Daily Gospel Reflection
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March 30, 2026
Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany,
where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served,
while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him.
Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil
made from genuine aromatic nard
and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair;
the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples,
and the one who would betray him, said,
“Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages
and given to the poor?”
He said this not because he cared about the poor
but because he was a thief and held the money bag
and used to steal the contributions.
So Jesus said, “Leave her alone.
Let her keep this for the day of my burial.
You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
The large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came,
not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus,
whom he had raised from the dead.
And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too,
because many of the Jews were turning away
and believing in Jesus because of him.
Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner. The full readings of the day from the Lectionary are available here.
Good homilists and podcasters often provide reassuring explanations and context for Jesus’ more discomforting directions, including his scolding of those in today’s gospel, who criticized Mary for profligately anointing his feet: “You always have the poor with you.”
We know that this is not a call for complacency regarding those at the margins. Scholars have taken the edge off, and taught us that Jesus’ hearers and John’s readers would have heard an echo of the Hebrew Bible, “[t]he land will never lack for needy persons,” which is immediately followed by “that is why I command you: ‘Open your hand freely to your poor.’”
But Jesus says more to Mary’s critics. He cautions—warns—them, “but you do not always have me.” Wait, we don’t? What about “behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age”? The mystery of God’s presence is too big for our ideas of time and space; we don’t really understand what it means for the Lord of the Universe to be “with” us, “always” and everywhere.
Today’s gospel, though, does tell us one way: in the poor. The vulnerable and their needs are presented not merely as objects for our kindly attention or as service projects. As Pope Francis put it, when we “want to see Jesus in person, [we] know where to turn. The poor are a sacrament of Christ; they represent his person and point to him.” Pope Leo speaks similarly, in Dilexi te (“On Love for the Poor”): “Love for the poor,” he writes, “is not a matter of mere human kindness but a revelation: contact with those who are lowly and powerless is a fundamental way of encountering the Lord of history.”
In his beautiful essay, “The Weight of Glory,” C.S. Lewis reminded us that that “[t]here are no ordinary people” but rather “everlasting splendors.” This is why, “[n]ext to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.” In our neighbor, and in the persons of the poor, Jesus is with us always.
Prayer
God Almighty, having just yesterday commemorated the passion of Jesus your Son, we continue in this Holy Week to learn of the mixture of friendship and betrayal, of intimacy and hypocrisy, that marked those final days of your Son’s earthly ministry. Help us to be attentive to Christ these days as we remember his forthcoming suffering and death. May we imitate Jesus’ own attentiveness, courage, and faithfulness. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. John was a seventh-century monk who was known as “the Scholar” until people referred to him after his famous written work, the Ladder (“Klimax”) of Divine Ascent.
Scholars believe he came from Palestine and was a student of St. Gregory Nazianzen. When John was 16, he joined a community of monks living on Mt. Sinai. He was placed under the direction of an older monk, who helped him master his desires and behavior.
When John was 35, his mentor died, and he went to live in a hermitage. He spent the next 40 years seeking perfection in solitude and prayer and study—it is said that he was one of the most learned of the desert fathers.
Many people sought him out for spiritual direction because of his wisdom. He had a gift for helping people find healing for their troubled and disordered souls.
Over time, he collected his insights into his work, the Ladder of Divine Ascent, which described 30 degrees towards attaining spiritual perfection—the first being renunciation and the last being full incorporation of the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love. The work had a profound effect on the development of Christian spirituality. The icon shown here depicts St. John leading monks up a ladder that leads to Jesus.
When John was 70, the abbot of a nearby monastery passed away, and John was selected to replace him. When a severe drought devastated the region, the people asked him to pray for relief, and rain came. John was so well-known at the time that Pope St. Gregory the Great wrote to him to ask for his prayers, and to send resources to assist the monastery in hosting the many pilgrims who traveled there to be in the presence of the holy man. John died in 649 of old age.
St. John Climacus, you sought perfection in the desert and left behind a profound guide to spirituality, pray for us!
Image Credit: (1) Our featured image of St. John Climacus is in the public domain. Modified from the original. Last accessed February 6, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons. (2) The icon "Ladder of Divine Ascent" is also in the public domain. Last accessed February 6, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
