I have started this several times to no avail. Start. Stop. Start. Stop. Lay it aside and then pick it up again. All to no avail.
Worshipping amidst the stench of dead called forth? Pouring forth the fragrance of the heavenlies when the foulness hung heavy? It was powerful.
Mary managed to offer a safe space for Lazarus to sup with his Savior ~ to drown out the stench of the sick and dying.
But, there was something else there. There in that room, amidst the magical worship in the deafening stench. There was something else there in their midst. And I kept picking this up, turning it over and around, writing a few lines only to lay pencil aside, again.
Bu, there was something else there in the room that day. And I think we may not like to hear of it. I may not like to write of it.
"Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it." John 12:5-6
There it was, amidst the stench and the magical worship. There with those supping with their Savior and Mary pouring forth costly oil and fragrance that poured forth freedom from the suffocating stench. Amidst it all ~ the money box. And held by a thief. He was a thief and he continues to this very day as thief. And he spoke forth what appeared to be reasonable religiosity. He certainly used the prescribed format ~ giving to the poor etc. etc. Our comforting vernacular ~ sold to be given and so on and so forth. And it rings nicely in our religious ears. Well yes, now that thief mentions it, certainly the worship was wasted (at the feet of Jesus no less!) and should have been sold to be given away, for the thief and liar loves to a appeal to our over practical, carnal thinking. To ever temporal way of functioning, rarely able to glimpse the eternal and always cemented on crazy globe. For thief and liar hates pure worship and will work to deceive and manipulate, appealing to our fleshy tendencies to draw us away from our worthiest calling ~ pure and extravagant worship.
Mary had stepped in, just walked right into that deep place. She poured forth costly oil and worshipped Savior and she called down the heavenlies and that home was filled with fragrance. That oh so needed, heavenly fragrance. And the dead called forth supped with Savior, the stench of the sick and dying was squelched with the heavenly fragrance. Magical worship had won the day.
And there in their midst, the thief and liar called foul at the costly fragrance for he hates pure worship that gives freedom to the sick and dying to sup with Savior.
Should have been given to the poor.
As he sat holding the money box.
There in the room, with the sick and dying and Savior come to save, was the ever present money box.
And liar and thief cries to our carnal ears, "Put it in here!" Your wealth, your time, your energy, your family, your talents, your everything! Put it here, into my money box.
And we think of the practicalities of carnal life and we think of payout we can hold in our fleshy fingers. We struggle to worship into the heavenlies, to pour our time, wealth and energy into that which we can not see. Can not hold and manipulate in our hands. We oh so want the dividends our practical minds see in the money box.
Career. Education. Programs. Wealth. Status. Retirement. Leisure and Luxury. Oh, we can see and taste it and feel it rolling around our fleshy fingers, in our human hands. That money box looks so appealing to out constantly grasping hands. Grasping at that which we can hold, manipulate. It lays just there, just there within our reach. Just there. In the liar's lap. Just there.
But, Mary grasped into the heavenlies. She reached hands into heaven and brought down that healing fragrance that her brother sat and soaked in as he supped with Savior. With Jesus.
Panicky liar. Someone had poured forth quite a large sum into pure worship. Panicky liar was worried for he grasps the magnitude of the power of pure worship.
Oh, but the poor! Don't forget about the poor! Our practical, carnal minds pause at the practicality of the poor. We can grasp at the practical programs for the poor. But, pouring forth costly worship with no tangible dividends? We do struggle here.
And the money box sitting in the liar's hands, grasped in the grimy grip of the eternal thief. He whispers and screams into our ever need to grip what is ours! To hold so tight to today. We want to see payout, hold the dividends.
Education. Career. Family. Talents. It can be so very hard to pour it out on that which we can not see. This magical worship. But, what is the payout?
Panicky liar was panicking for this mere woman had modeled what magical worship can do ~ call down the fragrance of heaven to lay as balm on the stench of the sick and dying.
Mere woman had modeled the magic of calling down His majesty. In spirit and in truth, she had kept her costly sum from the money box. She had not fallen into the trap of the practical, subtle serpent. And the heavenly fragrance squelched the stench.
That ever present money box. In our lives. Our homes. Our churches.
The practical mind puts wealth into retirement, saves for a rainy day rather than saves a soul.
Our talents and time into career, rather then calling down the heavenlies through magical worship.
We can not see the dividend. Yet. We do not comprehend the payout. Here.
But, Mary modeled the truth, when our best, when our brightest is poured into magical worship ~ our God is honored and men are brought into contact with His majesty. And the ever present, practical money box is finally closed.
Panicky thief can no longer steal that which was given to worship Master.
I do not like this one. I turned and twisted it around in my mind, mulling it over for months. For I see that money box in my life. Money box being filled with that which I ought to give to my Master. And thief siphons straight from that blasted box! Siphons straight away and the stench hangs so heavy! And I flounder and falter under the staleness of the stench for Satan siphons, steals straight away that which would bring the fragrance of heaven straight into my space, into my soul and spirit.
Money box. Oh, but the practical poor.
And we all stay poor, poor in spirit, poor in soul when we do not pour our best and brightest into pure worship.
The poor will be so greatly served when they are bathed in magical majesty of their Savior. When they too sit and sup with Savior amidst the costly fragrance of our pure worship.
Do you see the money box there in that room there that day with supping Savior? Do you see the money box sitting there in your room? In your home?
Maybe today we finally close and seal money box, maybe today we pour our best into that Whom was always due our worship.
Maybe today. Let it be Lord. Let it be.
~
I wrote that over a month ago ~ it is quite strange to read it in light of today's present money box that the world has named the Corona Virus. Could it be that today, more than ever God's people must determine to pour our absolute best and our very brightest into pure worship. There are so many sick and dying all about ~ sick with worry and dying under the fear of it all and they so desperately need the fragrance of heaven to squelch the suffocating stench of fear and hysteria.
Worshipping amidst the stench of dead called forth? Pouring forth the fragrance of the heavenlies when the foulness hung heavy? It was powerful.
Mary managed to offer a safe space for Lazarus to sup with his Savior ~ to drown out the stench of the sick and dying.
But, there was something else there. There in that room, amidst the magical worship in the deafening stench. There was something else there in their midst. And I kept picking this up, turning it over and around, writing a few lines only to lay pencil aside, again.
Bu, there was something else there in the room that day. And I think we may not like to hear of it. I may not like to write of it.
"Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it." John 12:5-6
There it was, amidst the stench and the magical worship. There with those supping with their Savior and Mary pouring forth costly oil and fragrance that poured forth freedom from the suffocating stench. Amidst it all ~ the money box. And held by a thief. He was a thief and he continues to this very day as thief. And he spoke forth what appeared to be reasonable religiosity. He certainly used the prescribed format ~ giving to the poor etc. etc. Our comforting vernacular ~ sold to be given and so on and so forth. And it rings nicely in our religious ears. Well yes, now that thief mentions it, certainly the worship was wasted (at the feet of Jesus no less!) and should have been sold to be given away, for the thief and liar loves to a appeal to our over practical, carnal thinking. To ever temporal way of functioning, rarely able to glimpse the eternal and always cemented on crazy globe. For thief and liar hates pure worship and will work to deceive and manipulate, appealing to our fleshy tendencies to draw us away from our worthiest calling ~ pure and extravagant worship.
Mary had stepped in, just walked right into that deep place. She poured forth costly oil and worshipped Savior and she called down the heavenlies and that home was filled with fragrance. That oh so needed, heavenly fragrance. And the dead called forth supped with Savior, the stench of the sick and dying was squelched with the heavenly fragrance. Magical worship had won the day.
And there in their midst, the thief and liar called foul at the costly fragrance for he hates pure worship that gives freedom to the sick and dying to sup with Savior.
Should have been given to the poor.
As he sat holding the money box.
There in the room, with the sick and dying and Savior come to save, was the ever present money box.
And liar and thief cries to our carnal ears, "Put it in here!" Your wealth, your time, your energy, your family, your talents, your everything! Put it here, into my money box.
And we think of the practicalities of carnal life and we think of payout we can hold in our fleshy fingers. We struggle to worship into the heavenlies, to pour our time, wealth and energy into that which we can not see. Can not hold and manipulate in our hands. We oh so want the dividends our practical minds see in the money box.
Career. Education. Programs. Wealth. Status. Retirement. Leisure and Luxury. Oh, we can see and taste it and feel it rolling around our fleshy fingers, in our human hands. That money box looks so appealing to out constantly grasping hands. Grasping at that which we can hold, manipulate. It lays just there, just there within our reach. Just there. In the liar's lap. Just there.
But, Mary grasped into the heavenlies. She reached hands into heaven and brought down that healing fragrance that her brother sat and soaked in as he supped with Savior. With Jesus.
Panicky liar. Someone had poured forth quite a large sum into pure worship. Panicky liar was worried for he grasps the magnitude of the power of pure worship.
Oh, but the poor! Don't forget about the poor! Our practical, carnal minds pause at the practicality of the poor. We can grasp at the practical programs for the poor. But, pouring forth costly worship with no tangible dividends? We do struggle here.
And the money box sitting in the liar's hands, grasped in the grimy grip of the eternal thief. He whispers and screams into our ever need to grip what is ours! To hold so tight to today. We want to see payout, hold the dividends.
Education. Career. Family. Talents. It can be so very hard to pour it out on that which we can not see. This magical worship. But, what is the payout?
Panicky liar was panicking for this mere woman had modeled what magical worship can do ~ call down the fragrance of heaven to lay as balm on the stench of the sick and dying.
Mere woman had modeled the magic of calling down His majesty. In spirit and in truth, she had kept her costly sum from the money box. She had not fallen into the trap of the practical, subtle serpent. And the heavenly fragrance squelched the stench.
That ever present money box. In our lives. Our homes. Our churches.
The practical mind puts wealth into retirement, saves for a rainy day rather than saves a soul.
Our talents and time into career, rather then calling down the heavenlies through magical worship.
We can not see the dividend. Yet. We do not comprehend the payout. Here.
But, Mary modeled the truth, when our best, when our brightest is poured into magical worship ~ our God is honored and men are brought into contact with His majesty. And the ever present, practical money box is finally closed.
Panicky thief can no longer steal that which was given to worship Master.
I do not like this one. I turned and twisted it around in my mind, mulling it over for months. For I see that money box in my life. Money box being filled with that which I ought to give to my Master. And thief siphons straight from that blasted box! Siphons straight away and the stench hangs so heavy! And I flounder and falter under the staleness of the stench for Satan siphons, steals straight away that which would bring the fragrance of heaven straight into my space, into my soul and spirit.
Money box. Oh, but the practical poor.
And we all stay poor, poor in spirit, poor in soul when we do not pour our best and brightest into pure worship.
The poor will be so greatly served when they are bathed in magical majesty of their Savior. When they too sit and sup with Savior amidst the costly fragrance of our pure worship.
Do you see the money box there in that room there that day with supping Savior? Do you see the money box sitting there in your room? In your home?
Maybe today we finally close and seal money box, maybe today we pour our best into that Whom was always due our worship.
Maybe today. Let it be Lord. Let it be.
~
I wrote that over a month ago ~ it is quite strange to read it in light of today's present money box that the world has named the Corona Virus. Could it be that today, more than ever God's people must determine to pour our absolute best and our very brightest into pure worship. There are so many sick and dying all about ~ sick with worry and dying under the fear of it all and they so desperately need the fragrance of heaven to squelch the suffocating stench of fear and hysteria.
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