Behold, his soul which is proud is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
All Commentaries on Habakkuk 2:4 Go To Habakkuk 2
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
But “Mary,” the other sister of Lazarus, “took a pound of perfume made from costly, pistic, aromatic nard. She anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the ointment fragrance.” We have heard what happened; let us search out the hidden meaning. You, whoever wishes to be a faithful soul, together with Mary anoint the Lord’s feet with costly perfume. That perfume was justice, and so it was a full pound. However, it was perfume made from costly, pistic, aromatic nard. What does “pistic” mean? We might believe it to be some place in which this was costly perfume; and yet this is not an idle phrase and is quite well consonant with the mystery. The Greek word means “faith.” You were seeking to work justice: “the just man lives by faith.” Anoint Jesus’ feet by living well. Follow the Lord’s footsteps. Wipe with your hair. If you have more than enough, give to the poor, and you have wiped the Lord’s feet. For hairs seem to be the body’s superfluity. For you they are superfluous, but for the Lord’s feet they are necessary. Perhaps on earth the Lord’s feet are in need. For about whom except about his members will he say in the end, “When you did it for one of the least of mine, you did it for me”? You spent your superfluity, but you gave service to my feet.
