Listen:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:30)
Reflect:
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?
“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 have me.” (John 12:3-8)
Watch Mary with me. Can you see her on her knees pouring expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet and wiping them with her hair? The fragrance fills the air and the beauty of the moment permeates up the room!
This woman’s love for Jesus touches my heart with a deep yearning to love like Mary. She threw it all down, gave all she had to love Him. Spending a year’s wages on a pair of feet seemed a foolish extravagance to many on-lookers. Washing the toes of a guest was servant’s work and unbinding one’s hair in public was undignified. It’s as though she could not help but use everything at her disposal to love Jesus.
Can you hear her critics chastising her? “What a waste! This money could have been given to the poor.” But Jesus defends her. “Leave her alone. It was intended that she save this perfume for the day of my burial.” He DOESN’T say, “Oh no, Mary, it’s ok. Use the money on the poor. I’m good.”
He lets her love Him! He receives her worship in all its extravagance!
Do my acts of love today become gifts of adoration to Jesus? Do they matter and actually bless Him? Jesus understands that the best thing we can EVER do is love Him! He is worthy of our love!
Prayer of Response:
“Oh Lord, help me to love you like Mary. Amen.”
Questions to Ponder:
- As you read this passage, what are you drawn to? What is God saying to your heart?
- How do you love Jesus? How might you show Him love today?
—Submitted by Judy Villanueva
Judy lives with her husband in Colorado, near the kids and grands. She completed her masters at Fuller Theological Seminary, is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Spiritual Director, and writer. Her Bible reflections can be found at listeningforlove.net)
Mountain photo by Annegret Kammer on Unsplash.