Wednsday, March 20, 2013

Is. 42:16-21; Ps. 126; Phil. 3:4b-14; John 12-:1-8

Spring Equinox 6:02 a.m.

John 12:3 "Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair."

 

            In a 2002 sermon at Christ Chapel, Gustavus Adolphus College, professor Jenifer Ward said: "When I think back over my own life and conjure up memories of anointings, I have to confess that I can find no costly perfumes or alabaster jars. My anointings were much more humble. I think of my mother Betty. When I was sick as a child, she would come into my room, bearing a jar of the dreaded Vicks Vap-o-Rub to slather over me. On the one hand, the overpowering swirl of camphor and eucalyptus…my flannel nightgown sticking to the ointment and to me…my own feverish, congested discomfort. But on the other hand: my mother…sitting on the edge of my bed, present to me, only to me, there to soothe, to tell me it would be all better, as her hand gently circled around my face and chest.…[She] exemplified the sacred and blest thread which binds us all: that to touch one another, to serve one another, to be truly present to one another, is to reflect the light of Christ."

 

(Copyright©2002 Jenifer K. Ward. The sermon in its full form is here.)

 

O God, our springtime, anoint us with your ever presence that we may embody your love in the world.  Amen

 

• Think of someone who needs the blessed anointing of your presence. Call, write or visit them.