Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard
and anointed the feet of Jesus . . . and the house
was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.
– John 12:3
Supremely free from herself
(what enviable liberty!)
and careless of all others’ thought of her,
(would that I, too, lacked such inhibition
and could cease to serve my reputation)
Mary poured the costliest of gifts
upon your feet, O Lord:
a love unmeasured and full-spent,
wholly wasted for your good pleasure and praise.
Withholding nothing for herself,
generous and unreserved
she anointed those feet
(where once she sat so earnest
listening to your word)
with purest perfume,the scent of her heart’s sacrifice.
“She has done a beautiful thing to me.”
– Mark 14:6
And wishing to learn from Mary’s lead,
what are the spices of my life
to crush to sweet fragrance for you
for like anointing?
My hopes and dreams and disappointments;
my joys and longings
and little daily delights foregone;
my fears won over and sins repented of;
my chaste fervor and innocence –
Such is my offering
distilled to perfume beyond all price,
its essence nothing but my love for you.
This poem © 2021 by Jeanne Kun is included in a book of collected poems, Gladly Given to God. Used with permission of the author.
- See also Trysting Places, by Jeanne Kun
Top image credit: Mary anoints Jesus’ feet, stained glass window, Dreux. France, photo by © Pascal Deloche, Photo stock ID: 249431884 at Dreamstime.com. Used with permission.
Jeanne Kun is a noted author, and a member of Bethany Association, an international, ecumenical association of women living single for the Lord in various communities of The Sword of the Spirit, and a senior woman leader in the Word of Life Community, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.