A great display of love

 

Sometimes we don't have adequate words to express the depth of our feelings. When the woman (Mary) anoints Jesus' head, while he is eating at the home of Simon the Leper, we see the incredible love she has for Jesus. 

"While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head." - Matthew 26:7

The depth of her gratitude is revealed in the value she places on Jesus. The jar of perfume was worth a full year's wages for the average worker. That is a lot of money to offer up as a gift to Jesus, especially as it was only to be used in a once off act. 

Mary came to understand the true 'worth' of Jesus and her generosity always challenges me to reflect on the love that I show Christ. Is my love merely in words, or does it come with a great display of love.

"Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions." - 1 John 3:18

Living in Grace

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John 12:3-6 - Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. 4 But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, 5 “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” 6 Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.

Mount Masada

Today we get to climb Mount Masada. I have been looking forward to this moment for years and can't actually believe that I will be getting to do this. Masada is steeped in history, but is most famous for the 967 Jews who committed mass suicide on the mountain in 73A.D. Under siege by the Roman army, the Jewish community on Masada chose to die, rather than be tortured by the Romans. If you would like to read more on Masada then click onto the link. 

We will also travel to Bethany today, to visit the tomb of Lazarus. If you remember his story in the Bible (John 11), Jesus prayed over his dead body and he rose from the dead. Lazarus was also the brother of Mary and Martha.

^"When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days. ¹⁸ Bethany was only a few miles down the road from Jerusalem, ¹⁹ and many of the people had come to console Martha and Mary in their loss. ²⁰ When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house. ²¹ Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.”
²³ Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”
²⁴ “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.”
²⁵ Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life.^[e] Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying." - John 11

Living in Grace
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