Good day dear friends.
Here is our text for today: 1 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5 "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?" 6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7 Jesus said, "Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me." (John 12 NRSV).
Entertaining guests for many is fun. For those who love to cook it is especially challenging to prepare the best you know how to prepare and with hopes that your guests will be surprised and delighted that they were invited to your home. Who your guest is makes a big difference in the kind of meal you prepare. If it is your family, it is special, but if your guest is your boss and you're wanting a promotion, that makes it a bit more special and stressful. But what if your guest was one who brought you back from the dead? Such was the case in this text up above; Jesus was in the home of Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary. I think they pulled out all the stops in preparing a meal that, I can't resist, was out of this world! Yet, here is the home where Jesus had been before and already there had been seen a difference between the two sisters. Martha was the cook and chief bottle washer. Mary was not so inclined to the kitchen as she was towards knowing more about the spiritual. On one visit, Martha asked Jesus to order Mary to go and help with household chores; Jesus replied that Mary was seeking that which was important. And now, Martha is again serving and making sure all the guests have their food and Mary wanders in with another chore in her heart.
Mary has brought in a pound of very costly perfume and began to anoint Jesus' feet with it and then dried it with her hair. This filled the house with the fragance of the perfume. I am sure Mary asked herself, "Is this enough? Have I done enough? How can I ever thank the man who talked to me about spiritual things and then brought my only brother back from the dead?" In her mind I think she knew she could never do enough.
We can never do enough for the man who has talked to us about spiritual things and who will raise our loved ones from the dead, ourselves included. But that does not mean we give up and just say, "Oh well, I can never do enough!" On the contrary it motivates us to do all we can, everything we possibly can, to show our love for God and for others.
PRAYER: Lord, I realize I can never do enough, but I will do what You would have me do. Let my life be an exercise in showing my gratitude for all You have done. I pray this in Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.
Here is our text for today: 1 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5 "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?" 6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7 Jesus said, "Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me." (John 12 NRSV).
Entertaining guests for many is fun. For those who love to cook it is especially challenging to prepare the best you know how to prepare and with hopes that your guests will be surprised and delighted that they were invited to your home. Who your guest is makes a big difference in the kind of meal you prepare. If it is your family, it is special, but if your guest is your boss and you're wanting a promotion, that makes it a bit more special and stressful. But what if your guest was one who brought you back from the dead? Such was the case in this text up above; Jesus was in the home of Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary. I think they pulled out all the stops in preparing a meal that, I can't resist, was out of this world! Yet, here is the home where Jesus had been before and already there had been seen a difference between the two sisters. Martha was the cook and chief bottle washer. Mary was not so inclined to the kitchen as she was towards knowing more about the spiritual. On one visit, Martha asked Jesus to order Mary to go and help with household chores; Jesus replied that Mary was seeking that which was important. And now, Martha is again serving and making sure all the guests have their food and Mary wanders in with another chore in her heart.
Mary has brought in a pound of very costly perfume and began to anoint Jesus' feet with it and then dried it with her hair. This filled the house with the fragance of the perfume. I am sure Mary asked herself, "Is this enough? Have I done enough? How can I ever thank the man who talked to me about spiritual things and then brought my only brother back from the dead?" In her mind I think she knew she could never do enough.
We can never do enough for the man who has talked to us about spiritual things and who will raise our loved ones from the dead, ourselves included. But that does not mean we give up and just say, "Oh well, I can never do enough!" On the contrary it motivates us to do all we can, everything we possibly can, to show our love for God and for others.
PRAYER: Lord, I realize I can never do enough, but I will do what You would have me do. Let my life be an exercise in showing my gratitude for all You have done. I pray this in Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.
