You Do Not Always Have Me

“You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” This is not what I expected to hear from Jesus. For context, Judas is trying to chastise Mary for using expensive perfume on Jesus instead of selling it and donating the money to the poor. Jesus responds that he is only here for a little while. It sounded out of place to me. I have been hearing about the preferential option for the poor for at least the last 20 years. But here, Jesus says put him first. In this way, he is showing that Mary had set the example. She used expensive perfume on Jesus. Judas was upset about the waste of the oil and tried to call her out. Instead Jesus says that we should come to Jesus. And in doing that, we will care for the poor, the sick, the forgotten, those in need. And in pouring our lives out to Jesus we are not wasting, we are getting back so much more.

For me, these readings are very humbling. The first reading from Isiah reads like a resume of the Lord’s. God lays out all that God has accomplished, and lays out how Jesus will come and bring justice without shouting, without violence. I struggle to find and keep a feeling of productivity in this time of quarantine. I work to help my son with his school work, complete projects around the house, take care of my work responsibilities and maintain relationships. And it all feels very important to me. If I am engaged in a task and someone in my family needs something, I find myself feeling frustrated or annoyed, as though their intrusion is keeping me from something urgent and pressing. But am I bringing justice to the nations? Will reading one more article comparing synchronous and asynchronous learning unite the world? This reading helps me to see that I am trivializing my family's needs and wants by placing undue importance on my own. But what Jesus is telling me is that these earthly responsibilities will always be here. When one gets checked off, another pops up. Instead I need to be like Mary and embrace the moment. My kids will only be little for a short time, my family will only have this time together for a little while, am I making sure that I am focused on the right things? Because if it is not that work, then I need to focus on the present.

Last week my family did a driving version of the Stations of the Cross that was set up by a local parish. I was not optimistic that any of my kids would get something out of it, but it was a way to safely get out of the house and do something a little bit different. But they listened, they asked questions, they gave answers full of thought and wonder. And they asked to do it again. It had been a day full of conflict and frustration, and it ended in laughter and smiles and kindness, and that shift came from engaging in the Stations of the Cross together. It happened when we came to Jesus, as Mary did with her expensive perfume, and not when we focused on our tasks, the ones that we will always have with us. My hope and goal for my family as we move into a Holy Week unlike one we’ve ever experienced, is that we find new ways to come to Jesus and focus on what is important in front of us now.

Author: Patrick Triplett, Learning Resource Center