On this Monday of Holy Week, we remember Mary’s act of worship anointing the feet of Jesus with costly perfume. I’d like to imagine Martha, her sister, sitting next to her with a towel (so nothing stained the carpet.)

Sometimes I resonate more with Martha – getting things done, cooking in the kitchen, a make-it-happen person. Other times, I aspire to be like Mary – sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to His words, basking in His presence.

Navigating our lives of faith, it’s really both and, not either or. Mary made a gesture of costly worship, but consider Martha’s intrinsic role in the household. If Mary blew a whole year’s worth of wages, wouldn’t Martha have a say in it? In a sense, this sacrificial act of worship came from both of them, but in different ways.

Just like at times our acts of costly worship can take different forms – changing diapers, care-giving, teaching, leading a team, studying, reaching out to colleagues (even irascible ones), giving of ourselves (our presence & presents), spending time in prayer & adoration (even when we’re slammed), laying down our lives for others…

All we do can be acts of worship, costly perfume, if we offer them up to Jesus (& do them with His love.)

grace, peace & costly perfume

Virginia : )

“It is not how much we are doing but how much love, how much honesty, how much faith, is put into doing it.” Mother Teresa (St. Teresa of Calcutta)