An 8 Day Meditation for Holy Week

Wednesday
Scripture: Matthew 26:1-16; John 12:20-50 (Jesus Anointed at Bethany)

What a waste! He couldn’t stop ruminating about it. Who is This Jesus anyway? He’s so offensive! His words always stab you in the heart… Even the others agreed with me… We could have helped more people who really need the money…she’s always sitting at His feet…what a waste of time and money! The rebuke of Jesus was possibly the straw that broke the camel’s back. Judas set out to betray Jesus.

The disciples didn’t understand why Jesus let Mary pour out her whole bottle of perfume over His head. What was He thinking? That was a year’s wages and they agreed with Judas that the money could have been better spent. He was in fact the treasurer for a reason. Didn’t he know what he was talking about? It was just logical to their well intentioned minds. They didn’t want to deviate from their mission to help the poor. But we have to wonder, had they really listened to what Jesus had been trying to tell them?

They obviously didn’t understand what Mary understood. Mary made a habit of sitting at the feet of Jesus. This was her place of revelation and her place to bring adoration to her Lord. It was also her place of comfort as she ran straight to His feet when her brother Lazarus had died. Jesus was her all in all. She was used to being misunderstood. It had happened so many times when she was previously at the feet of Jesus. She knew the others thought it to be an uncomfortable display when she was using her hair to dry her tears from His feet. For the hair of a woman is her glory, but she wanted all of her whole being to bring Him glory. He is so worthy. Jesus had defended her and tried to explain to the others that they would always have the poor to minister to but they would not always have Him. He said she would always be remembered. But she didn’t understand how they didn’t know what was so clear to her? This was no waste. She wanted to anoint Him before He died not after…because His body would never see decay…

On this 4th day of our meditation let us consider more intimately Who is This Jesus? Are we disciplined enough to sit at His feet, free from distractions, and listen to Him? Is He worthy of giving Him all our possessions and all of our being? Are we ok with being misunderstood and even criticized by others, some who even claim to follow God? Do we want to miss out on an opportunity to worship Him by holding back what already belongs to Him? Nothing given to Jesus in love is ever wasted.