You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 23:5-6
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 23:5-6
An Invitation to Respond
This week, we gather at the table of Christ with Mary, Martha, Lazarus, and others just after Jesus called Lazarus back from death. We watch as Mary kneels before Jesus and pours costly perfume over his feet, anointing him for his death. She wipes his feet with her hair, and fragrance fills the air.
Mary is not acting out of religious duty or obligation. This is even deeper than gratitude for the redeemed life of her brother. Mary is seeing Jesus in a way no one else at the table sees him. She has glimpsed, in some small part, his surrender to death. She may realize the life of her brother will be paid for by the life of her friend. She sees the extravagance of his love, and she responds by pouring out all she has to him. She has embraced his path of descent in the abundance of love.
As we come to the table, we are invited to respond not just to what Jesus has done for us, but to who he is. Jesus is the invitation. May we truly see Jesus. May we glimpse some fullness of his way. May we see the invitations in his suffering and death. As we stand in the abundance of his love, may we embrace the invitation to respond — pouring out all we are in extravagant surrender at his feet.
