S9E34: Filled with Fragrance (Gathered Up in Jesus pt. 6)

Sermon #491

In the week leading up to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, a number of events occur which point to his forthcoming death on the cross, and this event recorded in all four gospels is one of them.  In Mary, the sister of Lazarus (not to be confused with Mary the mother of Jesus or Mary Magdalene), whom Jesus raised from the dead, we see an extravagant act of worship in anointing Jesus' feet with very expensive perfume.  Some of those in attendance, particularly Judas, protested at the waste.  In fact, we hear similar voices today when we see worship spaces decorated with costly adornments.  Why weren't these rich objects sold to feed the poor?  But as Christ himself reminds us, we will always have opportunities to minister to the poor - and lest we miss this point, we ought to be ministering to the poor regularly.  But opportunities to worship God face to face, God in the flesh, are few and far between, and we ought to make the most of them, as Mary has done.

John 12:1-8

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on April 3, 2022

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S.D.G.