John
12:1-8. Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of
Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him.
Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary 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.
Mary’s
Story
A few days before Passover,
Jesus came to dinner.
What an honor for us!
Me, Martha, and Lazarus.
Everyone but me had a job to do.
My sister Martha served;
Lazarus, my dear brother, resurrected
by the power of Jesus’ command,
sat next to him, attentive.
But what could I do? I wondered.
What could I do?
I heard the disciples argue among
themselves;
they couldn’t seem to hear what Jesus
was saying.
He talked of his coming death . . .
oh, my heart was heavy within me then.
I wondered. What could I do?
What could I do?
I had listened to his teachings,
had run to him, weeping, when Lazarus
died.
But to sit with Jesus at dinner—
that would have been improper.
Yet, there was one thing I could do:
I could anoint his body for burial.
That’s what I do for others;
that’s what I could do for Jesus.
I ran to the coffers for fragrant
oils.
A sweet aroma greeted me: pure nard,
our most expensive perfume
(the jar must have been leaking).
I took to me enough
to honor him, our teacher.
With alabaster jar, and perfume
running sweet at His feet,
I consecrated our rabbi for burial,
and divine fragrance filled the air.
I wonder now: can he know my heart?
Can he know that I hear him, still?
—
Elizabeth
Ward
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