martha and Mary live. Surely everyone knows about the great miracle of Jesus restoring Lazarus to life. We can imagine the religious leaders hating Jesus all the more for that miracle which would have resulted in his increased popularity.
A woman comes into the house. Has she been invited? Is she considered to be intruder - a brave woman stepping into a men's club. She knows who Jesus is, and she's not going to be distracted or stopped.
She carries a small vial or bottle which would have had a thin neck. She's spent some money on the gift she carries; it is made of alabaster and filled with an expensive, fragrant oil. Alabaster is a translucent mineral, soft enough to be carved. Then she snaps off the top or breaks the seal on the bottle and pours the contents over Jesus' head, which is reminiscent of what the women of Good Friday will do after washing the dead body of Jesus.
Verse 4: Some of the men get angry and call her action wasteful. Maybe their anger is a cover-up for their shame, that they see her love and respect for Jesus to be deeper than their own.
Verse 5: The men continue with a pious defense of their annoyance, citing the Law of Moses which requires helping the poor. Jesus doesn't buy it. It's easy to fall back on a shallow piety which makes religion easy.
Verse 6: There's a lot of tension at this table and Jesus sees through it. He recognizes false religion and gratefully goes to the woman's defense, calling her action, a fine thing.
Verse 7-8: The woman seems to know and accept that Jesus is going to Jerusalem because he will suffer and die there. Jesus often holds up for admiration the faithful response of women. In chapter 12: 41-44, it's a poor widow who illustrates a right response to God and it's women again, going to the tomb on Easter morning, loving Jesus through death. In the ancient world, women were not allowed to testify in court. Jesus breaks down that prohibition.
Verse 9: Jesus doesn't promise that this woman's name will be remembered, but her action. Action matters most to Jesus, not "the name we make for ourselves". We might remember Herodias in the early part of Marks' Gospel (6:14-29) who demanded the head of John the Baptist and see the contrast of love in this mystery- woman's anointing of the head of Jesus. Notice too, the good news of Jesus is not just for some, but for everyone "all through the world".
Verse 10: Notice that Mark has placed the account of this woman's love between the two mean-spirited verses of the religious leaders looking to get rid of Jesus, and Judas playing into that nasty scheme. And so, the Gospel presents us with a choice.
Maybe this awareness of our having a choice is depicted in Bout's painting. He has placed a devout monk in a white habit at the edge of the room. Monks didn't exist at the time of Jesus. His taking up a place in the room, and even the young apostle gesturing to him, suggests the timelessness of the Gospel question. It is as if the painter is asking all the Christians who will come after Jesus, even (or perhaps especially) the clergy, do you love Jesus the way this woman does? Look closely at the monk's face - he knows it's a most serious question.
