This morning's guest preacher used John 11:55 - 12:8 as his text.  What he said was quite wide ranging but among other things he noted that there were three main characters: Jesus, Judas and Mary.  One of the things I wound up pondering was the juxtaposition of Mary (good) and Judas (bad).

The Fourth Gospel shows pretty clear evidence of dualism with such contrasts as above/below, light/dark, etc.  My understanding is that the dualism of the time would have allied 'good' with 'male' and 'bad' with 'female' in which case this story becomes more than a little subversive.  Interesting.

The preacher also mentioned that 'some people' try to rehabilitate Judas and I have to confess to being someone who would love to.  I found myself recalling how he is sometimes called 'the son of perdition' (lostness) and began thinking about all times the word 'lost' gets used in the gospels inrelation to Jesus mission ...

I would dispute the preacher's claim that the same annointing story appears in all four gospels; as I understand it most commentators would recognise at least two stories - different women, different parts of Jesus anointed (head or feet).  But then how many times do I make claims that others would dispute?

Above all, the sermon made me think, and that has to be a good thing.