John 12:1-8 (NRSV)
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Chapter 12Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. Verse 2There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Verse 3Mary 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. Verse 4But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, Verse 5"Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?" Verse 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.) Verse 7Jesus said, "Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. Verse 8You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me."
Devotion
We've reflected this week on "not [remembering] the former things" but looking for the "new thing" God is doing (Isaiah 43:18-19). Occasionally, however, reflecting on God's goodness in the past is the best way to bolster our trust in God as we go forward. Though Mary's anointing of Jesus was extravagant—300 denarii equaled a year's wages for a laborer—we are keenly aware that only recently, Jesus had revived her dead brother. Can we say with any certainty how we might have treated Jesus at such a celebration dinner?
In my final sermon on internship, I told the congregation I'd come to love that I trusted God for my future because God had been so good to me through them. When we glance backward and recognize God's presence amid our ups and downs, we come to count on God for the future too. Surely this was part of Mary's experience.
Prayer
God of goodness, remind us of how you've kept and cared for us in the past, that we might trust you wholeheartedly now and in the future. Amen.