Asking Questions

John 12.1-11

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. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, ‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?’ (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.’


When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.


Reflection

Whenever I hear people questioning the relevance of Scripture to the lives we lead today, I think of passages like today’s reading from John and find myself wondering what they’re talking about. There’s so much going on here that’s familiar, so much that speaks to our world. How do we deal with the poor? What do we make of hypocrisy? How do we treat those we profess to love? How do we live in this day that God has made?


There’s pathos and excitement in this story. The crowds are turning to Jesus – but we know that soon enough they’ll turn away. If we were among their number, which way would we go – the easy way or the Way of the Cross? One way to know is to answer the questions above and there’s no better time to do that than during Lent.

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