Bible Study-Mark 14:3-9
By Deborah Krause, Associate Professor of New Testament
Eden Theological Seminary, St. Louis, MO
Comments or questions? Write to Deb at dkrause@eden.edu
Read Mark 14:3-9 (NRSV) 3. While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head. 4. But some were there who said to one another in anger, "Why was the ointment wasted in this way? 5. For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor." And they scolded her. 6. But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has performed a good service for me. 7. For you will always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me. 8. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her."
Step 1. Assess our traditional interpretations (Read the Bible as power)
Traditionally speaking, what is your understanding of this text? At the beginning of the Passion Narrative Mark presents Jesus interpreting the woman's act as anointing his body for burial. He predicts that "you will not always have me." As such, he is placed in control of the events of the passion. He has foreknowledge of his death. What are some common ideas, if any, you may have about this woman? How is it, have you heard, that she happened to have the nard? If she purchased it, how has it been surmised that she got the money? In reading this text as a demonstration of Jesus', and thereby, God's power, what kinds of claims might you draw from it?
Step 2. Reorient our perspectives (Read the Bible for power)
Intentionally reorient your perspective in the text. Take your focus off of Jesus for a moment. Who are the other characters in the story? What is their relationship to Jesus? Are they "insiders" or "outsiders?" For example, whose house are they in? What are they doing? Where does the woman come from? Closely follow her actions. Attend to the verbs. Note that she comes, she breaks open , and she pours. These activities evoke a ritual act of great power. They are similar to Jesus' actions at the Last Supper with the bread and cup. What other kinds of "power" issues -- on a human-social level -- are present in the text? Who does all the speaking? Does the woman have a voice? What are some ways in which Jesus' power, the power dynamics in Simon's house, and the woman's power are developed and held in tension in this text? What is familiar or strange about these dynamics in your own life and relationships?
Step 3. Stay with the concrete elements of the text (food, water, money, housing, etc.) avoid spiritualizing
Note where this story takes place: in a leper's home, outside Jerusalem, in Bethany. Why does this woman come to Jesus? Is she seeking something from him? What is the nard? What is three hundred denarii worth? What is the conflict that develops in response to her action? What does Jesus mean by his reference to the poor? ( see Deuteronomy 15:11). Is the woman rich or poor in your assessment? How does Jesus address the woman's action? Note that he makes another prediction in this passage, in addition to his death. What does Jesus understand about woman's role in the proclamation of the Gospel? What is both heartening and disheartening about this prediction?
Step 4. Analogize to concrete, "real life" situations today
What kinds of contemporary situations do you see addressed in the current text? The issue of resources and their conservation or use is very much at stake in the whole of the church today. What are the dilemmas we face in the use of our resources? What kinds of judgments get attached to our choices? Who makes those judgments? In what ways are they made? Who has a voice and who is voiceless? How are those who are voiceless represented in our proclamation of the Gospel? Where is your church in the human social-power relations in this story? Are you perhaps in the position of the woman, those gathered at the meal, Jesus?
Step 5. Claim, with authority, what the Bible says anew
In light of these various steps, what new things have you seen and heard in the text? How, if at all, do they challenge your more traditional ("as power") reading of this story? What have you learned about God and Jesus? What have you learned about yourself, your church, your world? How does this text speak afresh to the concrete contexts of your life? How will you respond to this? How will you proclaim it to others?
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