“The Rose Has No Why”

April 6, 2025

John 12: 1–8 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 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. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, ‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?’ (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.’

Remember the times when you did something for another person with no strings attached and without conditions? There was no why to what you were doing. You were just doing what you were doing because you were motivated by joy, generosity or something else.

Angelus Silesius, was a 17th c. German priest, physician, mystic and religious poet. Born and raised a Lutheran, he began to read the works of medieval mystics and became acquainted with the works of the German mystic Jacob Böhme. Inspired by him, Silesius wrote: “The rose has no why; it blossoms because it blossoms. It pays no attention to itself, nor does it ask whether anyone sees it.”[i]

This quote suggests to me the idea that at our core we should simply be and blossom without worrying about external validation or expectations.

What if we were to live like the rose, without a why? We would be free from the desire to be noticed, or praised for our accomplishments. What if we fragranced the world like the rose, regardless of whether anyone sees or smells it. Its beauty and fragrance are not a means to an end. It has no why.

I am trying to live without a why. To give and do unconditionally.

This is not easy. We live in a world of economy, exchange, and transaction. Have you ever received a gift and felt indebted, obligated to return the favor? You scratch my back; I will scratch your back. We live in a world in which you pay for what you want. There is, as the saying goes, no such thing as a free lunch. We are expected to return the favor, pay off the debt, or reciprocate in some way. Think about all the ways that happens.

The state in which I reside just witnessed the most money laden election for a seat on our Supreme Court. Tens of millions were given by wealthy non-residents to support their preferred candidate. One mega donor gave $1 million “gifts” to voters hoping the receiver would vote for the donor’s candidate of choice. Big time donors expect big time returns. And it is not just in politics, sometimes it is in college admissions and other places, too.

In religious circle such actions are called “the economy of salvation.” Believe in Jesus, follow his way, and you too can have salvation. Sometimes we believe that our prayers and good behavior are the currency that pays for God’s favor.

Every day there are countless ways we transact our lives. We cannot escape that. It is challenging to give a pure gift. Economies are a part of our world. But maybe we need to be more aware of them and the power and influence they have. Maybe we need to lessen and loosen the stranglehold they have on us.

There are times when we do or need to do something simply for the sake of doing it; things like love, forgiveness, truth, hospitality, justice, compassion. In those times something is being affirmed for itself, not for what it might achieve or accomplish. There is no why.

In the story of Mary in John 12, her act of anointing the feet of Jesus is a gift of pure love and it is all in the details. A pound of costly perfume is e. Fragrance fills the house. This is the expensive stuff you would never buy for yourself. Scholars believe the perfume would have cost a full year’s wages. Made of pure nard we are told, meaning that it was not spliced with something cheaper to make it go farther.

Into this incredible loving scene comes Judas who speaks: “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” He cannot stop himself. It is as if the love Mary shows to Jesus is more than he can take.

Gift stands in contrast to economy. Judas is calculating and practical. He knows the market. He is an investor looking for a return. He wants to turn Mary’s gift into a profit. Judas has a why. He has aligned himself with a means and an end. In the economies of our life everything has a why, life is calculable, and we become calculating, expecting a return on our investment whether that investment is money, time, love, or a good deed.

It is important to refrain from drawing conclusions about Mary or Judas in this story. It would be easy to set one against the other. Mary is good, Judas is bad. Mary is right, Judas is wrong. There have been times I have lived as Judas and times when I have lived as Mary. Have you?

Jesus accepts her love. In silence. In mutual affection. Jesus needs her love. After all, the end is near. The end of Jesus’ ministry. But also, the end of his life. In the very next chapter, the hour will come. The foot-washing, Jesus’ final prayer. Then his arrest in the garden. If there is ever a time Jesus needs to know he is loved, it is is now. I think Jesus’ gratitude for Mary’s love likely matches the fragrance that filled the room.

Jesus’ gratitude and love will then be the same for his disciples. In a few days, he washes his disciples’ feet, showing them the kind of love that Mary showed him. This is what happens when the gift economy is let loose. This is what happens when you experience a kind of love, an amount of love that you could never have imagined. You cannot, not do the same.

Could it be that there are two aspects of our lives, two ways of living and relating? Mary and Judas exist in us, whether we admit it not. They are images of our charitable self and our economic self, images of our unconditioned life and our conditioned life. Think about when you have been Mary and when you have been Judas.

We live each day in a world where there is always a tension between gift or economy. That tension can unsettle and keep us awake at night. But it also can call us into question, awakening us to how we genuinely want to live. That tension is the call to be discerning and thoughtful about how we respond to others, engage in life and contribute to the common good. That tension pushes us to look within ourselves, at our motives and desires. That tension reveals that Mary and Judas, gift and economy are interwoven, and each has the possibility of the other. It reminds us that the fragrance of life can be neither bought nor sold. It is priceless.

I do not know if we ever truly live without a why. I cannot answer that, but I know that is the direction I want to go. I know that is how I want to shape my life. What about you?

Image: livingthestory.com

[i] Goodreads.com