Scripture
A banquet was prepared in Jesus honor, Martha served, Lazarus sat at the table with Jesus. Mary took a jar of costly perfume made from essence of nard, and anointed Jesus feet with it and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with fragrance.
~John 12:2-3, LNT
Quote
The highest form of respect is to actually listen to what a person has to say.
~Bryant McGill
Martha is always busy serving and Mary is usually sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to every word but on this occasion, it is Lazarus sitting. Mary shocked them all by anointing Jesus feet with some very expensive perfume. Her act of devotion and worship changed the entire atmosphere. Judas was very upset with Mary, he saw the use of the perfume as a waste, he said, “That perfume was worth a fortune. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” John is quick to remind us that Judas had impure motives: he didn’t care about the poor, he cared about the money. Jesus defended Mary; he told Judas and the rest, “Leave her alone, she did this in preparation for My burial.”
First of all, we can never be too extravagant in our worship and adoration of Jesus. Mary gave Jesus the most expensive thing she had. This perfume was worth a years wage. In today’s culture, we are talking 30-60 thousand dollars. Judas was being reasonable and analytical but Mary was acting on her heart’s impulse; she did what she did because she loved Jesus. Our LORD is never offended by our acts of devotion and love. He is not going to rebuke you for openly declaring your love for Him. For Martha and the others, it was a supper but Mary transformed it into a worship service and a memorable one at that: just days later and Jesus will be gone to heaven. Mary seized the day; she had a narrow window but she acted promptly and it paid big dividends. Sometimes, we do too much thinking and not enough acting.
The second thing I want you to notice is that Mary understood where Jesus was going and she sensed that time was running out. How did she know what the others had missed? Did Jesus take Mary aside and share secrets with her? NO! What He said concerning His death, He said to all but only Mary was listening. No one knows more than a preacher: the fact that you have said something, even repeated something over and over, does not mean that they have got it. Martha was too busy to listen. Judas had a hidden agenda and didn’t want to listen. The disciples were too afraid to listen. He told them all repeatedly what was going to happen but they were not listening. These are two key elements in a good strong relationship: loving and listening and Mary had both down to pat. Is there anyone in this world, other than Jesus, who loves you enough to listen to you?
My sister and I visited a WWII vet yesterday [6-6-18]. I interviewed him for a DIGEST article. He will be 100 years old on June 23. He sang us two songs and then he started reading us a book he had written. Out of respect, I sat and listened until he got tired of reading. I had lots to do but I didn’t dare interrupt. My sister was chumping at the bits but she didn’t interrupt him either. She wanted to but couldn’t find a place to jump in. He just wanted someone to listen to him. Don’t we all.
THE KICK IS UP AND GOOD!
GAME OVER!
Boys win! Boys win! Boys win!
Friday Attendance 224
Boys raise $2,300 and the Girls a respectable $1,800
Now there is one thing about this game that I don’t get: I understood that the losers got their hair dyed pink and Joe David followed through; the other two weaseled out: they put one little tiny streak which you can’t even see unless you are up close. I don’t think it is good to tell boys and girls were’re going to do something and then not do it. I am expecting to see two women with totally pink hair Sunday night. If you are doing to dye, you better buy you a pink wig and wear it. Looking on the bright side, I want have to worry about getting my hair dyed pink next year if we are not going to play by the rules. I have a better idea for next year: the losers let Jarvis cut their hair live and on stage. I’m game. Actually, the most important thing is that we feed a village for a month, I think. I know the money goes to Guatemala.