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1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 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. 4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages. ” 6 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. 7 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you,but you will not always have me.” (John 12:1-8 New International Version Bible)
Happy and Marvelous Monday, ConCafe Family! May God's blessings be rich and wonderful upon you, Friend, is my prayer for you. Our second service in church yesterday received a wonderful, unexpected blessing in seeing our pastor, Rev. Dr. Matt Pennington in worship! It was a very joyful moment for us and we thanked God for his recovery. Matt explained the wounds he is recovering from and I could understand the pain he is feeling. Please continue to pray for his recovery. Pray for one another; pray for those recovering from medical procedures and other needs. Pray for those you carry in your heart and may God provide us eyes to see all people, especially those no one else sees or wants. Pray for your needs. We pray because God answers prayers.
Are there people in your life that were money were no object that you would spend all you had to provide for them in a special way? Even with most of us having limitations on our money, there are people that we would sacrifice for their wellbeing. So, we find that in the village of Bethany, at the home of Lazarus, that a dinner party was given in Jesus' honor. We remember that Lazarus had two sisters, Martha and Mary. We also remember that on a previous visit, Jesus was asked to intervene between a squabble between the two sisters. Upon His arrival on that occasion, Martha found herself doing all the domestic chores, while Mary sat at Jesus' feet. Martha did not think that fair and raised that concern with Jesus. On this visit, we find that Martha is serving while Mary has taken a pint of pure nard, valued at about a year's salary, being poured on Jesus' feet and then wiping the feet with her hair. The writer says the house is filled with the aroma of the perfume. And it's here that someone makes a stink about the perfume. And are we surprised it is Judas Iscariot? Judas was the treasurer of the ministry of Jesus. The writer mentions that Judas had no concern about the poor, but plenty of concern for the money. It was his remark, "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." The writer also says that Judas felt free to help himself with the money collected by the ministry. And his attempt to spoil the mood and the spending of money failed, for Jesus simply says, "Leave her alone." He explains, "It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial." Here Jesus is honestly saying that this could have been used for His burial, but this is an anointing of what He needed. The gesture was pure love and gratitude to this special man's life and ministry. Jesus had, after all, brought the fullness of life into their lives and then when the illness of Lazarus led to his death, Jesus gave him new life, a resurrected life. What price could we possibly place on that? Jesus brought new meaning and purpose to the lives of these people, whom Jesus truly saw as friends. They had been privy to the reality of life beyond this life and the promises of the Lord for living this life to the fullest, trusting and loving God.
We read Jesus' statement in the closing verse, that Jesus speaks about the reality of the poor then, and even now. "You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me." What those hearing Jesus realized that many of us today do not, is that Jesus is sharing from a book in the Torah, which I share here: If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be ... For the poor you will always have with you in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’ (Deuteronomy 15:7-11). The emphasis is for the believer to open their hands wide with assistance. Jesus is not dissing the poor, but rather reminding them of what their law teaches to help the poor. And, again, it is a reminder that His life on earth was almost over.
I went to a church once to worship and the worship leader said, "Turn to your neighbor and say, 'I love you and there's nothing you can do about it!'" And it hit me, how often do we tell God something along the same lines? And I said, of course there is something we can do about it! And we should! And here we're seeing Mary doing something about it. She has poured out a very expensive perfume on the feet of her Savior as a grateful, thankful expression of her love for all He had one thus far in her life. The question still stands, what can we do for the Lord, and what's holding us back?
PRAYER: Loving Lord and Savior, You have done so much for me; what can I do for you? Allow me not to hold back, but to give You my all! May I bless You and those in need with an open hand and an open heart; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Show Jesus your love in loving others!
Receive my blessings of peace and joy, Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
