Monday of Holy Week - March 25, 2013
Monday of Holy Week
John 12:1 – 6
Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.
But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.
I find Holy Week to be a time to walk with Jesus. More than other times in his life, I sense a special invitation to spend time with him in these last hours of his life. Maybe it’s because I know where the week is headed . . . I know that he will experience betrayal, the pain of friendship turned aside, the loneliness of walking as a solitary toward his death . . . something compels me to walk with him in a special way this week.
In today’s text, Jesus attends a dinner with friends. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus loved him and really believed that he was sent from God. Mary does an exquisite, extravagant thing for him, wasteful and indulgent perhaps, but borne of love and deep friendship. It foreshadows the grief that will come soon enough as he is arrested and put to trial. It is an act of preparation for his death.
"Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair."
John 12:1 – 6
Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.
But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.
I find Holy Week to be a time to walk with Jesus. More than other times in his life, I sense a special invitation to spend time with him in these last hours of his life. Maybe it’s because I know where the week is headed . . . I know that he will experience betrayal, the pain of friendship turned aside, the loneliness of walking as a solitary toward his death . . . something compels me to walk with him in a special way this week.
In today’s text, Jesus attends a dinner with friends. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus loved him and really believed that he was sent from God. Mary does an exquisite, extravagant thing for him, wasteful and indulgent perhaps, but borne of love and deep friendship. It foreshadows the grief that will come soon enough as he is arrested and put to trial. It is an act of preparation for his death.
"Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair."
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