April
1, 2001
John 12:1-8
Six days before Passover, Jesus entered Bethany where Lazarus,
so recently raised from the dead, was living. Lazarus and his
sisters invited Jesus to dinner at their home. Martha served.
Lazarus was one of those sitting at the table with them. Mary
came in with a jar of very expensive aromatic oils, anointed and
massaged Jesus' feet, and then wiped them with her hair. The fragrance
of the oils filled the house.
Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, even then getting ready
to betray him said, "Why wasn't this oil sold and the money
given to the poor? It would have easily brought three hundred
silver pieces." He said this not because he cared two cents
about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of
their common funds, but also embezzled them.
Jesus said, "Let her alone. She's anticipating and honoring
the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you. You don't
always have me."
<The Message >
=======
1. What
would be a sign that the day of your burial has been anticipated
and honored?
2.
What sign will you give to others that you anticipate and honor
the day of their burial?
3.
These are tough questions we don't consider often enough. To anticipate
and honor days of burial -- our own and others -- is to see present
value for lives being lived. The relatively few precious moments
we have with one another need to be cherished in memory, rejoiced
in for their own, and realized that this too shall pass.
Until the alpha and omega of life makes sense we can't seem to
make sense of the middle part and we get confused about what is
yours and what is mine and end up stealing from ourselves and
others the preciousness of life. Without "alpha" (beginning)
and "omega" (end), "mu" (middle) becomes a
commodity we excuse and turn to our own immediate and temporary
advantage -- we turn commonwealth into my wealth.