The Gospel
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.”
The Offering
From Deb Peeples
Martha was serving a meal, not only a custom in those days but, I believe, a loving act of service. Mary used her expensive oil to anoint Jesus’ head and to wash his feet, another loving act of service. It seems to me that Martha and Mary’s actions are exactly what Jesus asks us to do. Love God and each other, not thinking of self and serve one another, in small and extravagant ways.