Extravagant solidarity

Judas: “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” 

Jesus: “Leave [Mary] alone. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” 

from John 12:5-8

I recently gave a stranger $400 cash. We offer radical hospitality to asylum seekers and this was our 400th guest during the pandemic. What got into me? I just gifted a stranger the equivalent of 1/10th of what they annually earned in their home country! 

I can hear my inner Judas question my action: “Why did you give away $400 when the money could have been used to help more asylum seekers?”

But I also hear another voice say, “You always have the poor with you; when you treat them with the extravagance of Mary, you do so unto me.”

by Anton Flores-Maisonet for Red Letter Christians

Image via Marketing the Change