Ecclesia Princeton
Ecclesia Princeton
Doing God's Will: The Offering Of Perfume | The Offering of Palms
John 12 depicts Mary offering perfume at Jesus' feet and the crowds offering palms as Jesus rides into Jerusalem. What is the scripture's vision for the kind of offering that we bring to Jesus and how is all of it taken up into the hands of Jesus in his great offering of peace?
Do you have a smell that takes you back to a particularly important time in your life or a nostalgic time? I remember growing up, our family would always contribute the rolls for Thanksgiving, and so that day always smells like fresh bread in our house. Still, our Courtney now makes these cinnamon rolls that on Thanksgiving and Christmas the only time we get them, they have this coffee icing situation going on and the kids will wake up the next day and I'm like I thought there was a whole tray of cinnamon rolls left and I'll just nod. I'm like, yeah, santa, ate them.
Speaker 1:This past week I was making some food for some friends, and so sometimes you just want to make something special, and I had this pork shoulder that I'd frozen, so I thawed that out and I was like you know what I want to make Now this will mean something to some of you, nothing to the others of you this thing called Taco's El Pastor, which is pork that has just been marinated for several days in chilies and spices, and you just let it sit in there, and then the key is, you have to cook this thing over an open fire. So I have a little fire pit in my back. I've never done this before. But I literally just went and found one of the sticks that had fallen from the million rainstorms we've had carved it up and was like I'm going to use this as my spit, I'm going to dangle this over and I'm just going to see what happens. And so I start cooking this thing. Fire's hot and it smells so glorious and I was like this is going to be incredible. So I was like get this cooked up to temperature and slowly we got there and it was unbelievable. It smells.
Speaker 1:Psychologists have studied the impact of smell on our not only our memories, but on our bodies themselves, how they kind of transport us back to this place, and I hope for you. Today we're going to talk about a specific scent that is poured out upon Jesus. As we look at the story of Palm Sunday, as we look at the offerings that were made to Jesus some offerings made in misunderstanding, but offerings declaring that something was happening in our midst I hope today that just that aroma of Christ's love, his goodness, to you will be the message that you hear, but also that you almost carry out of you. You know, like somebody when they spray too much perfume I know I've been sitting in a coffee shop because I don't have an office and I was sitting in there and I'm almost like why? Why did you do that this morning? You just ruined my whole situation. But we're going to walk out of here smelling with all the goodness of Jesus.
Speaker 1:Now, a lot of us, we watch Netflix. So you watch a show on TV and there's an arc to storytelling. You want to start with kind of this wide angle. Oftentimes you want to start with something hard, hitting a bang, something that will draw the person in. But then you're going to do the work of exposition. You can help people kind of see who are these characters, what are they about. But then as you move towards the end, the pace begins to pick up and you know, like, as you get to the season finale, stuff's got to really happen and unravel. But there's also those episodes before the season finale where things start to accelerate, those penultimate storytelling moments where stuff is starting to transpire. That's where we find ourselves here today.
Speaker 1:We're going to open to John, chapter 12. And I say all that to encourage you and to remind you, especially as we embark upon what is called Holy Week, which begins Palm Sunday and goes through Easter Sunday and turns into this feast and celebration of what God has done in the resurrection of Jesus. But the scriptures are an invitation to a drama and the storytelling in the Gospels are dramatic and it's easy for us to miss that. But John is doing a work of mastery here, unfolding that before us, and it's so incumbent upon us to enter into its paces, into its storytelling. So as we arrive here at John chapter 12, the pace is picking up, the drama is unfolding and we find ourselves right in the middle of it.
Speaker 1:Just before John chapter 12 and John chapter 11, we get a cutaway scene, glimpse into a conspiratorial meeting between Caiaphas, who was the high priest, and his cronies. What are we to do? Caiaphas asks this man is performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation. The Caiaphas says you do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed. Now Caiaphas is the high priest. He's in charge of the temple, but his purposes are arrayed against that of Jesus and Azeroth. But, as John says, caiaphas being the high priest, he fulfills an office that he doesn't quite fully understand. And this is a common theme in John's gospel. People say more than they realize and Caiaphas says it's better for one man to die than for the whole nation to die. And, as we'll see in the story of Jesus, the story of Jesus is about God in the flesh of one man, taking upon death so that all of us would have life, and life eternal. Caiaphas says this, he just doesn't quite know that which he says. The end of John 11 says from that point on, the leaders determined to put Jesus to death and Jesus begins to keep a much lower public profile.
Speaker 1:But again, all of the drama is circulating. We are picking up the pace. For first century Jewish people, it was common practice for them at Passover which was the day that's approaching as Jesus will be crucified to make pilgrimage to Jerusalem if they were able To go from their place, their hometown, and to take whatever distance, whatever means it was necessary in order to go and celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem. Even modern day Jewish people today, when they celebrate the Passover, as they will next month in April, one of the prayers that resounds throughout that feast is next year in Jerusalem, declaring the promises that they still hold on to. And so, in Jesus' day, all of the people that are able are making pilgrimage to Jerusalem. And the question, as the drama is spiraling, is will Jesus show up? We've heard, we've heard of what the religious leaders are planning for Jesus. Will he make an appearance, will he be there? And that's where we find ourselves here in John chapter 12. First, jesus is back in Bethany, which is a village on the suburbs, the outskirts of Jerusalem. He's at one of the places that is dearest to him in all the world, among friends that are among the closest people to him, and they're sharing a meal. Likely, this is the meal that would conclude a Saturday, the beginning of the last week of Jesus' life.
Speaker 1:Mary, who, in John chapter 11, had fallen at Jesus' feet, flooding his feet with her tears, now finds herself again at Jesus' feet. But whereas in John chapter 11, she was crying because of the loss of her brother Lazarus, whom Jesus, just a few moments later, would call to come out of the grave, mary was overcome and undone with grief. But now, in John chapter 12, mary finds herself at the feet of Jesus again, but this time it's not grief that has brought her to this place. This time it is overwhelming gratitude Because of what Jesus has done, because he has raised Lazarus to life. And in raising Lazarus to life, mary beholds something of the truth that Jesus reveals to them at the tomb of Lazarus that I am the resurrection and the life.
Speaker 1:Mary begins to see Jesus not just as a wonder worker but as something quite more, and she falls at Jesus' feet. She takes a bottle of expensive perfume, what the scripture is called Nard. She breaks the bottle, pours it upon Jesus' feet in gratitude and thanksgiving and extravagance. John tells us that she poured it upon Jesus' feet. Mark tells us that she anointed his head. This amount of perfume was way too much for one person. It's likely that she covered his whole person with this perfume, this aroma. And as she does that and Jesus, as we'll see, is in this kind of state of inner turmoil, jesus is going through what we could never imagine. As he stares down the last week of his life, jesus knows what he faces and somehow, in some significant way, mary anoints Jesus with this perfume.
Speaker 1:She embodies something of the psalm, psalm 23 to Jesus, that says that even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil because you are with me. But it ends with this. You prepare a table before me In the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long. Can you think of the significance of those words in regards to what Jesus would soon endure and encounter? Even the Son of God sometimes needs a song.
Speaker 1:In the valley of the shadow of death, malcolm Geith says it this way Come close with Mary, martha, lazarus, so close. The candles stir their soft breath and kindle heart and soul to flame within us, lit by these mysteries of life and death For beauty. Now begins the final movement In quietness and intimate encounter. The alabaster jar of precious ointment is broken open for the world's true lover. The whole room richly fills to feast the senses, with all the yearning such a fragrance brings. The heart is mourning, but the spirit dances here, at the very center of all things, here, at the meeting place of love and loss. We all foresee and see beyond the cross, as Mary pours out this costly offering.
Speaker 1:Judas is indignant. Judas says Could not this have been sold and given the money, the proceeds given to the poor. Now John tells us that Judas had his hand in the common purse, that he was the treasurer but would often skim off the top what was being collected for this group. But Judas says this is a waste. This extravagance, this abundance, how could she be so wasteful? And there's many things that we could surmise about Judas, but I think Judas' aspirations are best put into concrete description In the events of the next day. So this is Saturday evening.
Speaker 1:Now we move to that first Palm Sunday, john, chapter 12, beginning in verse 12,. The next day, the great crowd that had come to the festival Heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, so they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting Hosanna, blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel. Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it. As it is written Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion, look, your king is coming. Sitting on a donkey's cult. We move from this intimate scene at a meal to a throbbing crowd, jubilant and anxious with expectation. The crowd takes palm leaves to welcome Jesus and, as we'll see, this is not just a random act.
Speaker 1:Jesus chooses for his mode of transport a donkey. Now, in our sort of collective imagination, the donkey seems to be the heart of the symbolism, right? If we envision an ancient conquering king of old, we picture them on a war horse and we think, oh, jesus has chosen a donkey, he is humble, as opposed to the general riding on the war horse. That's a good picture. Unfortunately, it's just not that in tune with the scriptures, because in the scriptures there is a consistent, we told, story of kings riding on donkeys. Solomon, following the death of David, rides into Jerusalem on a donkey.
Speaker 1:Mules, for whatever reason, for the kings of Israel, were often their modes of transport, and so Jesus is not pressing against the people's expectations. As it says, he's fulfilling prophecy. These people would have understood that this was some sort of nod to Zechariah, chapter 9. And in Zechariah, chapter 9, it says he will cut off the chariot from a frium and the war horse from Jerusalem and the battle bow shall be cut off and he shall command peace to the nations. His dominion shall be from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. So Jesus chooses this donkey as his mode of transport and the people welcome him with palms, which tells you a lot about the people's expectations.
Speaker 1:The palm was a deeply significant political symbol During the Maccabean reign. In the third and second century, during a brief period of autonomous rule, the Maccabines printed coins with palms on them. Now, if you study the history of the people of God, it's basically a history of being conquered, like if you read the Old Testament, like it's the Assyrians, it's the Egyptians first, then it's the Assyrians, then the Babylonians and the Persians and the Greeks, and then a brief, brief interlude of autonomous rule, which we see in the Maccabines, and then the Romans come in. And so it's like this story of a conquered people which is really interesting. When we have the Bible, we have history, the story of the world salvation, told from the vantage point of a subjected people group. But so during this brief interlude, they print coins with palms on them. The palms were a symbol of the kings of Israel, of autonomous rule and reign. In Luke he tells us that the people not only took palms, but they also took their cloaks and they laid them before Jesus. This is a nod to 2 Kings, chapter 9.
Speaker 1:When the king Jehu, the king of the northern kingdom, rides into the capital city of Samaria in order to claim his rightful throne. Now, if you read about Jehu, jehu was a famous royal religious vigilante. He comes just after the woman named Jezebel and the king named Ahab, and they had so led the nation astray in idolatry and worship of gods that were not the one true God, and Jehu comes to settle scores, to crack skulls, like stuff is about to go down, and so you can begin to form a picture when the people are welcoming Jesus with the palms of the sorts of expectations that they're carrying. Jesus riding into Jerusalem on that first century day is carrying the weight of these expectations, all of this deeply significant symbolism that Jesus is going to go and judge the temple, which he does. If you read Matthew, mark and Luke, the first thing that Jesus does upon arriving in Jerusalem on that last week of his life is he goes to the temple, because the temple was compromised. It was led by people like Caiaphas, who was commander of the temple, along with his sort of aristocracy, who had a negotiated truce with the Romans in order to keep their place of power. So Jesus goes and he judges the temple. The people are expecting, then, that he will then turn his attention to their pagan oppressors and rulers, which would be the Romans. What they think is going to happen is all out revolution, and this is what Jesus warns them against.
Speaker 1:If you read in Luke's gospel that when Jesus enters the city, there's this moment almost he's reflecting on all that he has to do, but he's also reflecting on that which is to come for the nation. And he stands outside of Jerusalem and he says oh, how I long to gather you in my arms like a mother hen. This is one of the few times we see Jesus crying in the scriptures. He weeps over the fate that awaits his people because, as he says, they did not recognize the time of visitation of their God, because Jesus dies somewhere between 30 to 33 AD. If you know your history of the first century, in 70 AD, because of these rebellious forces that are forming in Jerusalem, because they think they have these promises from God that he will fight on their behalf, they enlist armies to stand against the Romans, and Jerusalem is their first and last stand. And as all these armies take up arms against the Romans, they are crushed completely. The temple is destroyed and has not been rebuilt to this day, and Jesus is warning them of this. He says that is not the way that the kingdom of God will come in its fullness.
Speaker 1:And this morning, what I want to do is contrast these two scenes, these two offerings the offering of perfume and the offering of palms as we find them today. As we see, the offering of palms is not wholly wrong. They're rightfully declaring that Jesus is king and it's always struck me that Jesus doesn't stop them in their misunderstanding. Right, that's interesting. You would think Jesus is like hey, you think I'm a revolutionary leader? I'm not in the way that you think I am. Stop the proceedings. But he doesn't do that. He rides right into the midst of their misplaced expectations on a donkey fulfilling prophecy, riding to his destiny and his throne, which will eventually be capricious.
Speaker 1:But the offering of palms is quite different from the offering of perfume. The problem is the difference in the way that the people expect their hopes to be met. As it stands, the way of the palms and the mouths of the people is cheap. You know, we ordered these through a. There's an online service that provides palms to churches. So here we go. We had a necklace. Seen from California, we're just like we just go collect them from outside. I was like cool. You live in a paradise. Rub it in, it's fine. It's fine. These are cheap, right, we offer them with no cost to ourselves. The palms project their own visions and hopes Of who it's right to hate, be it the Romans.
Speaker 1:The palms are about nationalistic agendas, attaching political priorities of one specific people to the political priorities of the kingdom of God, and at Glacier, it is vital, during an election year in America, that I tell you that any politician who is promising Christians power is promising us something that we do not need, in a way that our king did not bring his kingdom, a way that our king undermined and forsook in bringing his kingdom, and so we don't need power. What we will find is that the power is found in self-giving love. The power is found in entrusting ourselves completely to God, in the offering of Jesus of Nazareth, and all of this only leads to disillusionment. As we've talked about, the people's misplaced expectations literally end in destruction for them Because they don't listen to Jesus. It is a winding, but it is a sure path to 70 AD, when the Romans completely destroy. When Caiaphas' worries come true, they will come and destroy our nation and our holy place. That's exactly what happens.
Speaker 1:The way of palms is a way that Jesus denies in bringing his kingdom. Leslie Newbigham says it this way Jesus is Lord is a true confession only if the subject has taken control of the predicate, only if sovereignty is defined by Calvary, only if Lordship is understood in terms of washing one another's feet. But that requires a total subversion of accepted human axioms, a total revolution which can only be the work of the sovereign spirit himself, or as Paul will put it in 1 Corinthians, chapter 1. The wisdom of God is the foolishness of this world, but it is the wisdom of God that brings us to life.
Speaker 1:The offering of perfume, on the other hand, is quite different. The way of perfume is costly, extravagant worship. The bottle of perfume that Mary brings to Jesus' feet was probably worth a year's wages somewhere in there. Just go ahead and transpose that into your own life. What if you were to bring a year's worth of your wages to the feet of Jesus? What would that look like? The perfume Mary pours out is so extravagant, it's so much more than any person needs. I was talking to somebody after the first service. They were like I actually bought some spikynard once just to smell what it smells like. They were like it doesn't smell great. It's like mix it with some spices. This is like extravagance, abundance.
Speaker 1:Mary dries her tear with her hair. It was scandalous for Mary to be at Jesus' feet in any way, because Mary puts herself in the place of a disciple. This is where you get the story of Mary and Martha. Martha is undone because Mary is not helping with. The proper place of a woman is to be in the kitchen in this culture. But Mary has put herself at Jesus' feet as a learner and Jesus says that Mary has chosen the better way, that the proper place for all of us is at the feet of Jesus is as a disciple. But beyond that, mary uses her hair to dry the tears that she pours out on Jesus' feet, to dry the perfume. In this culture a woman would only let down her hair in the presence of her husband. So there's scandal attached to Mary's actions here.
Speaker 1:The way of perfume is trusting Is giving oneself over to God. You think about, every time Jesus tells people in the gospels that he's going to die, how people respond. I mean, the most vivid example is Peter, just after he had declared you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the Christ. Just a few moments later, jesus says yes, I am and I'm going to die. And Peter says no, lord, that's not going to happen to you. That's not the way that the Messiah comes in his kingdom. And Jesus says to him get behind me Satan. And this is just emblematic of the ways that people respond to Jesus' proclamations about his death. We'll see this here in John 12 in just a few moments.
Speaker 1:I think Mary is the first one who says to God you come in your kingdom the way you come and you're king. I trust you. And, as Jesus says, she doesn't completely understand what she's doing, but she has saved this perfume for the day of my burial. There's something in Mary's actions that give her a glimpse in access into the heart of God. She's the first one who doesn't push back on the way that Jesus is going to come in his kingdom, but actually welcomes him as the king that he is. And all of this, these offerings, these offerings of perfume and of palms, are subsumed in this greater offering. Jesus is offering of peace. Jesus is offering which we see of himself. Verse 20 of John, chapter 12, tells us this. Now, among those who went up to the worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him Sir, we wish to see Jesus. Philip went and told Andrew. Then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
Speaker 1:Now, again, the narrative is picking up pace. Now it's not just the Jewish people who are interested in what Jesus is doing. Now the Gentiles went in on this miracle worker. They want to know what is it about this man, what is it about the things that he can do? And it would seem like Jesus has finally achieved the kind of recognition, the kind of prominence that Hebrew required to come in his kingdom. And the disciples are excited. They're like, oh, this is sweet, we're going to be right and left hand of the King as he comes in his kingdom. Even the Gentiles are coming. All the promises are being fulfilled.
Speaker 1:Yeah, jesus is just indifferent to the whole thing. Jesus does not accept the parade of prominence as the way that he comes in his kingdom. That is the temptation that is offered to Jesus in the wilderness by Satan Let everybody know who you are. Jesus, rather, chooses the way of obscurity. The way is, we will see a being shamed, a being scorned. So it would seem at this moment that everything is circulating. Everything has come to a head and Jesus says this is not the way. But the way is that I step into the hour, the hour for which I came, the hour of my glory, jesus says in verse 23,. Jesus answered them the hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified, but it's not to be glorified by the recognition of people. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am there will my servant be. Also, whoever serves me, the Father will honor. Jesus says for this hour, for this moment, I have come Now.
Speaker 1:If you read the other Gospels, you see, on the last night of Jesus' life, that there's this agonizing scene where Jesus prays in the garden. So if you read Matthew, mark and Luke, they depict Jesus praying in the garden before Judas comes, leading soldiers to arrest Jesus. And Jesus is in agony. He's staring down the reality of what it means to take upon the sins of the world, to be forsaken by God and he is terrified and he says, father, if there's any other way, let this cup pass from me. And in Matthew it says that Jesus says my soul is overwhelmed to the point of death. Like this is real, deep, troubled, stirring.
Speaker 1:And here in John's Gospel we have just a brief mention of this kind of deliberation John chapter 12, verse 27,. He says now, my soul is troubled. And what should I say, father, save me from this hour. No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name Now. Jesus is no less troubled here. The word that is used for troubled for his interstate is the same word that is used in John chapter 11.
Speaker 1:When Jesus stands outside the tomb of Lazarus, when it says that he's deeply moved in spirit and Jesus is deeply moved because he stares down the curse of death, he stares down what death has done to his friends and he is deeply moved in spirit. Jesus is no less troubled here. But Jesus in John chapter 12 is resolute, set upon the hour of his glorification. Jesus, in making this offering of peace and in trusting himself fully to the Father, will make all things new, will bring forth a new creation. Jesus then says in verse 31, now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be driven out and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. Again, this lifting up is not in glory or in triumph. This lifting up is nailed to a cross arms extended to all the world.
Speaker 1:Throughout John's gospel there's this theme that says that no one can come to the Father unless the Son draws him. And this works all throughout the first 11 chapters and, as the master storyteller that John is brings this all to a head here, we have this fully and finally in John, chapter 12. When I am lifted up, when people see my offering of peace, when people see my revelation of who God is and his glory, I will draw all people to myself. This is our God. Jesus, in making this offering, is compelling and inviting every single one of us to come to him. The call of Holy Week, ecclesia, is first to see Jesus for who he is.
Speaker 1:As we immerse ourselves in the story in the timeline, we stand in the confusion of the crowds. We are like those calling out Hosanna, projecting our ambitions onto God, saying God, I need you to do this for me, and if you don't, then I don't know if I can follow you. We want Jesus to be king in the way of the palms, yielding to our every ambition, giving us power through the use of power, giving us comfort. But Jesus will not become king through the wielding of weapons, through the promise of power, through the palace of comfort. Jesus will become king by being lifted up on a cross. This is an ironic exaltation. Jesus will be lifted up, not hoisted on the shoulders of his followers, not in a balcony of a palace, somewhere where onlookers adore him, but taking the rulers of this age in direct conflict, the rulers of this age being the religious leaders, the imperial authorities, the sin of all the people who cry out, crucify him, death which holds sin in its clutches, and judgment. Jesus will take all of them upon his shoulders, will be lifted up and will turn this moment of shame, of scorn and bitterness into the great moment of triumph and glory of our God. This is the way that Jesus comes in his throne. This is the kind of king that he is.
Speaker 1:The call of holy week, first, is to see Jesus for who he is, to see him for what he's done and, second, the call of holy week is the call of discipleship to be with Jesus where he is. Whoever loves their life will lose it, the way of perfume that Mary shows us. Mary responds to what Jesus has done previously in raising her brother. And we stand on the other side of Easter responding to the fact that God has not only called out to his one friend, lazarus, at one place and one time. Jesus has called out to all of humanity come out of your graves, be lifted up from your death, from your punishment, and be drawn into the well of eternal life. We get to respond to that voice, to respond to his calling. Mary falls down in worship, thanksgiving with a costly offering of love and worship.
Speaker 1:We've been talking for the last Linton season about doing God's will, and if I were to summarize what it means to do God's will, it all starts here Worship at the feet of Jesus, seeing him for what he's done, and responding with our love, our devotion, by pouring out the whole of who we are heart, soul, mind and strength. Because Jesus poured himself out, that God sent his Son as the revelation of his glory, of his love for us, that God so loved the world that he gave himself to save the world and Jesus, in being in equality with God, did not consider equality with God as something to be grasped, but rather poured himself out, emptied himself. God is the original lover. We simply respond to his great love for us. I'm going to invite the worship team forward as we embark upon this holy week, as we embark upon this Palm Sunday, I sense a call as a pastor in my own life and pastor of this church, friends for us to return to our first love. Revelation uses his language of returning to that which was in the beginning and friends.
Speaker 1:For many of us, this kind of devotion that Mary embodies here because of what Jesus has done, seems so foreign, it seems so out of character for us and I often think we have these visions of what worship looks like, what pouring ourselves out to God as soon as hands raised, it's all that stuff. But I'm not saying that. I'm not saying we need a show, a performative exhibition, that we are sold out to Jesus. What Jesus comes for is our hearts and I wonder for us today, how many of us we find ourselves kind of looking in on the party. We find ourselves sort of distant from what God seems to be doing in other people's lives, and I think that is a call, an invitation to come near again, to draw near like Mary, not to be content standing at arm's length waving palms and saying, yeah, I'm here, I'm here for the thing, but to draw near, even if it costs us something, and to say, jesus, thank you for what you've done.
Speaker 1:And, friends, so often this looks like remembering what God has saved you from Mary, the memory that's fresh in her mind is what Jesus has done in raising her brother Lazarus from the grave, and he has done that for each one of us, whether you know it or not. He has drawn you, and for us today, it's to respond in worship to what God has done For others of you. You've never heard this story or you've never seen your life as a part of it, and perhaps today is the day where you see that God has invited you to be with him, to be near him, to be a part of this story, to be a part of this drama that he has lived out, that he's called us into. Today is the day of salvation. I can see it that God is drawing near to you during this holy week, that perhaps this Easter season will be different for you because of who Jesus is and what he's done. I'm going to pray over the next few moments and I'll have some instructions for how we can respond to who God is in our midst.
Speaker 1:Lord, first of all, I pray. Come Holy Spirit, god. As I pray, I pray that you would stir our imaginations, lord, for this scene where Mary falls at your feet, god, and pours out a costly offering, god. I wonder if we in this room, as we have our eyes closed, god, could just envision ourselves in that place, god. For many of us, that's an uncomfortable place, a place acknowledging our neediness, a place acknowledging our lack of being able to take care of ourselves, a place where other people are looking at us, god, but through the power of the story, in some way, you declare that is our rightful place at your feet, god, responding to what you have done, responding to the freedom that you offer, responding to the life that you have given for us and to us, jesus. So, god, help us in these moments just to envision ourselves responding to you, god, not in the ways that are our default, not in the ways that we are accustomed to, but truly fully God, abandoned to you in costly worship and obedience.