Beauty in the Breaking

 Scripture: Isaiah 43:16-21 •  Psalm 126  • Philippians 3:4b-14  •  John 12:1-8

This week, Jesus is visiting the home of dear friends before setting his face toward Jerusalem to face the Passion, suffering, and death. This week's authors give us powerful insight into Mary's extravagant gift of expensive perfume, abandoning self consciousness and traditional mores in anointing Jesus' feet and wiping them with her hair. What about the poor who could use the proceeds of sale of the perfume, as Judas said? Extravagant waste, or more? What did Jesus say to Judas and onlookers? Why? What can we learn about comfort, grief, sacrifice, and ministering to others from John's gospel account of this event?

This is one of the most sensual and beautiful portraits of God's love and appreciation of humanity, through Jesus. Instead of rebuking Mary,  Jesus accepts the humanity, flesh on flesh, tears, and beauty of the ones he loved enough to sacrifice himself for. Read the beautiful account in Debie Thomas' "Beauty and Breaking. "

Consider the thoughts of Dan Clendenin in "She Did What She Could - Mary's Anoints Jesus at Bethany;" Katerina Whitley's "Comfort in the Midst of suffering"; and Debie Thomas' "While You Still Have Me."