Monday of Holy Week: Today Anointed. On Friday Crucified

Today's Scripture Readings

Isaiah 42: 1-9 (NRSV)

Here is my servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen, in whom my soul delights;

I have put my spirit upon him;

he will bring forth justice to the nations.

He will not cry or lift up his voice,

or make it heard in the street;

a bruised reed he will not break,

and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;

he will faithfully bring forth justice.

He will not grow faint or be crushed

until he has established justice in the earth;

and the coastlands wait for his teaching.

Thus says God, the LORD,

who created the heavens and stretched them out,

who spread out the earth and what comes from it,

who gives breath to the people upon it

and spirit to those who walk in it:

I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness,

I have taken you by the hand and kept you;

I have given you as a covenant to the people,

a light to the nations,

to open the eyes that are blind,

to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,

from the prison those who sit in darkness.

I am the LORD, that is my name;

my glory I give to no other,

nor my praise to idols.

See, the former things have come to pass,

and new things I now declare;

before they spring forth,

I tell you of them.

Psalm 36: 5-11 (BCP, P. 632)


Hebrews 9: 11-15 (NRSV)

When Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), he entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God!

For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, because a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant.

John 12: 1-11 (NRSV)

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.

Blog Reflection

The Gospel for today is the one I wrote a reflection on for the Fifth Sunday in Lent just a week ago.   It is interesting to be at this Gospel again today, because at Vespers this past Saturday, the Gospel reading was the raising of Lazarus from the dead.

Today we are with Jesus as his feet are anointed by Mary and prepared to walk towards Jerusalem to be welcomed on Palm Sunday (yesterday).  We are reminded today that his journey took him to Calvary.  

In his work The Imitation of Christ St. Thomas A. Kempis in Book 2 Chapter 12: On the Royal Road to the Cross wrote: "In the cross is the height of virtue and the perfection of all sanctity" (p.92).   What begins as an act of kindness on the part of Mary, prepares Jesus for the agonizing journey that will take him to his death and ultimately his resurrection. 

In the cross is what it means to be obedient to God's will out of love for God and neighbor.  To surrender oneself so that God may transform, even if it is through pain and suffering.  Even if it means being famous for all the wrong reasons. Yet, through the cross we are brought face to face with God's unconditional and all-inclusive love.  A love that empowers us to love others.  For the cross is about being open to God through others. As Jesus stretched out his arms and his hands were nailed to the wood of the cross, so God's arms and heart are always open to receive all of us in the totality of the delight of God's love.

As all the news reports tell us that tomorrow the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the legal challenges to Proposition 8 in California, and DOMA in several state cases, both sides of the debate are raising money, organizing rallies, candle vigils and more.  It is all very exciting.  It also shakes the nerves of both sides of the discussion.  Through it all, comes some of the grossest rhetoric towards LGBT people and their relationships with each other. 

Holy Week is our opportunity to be reminded that we too might be found in the crowds to decide if Jesus should be crucified and Barabbas is to be set free.  As we prepare for what will take place tomorrow, as well as the events of this Holy Week, we would do well to pray with compassion for our opponents as well as ourselves.  Reminding ourselves that we have as much a responsibility to them as our brothers and sisters in Christ, as we do to each other.  Jesus set the example for us by crying out, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34).  This just after they finished driving the nails in to his hands and feet hanging him there to suffocate to death.

We too are anointed by the Holy Spirit to carry out the mission of Jesus in our baptism and confirmation.  We are also to remember that it is only through the Paschal Mystery that we will find the strength and fortitude to continually offer ourselves to the service of God and others.

Amen.


Prayer

Almighty God, whose 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 that 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.  (Prayer for Monday in Holy Week, Book of Common Prayer, p. 220).