God’s love
is so powerful that it can even penetrate the hearts of us puny humans and
enlarge our capacity for love. We see
this in the Easter story. Those who show
their love for God do so in irrational ways at Easter. It makes me think, what has been my most
irrational act of love?
Though the
Pharisees followed each word of the Bible, they followed irrational commands
without love that led to emptiness. That
is not the love I’m talking about. There
is no soul transformation in that kind of behavior. True acts of love are not done to make you
think you are worthy of God’s love. They
are not done to make you feel better than other people.
The
infectious love of Easter is never found in human effort. It only begins with an irrational,
inescapable love for God. Jesus’ love
for God is the one and only reason He loved us so extravagantly on the
cross. In John 14:30-32 He explained: I will not say much more
to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, but he
comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my
Father has commanded me. Jesus
didn’t go to the cross because He wanted to beat the devil. The devil had no hold over Him. He didn’t have to go to the cross for
Himself. He went to the cross because He
trusted so fully the commands of God out of His love for God.
I imagine
it was the same for the three
Marys of Easter.
As I think about their actions in the Easter story, I see no other
explanation than their utter, heartfelt love for God. Mary of Bethany was already a marked
woman. She was the sister of Lazarus,
whom the Pharisees wanted to kill as well.
She would have had every reason to stay away from the dinner at Simon’s
house, if she gave into rational self-protection. Not only did she publicly reveal herself as a follower of
Christ but also she brought Him a jar of pure perfume.
I don’t know if she intended to pour the whole bottle over His feet when
she picked it up and took it to the dinner, but her utter love for Jesus and
God led her to anoint Jesus’ body with oil. Her loving act is remembered every time we
think of the events of Holy Week. After this she disappears from the
story. Was it because of the conflict? Were things getting too heated up in
Jerusalem? Did Jesus’ favorite family of
three stay in hiding the rest of the week?
Every time we meet Mary of Bethany, she is at the feet of Jesus. It seems strange not to find her at the feet
of Jesus at the cross. Mary sensed when her service was needed and when it was
not.
Mary the
Mother of Jesus could have been no other place than at the foot of the cross of
her beloved Son. Simeon had told her
that her heart would be pierced. It was. There was no outward wound or abuse given to
Mary, but what she experienced was more painful. She stood there strong and steady unwilling
to leave her Son. Though the sight of Him was horrific to take in, she couldn’t
take her eyes off Him. It was only after
He died that she disappeared. She
surrendered to the feelings she tried to keep at bay all day. She was probably paralyzed. She couldn’t think of how to bury Him. She needed others to do that for her. She just had to focus on how to breathe, how
to walk, how to exist after the shocking event of the cross.
Mary of
Magdalene was at the cross, at the tomb first thing on Easter morning. She was the first to see and speak to the
risen Lord. Her love for God would not
allow her to go away on the word of angels alone. She would not leave until she found Jesus and
He told her what to do next.
How has the
love of Easter infected your heart?
Copyright © 2015. Deborah R Newman
teatimeforyoursoul.com All Rights
Reserved.
Comments
Post a Comment