The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, Monday of Holy Week, challenge us to adopt our role as servants of the Lord in our daily encounters with the people on our journey.
The Reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah presents The Servant of the Lord.
* [42:1–4] Servant: three other passages have been popularly called “servant of the Lord” poems: 49:1–7; 50:4–11; 52:13–53:12. Whether the servant is an individual or a collectivity is not clear (e.g., contrast 49:3 with 49:5). More important is the description of the mission of the servant. In the early Church and throughout Christian tradition, these poems have been applied to Christ; cf. Mt 12:18–21.
* [42:3] Bruised reed…: images to express the gentle manner of the servant’s mission.
* [42:4] Coastlands: for Israel, the world to the west: the islands and coastal nations of the Mediterranean. (Isaiah, CHAPTER 42 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 27 asserts boundless hope that God will bring rescue.
* [Psalm 27] Tradition has handed down the two sections of the Psalm (Ps 27:1–6; 7–14) as one Psalm, though each part could be understood as complete in itself. Asserting boundless hope that God will bring rescue (Ps 27:1–3), the psalmist longs for the presence of God in the Temple, protection from all enemies (Ps 27:4–6). In part B there is a clear shift in tone (Ps 27:7–12); the climax of the poem comes with “I believe” (Ps 27:13), echoing “I trust” (Ps 27:3). (Psalms, PSALM 27 | USCCB, n.d.)
The Gospel of John presents the Anointing of Jesus at Bethany.
* [12:1–8] This is probably the same scene of anointing found in Mk 14:3–9 (see note there) and Mt 26:6–13. The anointing by a penitent woman in Lk 7:36–38 is different. Details from these various episodes have become interchanged.
* [12:3] The feet of Jesus: so Mk 14:3; but in Mt 26:6, Mary anoints Jesus’ head as a sign of regal, messianic anointing.
* [12:5] Days’ wages: literally, “denarii.” A denarius is a day’s wage in Mt 20:2; see note on Jn 6:7.
* [12:7] Jesus’ response reflects the rabbinical discussion of what was the greatest act of mercy, almsgiving or burying the dead. Those who favored proper burial of the dead thought it an essential condition for sharing in the resurrection. (John, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB, n.d.)
Suzanne Braddock comments that the money spent to purchase this very expensive perfume could have been given to the poor as some in the company protest. Jesus knows when to place a different act of charity ahead, explaining that the poor we will always have with us but He will not always be present in this manner. There is room in His mind for Mary’s almost outrageously generous outpouring of love and care.
John’s well-known account of Jesus’ anointing is unique among the several gospels recounting the story, pointing to the later account of Jesus’ washing of the apostles’ feet. What struck me most when I compared the different accounts was the actual act of anointing - Mary, Martha’s sister, pours the expensive contents of an alabaster jar on Jesus’ head in two gospels, but in John’s gospel, she anoints only His feet, then wipes His feet with her hair. Nard is used even today as a hair treatment. Mary’s act of kindness also blessed her. Perhaps we can claim a blessing from our acts of kindness as well.
During this Holy Week, what can I do to both give and receive love and kindness? The fragrance of acts of kindness can fill the whole room. (Braddock, 2026)
Don Schwager quotes “God first loved us,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Fulfill the commandments out of love. Could anyone refuse to love our God, so abounding in mercy, so just in all His ways? Could anyone deny love to Him Who first loved us despite all our injustice and all our pride? Could anyone refuse to love God Who so loved us as to send His only Son not only to live among human beings but also to be put to death for their sake and at their own hands?." (excerpt from Catechetical Instructions 39) (Schwager, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments that Isaiah is offering the first Song of the Suffering Servant, who would be killed and buried among robbers. In the passage today, the Servant would bring justice to the nations by being very meek and be a light to the people including the Gentiles and pagans including for the nations and all peoples on the earth. In John’s Gospel Mary is anointing the feet of Jesus in the house with an “aromatic nard”. It is important that this phrase only appears in the Hebrew Testament in the Song of Songs. The fragrance that fills the house is an act of great love. Judas wants social work and Mary wants to love the person in front of her. Jesus realizes that by giving life to Lazarus the leaders will try to kill Him. Friar Jude reminds us that in the Nazi regime modern art was forbidden to curb imagination and the power to believe in the Life Jesus gives us.
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 12:1-11 comments that Mary knew that Jewish kings and priests were anointed, so she decided to treat Jesus like the king and priest that he was. And she didn’t use the everyday oil people would ordinarily use. She held nothing back. She chose this special oil, held in a jar made of alabaster.
Mary’s extravagant love calls us to follow in her footsteps. So consider: how can you be generous with God? How can you pour yourself out to honor him? You might spend some extra time praying with the Mass readings this week or lifting your heart in praise and worship as you sit before the Blessed Sacrament or a crucifix. You might say yes to a chance to serve this week, loving the Lord through the sacrifice of your time and energy. It’s never too late to draw close to Jesus and to respond to the lavish love and mercy he has shown you!
“Jesus, grant me the grace this Holy Week to pour myself out in love for you.” (Meditation on John 12:1-11, n.d.)
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, describes the scapegoat ritual that took place on Yom Kippur, the Jewish holy day of atonement. The word “scapegoating” originated from an ingenious ritual described in Leviticus 16. According to Jewish law, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest laid hands on an “escaping” goat, placing all the sins of the Jewish people from the previous year onto the animal.
In worshiping Jesus as the scapegoat, Christians should have learned to stop scapegoating, but we didn’t. We are still utterly wrong whenever we create arbitrary victims to avoid our own complicity in evil. It seems to be the most effective diversionary tactic. History has shown us that authority itself is not a good guide. Yet for many people, authority figures soothe their anxiety and relieve their own responsibility to form a mature conscience. We love to follow someone else and let them take the responsibility. It is a universal story line in history and culture.
With the mistaken view of God as a Punisher-in-Chief that most Christians seem to hold, we think our own violence is necessary and even good. But there is no such thing as redemptive violence. Violence doesn’t save; it only destroys all parties in both the short and long term. Jesus replaced the myth of redemptive violence with the truth of redemptive suffering. He showed us on the cross how to hold the pain and let it transform us. (Rohr, n.d.)
As we journey in Holy Week, we invoke the Spirit to enlighten our understanding of the role of the Suffering Servant as the guide in our action as followers of Christ.
References
Braddock, S. (2026, March 30). Daily Reflection March 30, 2026 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved March 30, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-march-30-2026
Isaiah, CHAPTER 42 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 30, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/42?1
John, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 30, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/12?1
Meditation on John 12:1-11. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved March 30, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/03/30/1529328/
Psalms, PSALM 27 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 30, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/27?
Rohr, R. (n.d.). A Communal Ritual. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved March 30, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-communal-ritual/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Extravagant Love for Jesus. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 30, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/
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