DAILY GRACE
April 6, 2020, Monday of Holy Week
Scripture: 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.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Meditation
“. . . you do not always have me.”
How often do these words occur to us as we try to pray? We are sitting in church or quietly at home by ourselves, ready for prayer, but nothing happens. “[Y]ou do not always have me.”
We may desire to pray, but feel stagnant. We might be engulfed in total silence; nothing stirs. The heart seems dead, dry as dust; the desire indifferent; and the mind faces a blank wall. Here we can thank God for the example of Mary of Bethany. Through her, Jesus illustrates the two ways of devotion found in the Great Commandment: besides prayer, which is service of God, there is service of neighbor. Jesus said to do both equally well with the whole mind, will, heart, and strength.
At first glance it would seem that the hero of the story should be Judas, who counseled prudence in the use of valuable perfume. But Jesus reprimanded Judas, not for his suggestion, but because he was a hypocrite who himself was taking what belonged to the poor. So Jesus is not telling Judas to forget the needs of the poor and to squander valuable goods. Jesus is foretelling his imminent departure —- preparing his friends to continue serving him in the poor and to do it as sincerely and selflessly as Mary was serving him, washing his feet and drying them with her hair.
We will often be disappointed in prayer. Jesus will not always seem present to us, but our neighbors are always with us. In understanding this, we are blessed by the example of Mother Theresa of Calcutta. Her personal letters reveal that this is exactly how things were for her. She did not always feel Jesus present in her prayer, but she found him present in the needy. Jesus asks us also to squander our attention on him in the poor. Such generosity will enrich our prayer.
Prayer
Lord, you assure us that we will always have the poor with us because we ourselves are poor. We are often poor in the things of the spirit. We struggle to be virtuous and generous; we struggle to pray. Consolations in prayer sometimes seem few and far between, while distractions and weariness are common companions. Teach us to fill up our spirit by emptying ourselves of all that does not serve you. Amen.
Contemplation
My prayer is filled with care for the needs of others.