Pam's Perambulation

At Bethany

12 Six days before Passover Jesus went back to Bethany, where he had raised Lazarus from death. ² A meal had been prepared for Jesus. Martha was doing the serving, and Lazarus himself was there.

³ Mary took a very expensive bottle of perfume^[a] and poured it on Jesus’ feet. She wiped them with her hair, and the sweet smell of the perfume filled the house.

⁴ A disciple named Judas Iscariot^[b] was there. He was the one who was going to betray Jesus, and he asked, ⁵ “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for three hundred silver coins and the money given to the poor?” ⁶ Judas did not really care about the poor. He asked this because he carried the moneybag and sometimes would steal from it.

⁷ Jesus replied, “Leave her alone! She has kept this perfume for the day of my burial. ⁸ You will always have the poor with you, but you won’t always have me.”

A Plot To Kill Lazarus

⁹ A lot of people came when they heard that Jesus was there. They also wanted to see Lazarus, because Jesus had raised him from death. ¹⁰ So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus. ¹¹ He was the reason that many of the Jewish leaders were turning from them and putting their faith in Jesus.

An offering,
my offering,
this is the most precious thing
I have.
Something I had been keeping,
saving for a special occasion.
Now I bring it and offer it to you
for I sense
this is as special as it gets.

I pour out this perfume,
anointing,
consecrating,
preparing,
acknowledging who you are
and what you mean to me.

But I offer more than that,
for I wipe your feet,
your precious feet
with my hair,
my crowning glory,
that which says so much about me,
that I care for,
now being used
to honour and worship you.
A sign of myself,
of how much you mean,
of how much I surrender to you.

Later this week
you too will wash feet.
The feet of the weary,
the bewildered,
those you long to serve.

I pray that I may not just wash your feet,
but their’s too,
the feet of all who need it.

Very soon these feet will be pierced,
Used to hold you to the cross
where you don’t deserve to be,
may I still be with you,
seeking to serve.

As I kneel here now,
I worship at your feet
and pour out my love,
my all
to you

We Worship at Your Feet