The gospel appointed for Monday in Holy Week is John 12:1-11–the story of the anointing of Jesus at Bethany by Mary. While all four gospels have versions of this story, the four diverge dramatically in details. John sees the significance of the anointing in light of the crucifixion. When challenged by Judas about the expensive perfume used, Jesus replies, “she has anointed me beforehand for my burial.

Monday in Holy Week is also the traditional day in our diocese for the annual reaffirmation of ordination vows and the chrism mass, when the bishop consecrates holy oil and distributes it to clergy for use in the coming year. I’ve never attended this service; it comes on a day when I teach, and besides, my ordination vows are still recent enough that they don’t need to be recharged.

Yesterday, I visited a parishioner who’s been in the hospital for over a month. She is probably in the last stages of her life. While I was there, I anointed her with oil for healing, but as I thought about it, and as I pondered the gospel in preparation for the evening service, I wondered whether I was also anointing her for burial. Perhaps I was doing both. As I put oil on her forehead, I thought of Mary’s anointing of Jesus, and I thought as well of Jesus suffering on the cross. It was one of those moments when the little things we do are powerful reminders of our connection with the stories in the gospel and with the whole church. The anointing at Bethany was also the anointing in Greenville, yesterday.