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Assist us mercifully with your help, O Lord God of our salvation, that we may enter with joy upon the contemplation of those mighty acts, whereby you have given us life and immortality; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Lessons
Isaiah 42:1-9 ; Psalm 36:5-11 ; Hebrews 9:11-15 ; John 12:1-11
The Meditation
This week I am sharing thoughts from Archbishop William Temple's classic work Readings in St. John's Gospel in these daily meditations.
This Gospel account takes place just before the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. At table, while Martha is characteristically serving, Mary senses the arrival of a solemn moment. The Lord has returned to a place where his life is in danger; she at least will show her devotion and express her gratitude.
To worldly minds, acts of devotion are foolish. And with even the best intentions, acts of gratitude have an inherent danger of being self serving, such as giving a generous gift and then having one's name affixed to a plaque. Yet it is true that where a lavish expenditure expresses the overflowing of a heart's devotion, it is unspeakably precious. The Lord would soon be taken from Mary, and she had to express her love. Since the best thing we can offer is love, there must be no censure of its lavishness.
"The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume." So should every Church be filled with the fragrance of devoted love.
(W. Temple, Readings in St. John's Gospel, pg. 182-5)
Lavish devotion, lavish love. And yet, the religious leaders, in the face of such love, determined that Lazarus, as well as Jesus, must die, all somehow in order to be faithful to what they believed.
Soon we shall encounter again the New Commandment: love one another as I have loved you. The power of this love cannot be overcome. Yet, humans seemingly always choose to try and find ways to kill such love. Thus, there can be a price to be paid for loving so generously.
May the gift of Christ's love, so lavishly poured out for all, fill our hearts, the Church, indeed the whole earth. Let the pure fragrance of the love of Christ drive out greed, enmity, and apathy. May love of neighbor consume us as we follow Mary's example to show our devotion and gratitude to Jesus. And if payment is required for loving this way, let us pay our share, gratefully.
Hymn 458
 | | My Song Is Love Unknown |
Collect of the Day
Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Solemn Prayer Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the Cross, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. |
