Holy Monday - Journal Entry

(John 12:1-11)

Antonia Ruth Coleman

John 12: 1-11

Journal Entry

April 11, 2022

I am a baker. I love to BAKE! Everything! I am proficient when it comes to baking with a gas stove and the electric stove is the bane of my skills. My Great-Grandma Violet’s Have Mercy Pound Cake is my all-time favorite dish to bake. This recipe has been passed down and augmented through four generations. So much so, that both my mother and grandmother blessed me with the “you’ve passed me,” crowning me the official family cake baker. Selah. 

I use my olfactory senses from start to finish and I carefully select ingredients that will work together yielding a golden crumb on the outside. There is something to be said about warm vanilla and slowly browning butter that wafts through the air and stirs sacred memories. Baking with my grandmother was a treat, and at the height of the pandemic, when I needed comfort, I baked. These past two years had my emotions in such turmoil that I turned to the aroma of joyful memories. So, when I look at this text, I wonder about the one thing that I don't often hear, and that is the power of scent.

In verse 3, “Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” Did they know it was costly before she opened the box or when the box’s seal was opened, and oil poured? Did they know it was there? Spikenard. Ointment. Perfume. The scent carries many names, and like a good cake, the ingredients of the scent can leave a lasting memory. Now, I am certain that there is a science to it. Did the scent that permeated the house affect the brain by filling the olfactory bulb (the area that processes scents) moving through the hippocampus (the area that deals with memory and emotion), all the way to the frontal cortex that provokes emotions and memories? (Thank you, Mr. Neubauer, of 12th grade, Anatomy & Physiology)

Let’s see what Jesus said.

In verse 7, Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial.” Was she pre-anointing him? Seems like this is what the text is saying. In my sanctified imagination, I am seeing how the power of scent could be used as a centering moment, to invoke a sacred memory in order to prepare for what’s coming. Jesus anticipated his death and the scent that would cover his decaying body. 

Jesus even said in verse 8, “You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” This should not suggest to us that we should have “the poor.” We should, however, figure out equitable ways that speak to the reparatory justice, transformation, and remediation of oppressed people along with Mother Earth.

Revisiting this thought from verse 3, another thing 21st-century folks need to reconsider is the cost of the nard that was spiked from the further east. Who said that Mary was incapable of outright purchasing the oil? The assumption that Mary did not have the ability to secure the oil is unimaginative thinking. Who knows if in her day, she was proficient in the technology of antiquity that could have possibly included shrewd bartering ingenuity.

Coming full circle, this moment between Judas and Jesus could have been a signifying clap back due to Judas stealing from coffers. The power of the scent of the oil will either drive people to believe in your ability to help people become whole, or your desire to lure them into adoration. Sometimes the scent may invite people to plot against you in spite of the good you’ve done. Surely, we do not do that now (nibbles a piece of cake).

Instead, I have a few questions that I would like to ask you and then, I am done.

What scent are you carrying around in the anticipation of death? How long does the scent last? Do you smell defeat? Does the scent you carry invite people to see a safe space in you? Does the work you perform, and the scent you carry cause crowds to swell in curiosity? I ask these questions of myself. Truly I do. What is going to be the scent of memory that is a sacred treasure carried in the olfactory bulb? These and many other questions I leave to the annals of time and future seminary papers. 

What is the scent you are going to remember through your personal moment? What will help center you back to space and place in time that will carry you through? As we continue in this season, may the scent meant for your burial be the oil that meets you at your revival. As for me, I’m going to go to the store and get eggs, butter, vanilla, flour, and  sugar…

Rev. Antonia R. Coleman is the Program Director for the Center of Reparatory Justice, Transformation and Remediation, a joint venture between McCormick Theological Seminary and the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference. Rev Antonia brings with her the experience of community organizing via Organizing for America and as a founding board member of the South Shore Community Development Center a Community Reinvestment Project. She is a 2021 Master of Divinity graduate of McCormick Theological Seminary with a focus on the womanist care of widows, stewardship of the earth and her resources, and sexology. She holds a certificate in Environmental Ministry and Leadership and is a 2016 fellow of the Black Theology and Leadership Institute of Princeton Theological Seminary - Social Justice. In addition, Rev Antonia holds certifications with the Johnson C Smith Seminary for Worship and Liturgical Leadership, RISE Network, and is a cohort member of the Jarena Lee Preaching Academy. Rev Antonia is a member of the First Church of Deliverance, where she was ordained and serves on the Ministers’ Board.