In the reading this morning we see 3 events that really have some interesting implications for us.

The first is this scene where Mary pours out an expensive ointment on Jesus’ feet, symbolically blessing Him and praising Him, and Judas (who is the one to betray Him soon) points out that this is a waste and that this ointment could have been sold and the money placed into the moneybag.  Here is the twist though - that moneybag is for giving to the poor, it was under Judas’ care, and he was a regular thief from that bag apparently.  So, this was really a hypocritical comment, and of course Jesus knows this.  We don’t know if all of the disciples know it or not, but John knew this about Judas.  But this is just another great example of hypocrisy, and this wasn’t from the Jews, but from Jesus’ inner circle.  To me, it just illustrates that we ALL are prone to be blind to our own issues and we have to be open to this reality if we want to grow through it.

The second scene is really just a moment where these Pharisees see that everyone is following Jesus, and that they’ve lost their influence, and they make this comment like they are just kind of throwing their hands up in the air...it is v19: “So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.””  I think that is just great...it’s like they have thrown in the towel.  It reinforces this idea that God is going to do what God is going to do...you can either jump on the train and be a part of what He is doing and going to do in the world, or watch it pass you by...it is an open invitation.  They’ve chosen to watch it pass them by.

And then the third scene, the moment when the story of Jesus takes a turn and Jesus opens the door to the eventuality that He is going to be crucified.  Now the ‘Greek’ people, not the Jews, are really wanting to hear from Jesus...they’ve been on the sidelines and Jesus’ teachings have been for the Jewish people mostly; Jesus knows now is the moment when that message needs to get out to the rest of the world.  He goes into a beautiful analogy about a grain of wheat going into the earth to die, to become part of the earth, and to bear fruit ultimately...and he expands on this saying that we, each and every one of us, bust do the same in our own lives...die to ourselves, to our own desires, and transformed into a vessel for God...we become part of God’s plan, part of God’s story.  To do this, we must choose what is most important - God’s will or ours.  This is a hard truth.  Ultimately, each of us gets to decide who is God in our lives...us, our desires, our autonomy, our free will, or God.  Jesus laid His life down for us, as an example to us...and we get to daily decide whether or not we will lay down ours.

Today I am praying for an opportunity to lay down my life...to spot a chance to make that decision in a small but deliberate way...to follow selflessly.