In Remembrance of Him
and Her
A Dramatized
Reading of Mark 14:1-11 NIV
Both the symbolic and real
significance of this woman’s action are often overlooked. She anointed the Messiah—Anointed
One—to his ministry of suffering and death, a ministry that his trained
leaders had completely failed to grasp, and were all soon to flee from in
complete disarray. We know from John
12:1-8 that she was Mary of Bethany, an insightful and devoted disciple of the
Lord. Yet here she is unnamed. Who can say what her unique act of devotion
and appreciation meant to a troubled and lonely Jesus, about to make the
supreme sacrifice, abandoned by his comrades and his Father? His unparalleled
compliment to her is a fitting commemoration of all people who in every place
and time have recognized and embraced the Suffering Servanthood of Our Lord,
pouring out their own resources and lives without recognition, and sometimes in
the face of bitter criticism, betrayal and selling out by those who should have
known better.
[Jesus and a few of his
Apostles sit in an arc around the Communion Table. Judas sits to the right of Jesus. They take their places and freeze. The narration begins:]
Narrator: Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two
days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for
some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him. 2 “But
not during the Feast,” they said, “or the people may riot” [The players unfreeze as this paragraph ends].
Narrator: 3 While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a
man known as Simon the Leper [significant pause and
emphasis on Leper], a
woman came [she enters and goes to Jesus] with an alabaster jar of very expensive
perfume, made of pure nard. She broke
the jar and poured the perfume on his head [Reverently and tenderly she anoints him. The Apostles are taken back, and mutter
scolding remarks to themselves and one another].
Narrator: 4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another [Judas’
voice is heard clearly, above the others],
Judas: “Why this waste of perfume? 5 It
could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the
poor.”
Narrator: And they rebuked her harshly. 6 But Jesus said,
Jesus: 6 “Leave her alone. Why
are you bothering her? She has done a
beautiful thing to me [Apostles begin to look puzzled and
chagrined]. 7
The poor you will
always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not
always have me [Jesus takes her hand, in a
gesture conveying mutuality and solidarity]. 8 She did what she could.
She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial [Woman sits down to the left
of Jesus]. 9
I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the
world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
Narrator:
10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve,
went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them [While
the others freeze in place, Judas gets up, communicating by his expression and
body language, his disappointment and disgust, and leaves]. 11 They
were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for
an opportunity to hand him over [Players rise and exit quietly]. [1]