Easter

The Fragrance of the Perfume

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. John 12:3 NKJV

While Hollywood has generally given us the impression that Mary was a young beautiful woman; that may not have been the reality. In that time even poor young beautiful women would have been married and Mary was not poor. While we do not know Mary’s age it seems possible that she and Martha were both widows, living with their brother Lazarus. That would give us an entirely different view than the film version. In this scene we meet a Mary who kept all her savings in that perfume jar. It acted as something of a retirement account. As she grew older with no marital prospects, no way to work or even the right to own property that perfume was all she had besides the kindness of her brother. She was presenting that gift in a single defining moment as her worship and expression of love to the Lord Jesus.

selective focus photography of pink flowers

Photo by Abby Chung on Pexels.com

As the fragrance filled the room people began one by one to realize how exorbitant and yes even a little crazy what Mary was doing really was! Her family and friends were shocked but silent. Then one by one the disciples, beginning with Judas, began to protest. “Why wasn’t this sold …and given to the poor?”

But Jesus knew Mary’s heart and while she remained silently at His feet He defended her. Today we have little to describe how Peter or John, Andrew or Phillip worshiped, but Mary’s gift is still remembered. After 2,000 years, her perfume continues to fill each of our rooms with its fragrance!

Lilies and Sparrows

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When I was a teenager I sometimes worked in the hay fields during the hottest part of Summer. The farmer would pass ahead of us through the fields gathering and baling the loose hay and we followed behind piling the bales on a truck and then stacking them in the barn. The fragrance of the freshly cut hay still lingers in my memory as well as the 1554287255655_image.jpg

view from where I rode on top of the pile.  From there I could look out and see the tiny flowers that had nestled under cover of the tall grass, now uncovered in all their startling beauty. 

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told us not to be concerned about the details of our life. He said that we could trust Him to take care of us just like He took care of those wild flowers in the field. Then He talked about sparrows. Maybe he choose sparrows because they have no colorful feathers, mighty talons or majestic wingspan.

1554287664847_image.jpgThey are ordinary just like us and Jesus said that God watches over every one of them and even notices when they fall.

With Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday on our horizon, let’s think for a moment of how Jesus was doing more than just telling us not to worry. He was also reminding us that we could trust God even during the worst moments of our lives just as He did. At the cross they stripped Him naked and gambled for His clothing; but today He wears a robe of light and is clothed with the sun. And on that same dark afternoon He fell to the ground like the sparrow and they took and laid Him in a tomb. Though only a few saw the place where He was laid; God had not forgotten. He knew exactly where to send the angel to roll back the stone on Resurrection morning. In one miracle moment the Spirit breathed the breath of life into Him and Jesus walked out to comfort Mary Magdalene; to bring peace to Peter and John and the assurance of faith Thomas.  Today He freely offers any of us who will believe a gift greater than lilies and sparrows. He promises that if we follow Him we will find our own eternal place in His home and at His side forevermore!

 

 

What Really Matters?

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As one part of remembering the Easter story some congregations hold a foot washing service. If you have never participated in a foot washing it is impossible to explain fully the emotional roller coaster experience of that moment.

When I went on a short term missions trip to India several years ago we were surprised by such an event. It came at the close of our visit to a humble church in a small village. Just as the service was closing they called my pastor and I to come sit in the front. “I don’t like this part” pastor Joliam told me though I had no idea what was coming. Then the local pastor’s daughter a girl of about 12 came to the front with a basin and a towel and began to wash our feet. Afterwards she wept as she thanked us for coming. I felt so humbled and small at receiving such genuine love when my own heart was incapable of expressing such gratitude. Washing feet is odd and embarrassing and having my own washed by someone I had only just met was doubly so. But that moment marked my heart forever and made an eternal change in my attitude towards others. That is why Jesus commanded us to continue to follow His example. What is on your agenda or mine today?

What really matters most to God is for us to wash the dirty feet right in front of us!