Hair For Whom

If people think about their hair at all, it is usually rather self-absorbing. i want to look good, or at least not dreadful. We speak about "bad hair" days. We wear or don't wear certain hats depending on our hair. Some people like their hair to call attention to themselves. a lot of money is made on hair products.

There is a woman named Mary, who perfumes Jesus' feet with precious oils, and then, get this, dries his feet with her hair. What a mess that might have made of her hair and appearance. People are all looking at her at the dinner party, as she does all this. In one sense, she is calling attention to herself, but to me, she is pointing to something outside of her, away from her. She is absorbed in another, Jesus, and does not worry so much about her appearance. Her dreadful look calls attention to someone else, not to herself. I know people who go out of their way to have dreadful hair, but it is to call attention to themselves. Mary probably had long beautiful, soft hair, that could indeed dry the oiled, perfumed feet of Jesus. Now, with her wrecked hair, both she and Jesus would share the same aroma or scent. Mary loved someone to the extent that she stopped thinking so much about Mary. Could this be the scent of love?