A Daily Lent

Monday of Holy Week Daily Reading : John 12:1 – 11 Focus Passage : Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. (Jn. 12:1 – 3) As a young man in the ministry, I was convinced that I could save the world, and that I would do so single-handedly. I worked tirelessly, spending myself and doing for others in both official and unofficial capacities. I noticed early on, though, that when someone showed me kindness, gave a gift of appreciation to me, or paid me a compliment, I didn’t receive it well. I would say things like, “I don’t really deserve this,” or “It wasn’t really me.” Sometimes I would think, “I...

Thursday of the First Week of Lent Daily Reading : Matthew 7:7 – 12 Focus Passage : “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who knock, the door will be opened. (Matt. 7:7 – 8) Jesus did not prescribe a formula for success in prayer – as if there were such a thing! He described the tensions we hold in prayer. He invited us to hold the tensions between asking and receiving, seeking and finding, knocking and entering. Each pole has its place in our prayer, in our relating to God. You might think of it this way: There is a time to ask of God, as well as a time to open oneself to receive what God gives. There is a time to seek relentlessly, and a time to celebrate that which has been found. There is a time to knock on many different doors, and a time to see which doors are open already, then walk through them. In all, the three phrases remind us t...

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 tha...

John 12:1 – 11 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. "Leave her alone," Jesus replied. "[It was intended] that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always h...