OVER-THE-TOP
“A woman came with an alabaster jar of perfumed oil, costly genuine spikenard. She broke the alabaster jar and poured it on his head.” – Mark 14:3
It seems as if we have been experiencing a year-long Lent since March 2020. So much loss and grief. Many of us have lived a litany of suffering; some of us are still deep in sorrow. It seems that God, the universe, or life is OA, “overacting” or “being extra,” as my hipster friends would say.
The above photo of my friend's four-year-old daughter makes me smile. She’s wearing a hot pink polka-dotted shirt and sporting oversized pink sunglasses. Holding a Missal, standing next to a bright screen showing a crucifix, she declares emphatically that she’s “a priest, praying at Mass.” OA, if you ask me.
Mark’s account of the Passion begins with an over-the-top gesture of a woman who breaks an expensive jar of perfumed oil and pours it on Jesus’ head. Her “wasteful” action infuriates others around her. Yet, Jesus affirms this dramatic expression and proclaims prophetically that “wherever the gospel is proclaimed,” not just in memory of him, but also “in memory of her” (Mk 14:9).
What if we are invited to enter Holy Week in a similar way, by noticing and being present to over-the-top moments in our lives? Sometimes, God lets the dramatic happen to get our attention, to wake us up from our self-preoccupations, complacencies, or excessive worries. Sometimes, God expresses extravagant gestures of love through others to shift our minds and hearts from self-rejection or self-pity. Sometimes we are visited by unexplainable joy to remind us that divine light shines through our darkness. Holy Week is such a time. A time when we are invited to be a little more present, a little more attentive, or a little more open to surprises. However busy or overwhelmed we may be this week, let us be caught up in the drama of God’s extravagant love through Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection. By participating in the liturgical celebrations or being present to someone who suffers, let us be drawn into the Mystery of an overactive, life-giving God.
“Jesus, help me to be more present as a way to embrace your passion and love more fully this week.”