John 12:8Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Or it may be understood thus: after His ascent to the Father, He commands the disciples to fast (Mt 9:15). Then, too, they would devote themselves more tranquilly, calmly, and freely to care for the poor and to the work of love for them. And so it was. After the Savior's Ascension, when they no longer followed the Teacher but remained in quiet, they spent all the offerings upon the poor with particular zeal.

With respect to His presence in the flesh, it was rightly said to the disciples: You always have the poor with you, but Me you do not always have.

In this respect, the Church had His presence in the flesh only for some days. Now she has it through faith, not seeing Him with the eyes.

Therefore, after this twofold resolution, I think that what was said can no longer remain a matter of doubt.

Of course, we understand the words: You always have the poor with you. What He said is true. When has the Church been without the poor?

But Me you do not always have. What did He mean? How are we to understand: But Me you do not always have?

Do not be troubled. It was spoken to Judas. Why did He not say, You have, but rather, You have? Because Judas is not alone. One wicked man signifies the whole body of wickedness.

This was said to them: But Me you do not always have. What do not always and always mean?

If you are righteous, if you belong to that body which Peter represents, then you have Christ both now and hereafter. Now you have Him through faith. Now through the sign. Now through the mystery of Baptism.

Now you have Him through the bread and wine from the altar. You have Christ now, but you will have Him always.

For when you depart from here, you will come to Him who said to the thief: Today you will be with Me in Paradise (Lk 23:43).

But if you live wickedly, you may seem to have Christ because you enter the Church, sign yourself with the sign of Christ, receive baptism into Christ, join the members of Christ, and approach the altar of Christ.

Now you have Christ, but by a wicked life you will not have Him always.

But what does what follows mean? For you always have the poor with you, but Me you do not always have. We certainly understand the words: You always have the poor.

What He said is true. When was the Church without the poor? But Me you do not always have. What does He imply?

How should we understand: But Me you do not always have? Do not be frightened. This was said to Judas.

Why did He not say, You do not always have, in the singular, but You do not always have, in the plural? Because Judas is not alone.

One evil man symbolizes the whole body of the ungodly, just as Peter symbolizes the body of the good. More precisely, he symbolizes the Body of the Church, but with respect to the good.

For if Peter did not mysteriously symbolize the Church, the Lord would not have said to him: I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.

And whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven (Mt 16:19).

If this had been said only to Peter, the Church would not do this. Yet this is done in the Church.

What is bound on earth shall be bound in heaven, and what is loosed on earth shall be loosed in heaven. When the Church excommunicates, the one excommunicated is bound in heaven.

When the excommunicated person is reconciled with the Church, the reconciled person is loosed in heaven. Therefore, if this is done in the Church, Peter symbolized the Holy Church when he received such authority.

If good people in the Church were prefigured in the person of Peter, then evil people in the Church were prefigured in the person of Judas. To them it was said: But Me you do not always have.

But what does not always mean? And what does always mean?

If you are good, if you share in the Body that Peter symbolizes, then you have Christ in the present and will have Him in the future.

In the present, through faith. In the present, through the sign of the Cross. In the present, through the Mystery of Baptism. In the present, through the Bread and Wine from the altar.

You have Christ in the present, but you will have Him always. For when you depart from here, you will come to Him who said to the thief: Today you will be with Me in Paradise (Lk 23:43).

If you live wickedly, you can have Christ in the present. You enter the Church, sign yourself with the sign of Christ, are baptized with Christ's Baptism, are mingled with Christ's members, and approach Christ's altar.

You have Christ in the present, but by living badly you will not have Him always.

The saying can also be understood otherwise: For you always have the poor with you, but Me you do not always have. The good too may take this as spoken to themselves.

Yet let them not be troubled, for He was speaking of the presence of His body. In regard to His majesty, providence, and ineffable and invisible grace, what He said is fulfilled.

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Mt 28:20).

But in the flesh which the Word assumed, that is, as He was born of the Virgin, as He was seized by the Jews, as He was nailed to the tree, you do not always have Him.

As He was taken down from the Cross, wrapped in a shroud, and laid in the tomb, and as He showed Himself in the Resurrection, you do not always have Him.

Why? Because, while abiding in the flesh, He spent forty days with His disciples. Then He left them as they watched, but did not follow Him, and ascended into heaven (see Acts 1:3-10).

He no longer abides here bodily. In truth, He is there also, sitting at the right hand of the Father. He is also here, for the presence of His majesty does not vanish.

In other words, according to the presence of His majesty, we always have Christ. According to His fleshly presence, it was rightly said to the disciples: But Me you do not always have.

Indeed, the Church possessed Him in the flesh for a few days. Now she possesses Him in faith, not seeing Him with the eyes.

Therefore, the words But Me you do not always have, I think, are no longer a difficulty for understanding. They can be interpreted in two ways.

While one sister of Lazarus served the Lord by managing the supper, the other, Mary, wished now to make up for an earlier omission. Perhaps she had not had time to thank the Lord for restoring her brother to life, because Jesus had quickly departed from Bethany. It was customary among the Jews to wash the guests' feet before supper and to anoint the head and feet with fragrances. Mary wished now to do this in honor of her Benefactor. Without calculating what it would cost, she brought a vessel of myrrh made from nard, the finest and most precious kind. She poured it on the Lord's head and feet, and, as a sign of her abasement before Him, wiped them with her hair. Not everyone looked at this in the same way. The disciples thought it would have been better to sell it for the benefit of the poor. The recent example of Zacchaeus, and their constant disposition to help those in need, gave sufficient motive for this. But one of these disciples had another thought behind such a proposal. This disciple carried the small purse of their company. He thought he would receive the myrrh into his hands for sale and use the money for distribution to the poor. Concern for the poor was only a pretext. In fact, he hoped to profit from this sum himself. Yet the Lord defended Mary. He rejected the most plausible reason the other disciples had. Constantly trying to impress upon them the thought of His departure from them, He said that the poor were always with them, but He was not always with them. He added that He accepted this anointing from Mary as a preparatory rite for burial. If great expenses are not spared for burial, then there is no reason to spare them now. Surely for My sake you will not be so calculating.

But the Lord looks upon the heart and its dispositions. Even an inconspicuous action has high significance when it is the pure fruit of pure love for God, as Mary's action was. "The poor you always have with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them." In saying this, the Savior has in mind the words of the law of God. The Lord spoke in the law: "Since the poor will always be in your land, I command you: open your hand to your brother, to your poor and needy in your land" (Deut 15:11). By repeating the words of the law, the Savior approves the good disciples' care for the poor. At the same time He especially fixes their attention on the words of the law: "The poor you always have with you." This is a lesson for all visionary philanthropists, for all Saint-Simonians and communists. It is especially for those among them who mercilessly condemn offerings to churches. To all of them it is said: "The poor you always have with you." Let them not dream of the greatness of their philanthropy. Poverty, sickness, and calamities will always remain among men. Why? Because men cannot make the cursed earth into the garden of Eden. Let them do all they can to soften the sorrows of earthly life. But in doing so, let them first humble self-interest within themselves. So often, like Judas, it concerns itself with the poor only for its own purse or for vain renown. Let it not increase the misfortune of others by dreams pleasing to the passions. Such dreams are harmful both to them and to whole societies. One must never forget that, as God is above all, works for the glorification of His name are needed before all else. An evil deed speaks with the heart of Judas: Why was this waste made? "Me you do not always have." Does this refer only to the disciples of Christ Jesus who lived with Him on earth? No such limitation of the meaning is visible in Jesus' words. Thus even the best souls cannot say of themselves that Christ is always with them. Why? Even the righteous man falls seven times a day. Therefore the best souls vividly feel the need to thank the Lord when He visits them. "She has done what she could. She has beforehand anointed My body for burial." Or, as it is read in John, "She has kept this for the day of My burial." Guided by the hand of the Most High, Mary had not to sell the costly nard, but to keep it for the burial honor of the Savior of the world. Could sincere disciples of Jesus Christ reproach Mary if they saw the body of their Teacher in the tomb, and Mary rendering Him burial honor? No. This would be an offense against Providence, which invisibly orders the actions of men. It would also be an offense against the honored Teacher. "Truly I say to you, wherever this Gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her." The deed of Mary, who loved the Lord, is her memorial. It will stand through the ages before all who hear the Gospel. The value of human deeds does not come from men's arbitrariness. It is assigned by God, who speaks in the conscience of men and in revelation.

Thus they prepare both for the Kingdom of God. A society is in an abnormal and dangerous state when, on one side, there is bitterness, and on the other cold contempt and cruel calm at the sight of poverty. But where the holy bonds of God's love are not broken between poor and rich, there perhaps the order of society should be considered better for the development of human souls. The ideal of society is not socialist equality of conditions, nor the commune. It is love amid the accidental inequality in the distribution of wealth. This love softens the burden of poverty and raises to God the possessor of unrighteous wealth (Lk 16:9). Therefore, when the Lord says, The poor you always have with you, He commands us always to remember the holy duty of mercy toward our neighbor. But by the second part of verse 8 He reminds us that, amid the ordinary course of human life, the present moment is great. In this event a woman was called to a symbolic and prophetic deed. It would be spoken of throughout the whole world in memory of her. This prophecy, though she herself did not understand it, indicated that the Lord God in the flesh would taste death as man. It also showed that, after His Resurrection, He would not dwell among men in human form as He was seen by the human eyes of that generation which was counted worthy to behold the Lord in the flesh: Me you do not always have. The Lord's words are addressed to all believers, healing by their gracious meaning the poison poured out by Judas.