Answering The Uproar

But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”  Mark 14:6-9

As a memorial to her, I will do my part this morning. The desire to criticize has blown up, the uproar reaction of the flesh had its say, and now Jesus our Lord answers. Priorities, why take the time to criticize and trouble the one doing a good work for Him whose time is so short? And this should not be a surprise to them as Jesus has told His disciples at least three times now that He has come to Jerusalem to die at the hands of the religious leaders and Romans. Prioritize! The time to give alms to the poor will be long, but the time to do good works for the Son of Man is almost up. Jesus defends the one woman, while His twelve disciples act like a bunch of Pharisees. Oh, oh, we want to criticize the disciples now because that temptation to act the Pharisee is still with us. 

Let us instead remember that woman, Mary of Bethany, as we rejoice in Christ today,

Bucky

The Uproar

But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply. Mark 14:4-5

As the sweet smell of expensive perfume oil ravishes the nostrils of the dinner guests, reactions come and an uproar joins the party. Oh, does not criticism come so easily to us? We didn't work to earn the money to buy the stuff. We did not go out to purchase it with our money. And we did not hear the call of the Spirit to do this for Jesus, but we do have that sharp criticism of what ought to have been done with the stuff. Giving the proceeds of the sale to the poor would not earn us any treasure in Heaven since it was not our perfume to begin with, but that sense of self-rightness must sound forth its trumpet! Jesus will have a different opinion from this reaction of ours.

We were not there, you may notice. I placed us there because we have a conceit wherein we like to read the Bible stories and think how much better we would have acted and spoken to Jesus. Utter nonsense. In that time and place, with the same childhood education and religious instruction, we would have been no better. Even today, sharp criticism of good works done unto Jesus still comes easily and quickly to our lips. Next time, let us see what Jesus has to say of this woman's work.

May God bless you this day as we follow Jesus His Son,

Bucky

An Act Of Loving Disrespect?

And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.  Mark 14:3

Pouring any sort of liquid goo, expensive or cheap, over someone's head is usually an act of great disrespect, especially at dinner time. However, Jesus accepts this as a good work for Him, and as a preparation for His burial. How did she know this? Did she know this? In John we find out that this was Mary of Bethany, one of the sisters of Lazarus. We can imagine that Mary did not as a habit go about pouring expensive perfume oil on the dinner guests. How did she know this was the time for Jesus to die and be buried? Was it an act of love and her left hand didn't know what her right hand was doing, as the old saying goes? It is one of the more unusual and unexpected acts to take place with Jesus in the scriptures. And it causes an uproar...

You or I may be called on to do something strange for Jesus, be ready as we stand our watch!

Bucky

Remembrance

After two days it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death. But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar of the people. Mark 14:1-2

Two days after His talk in Olivet, the murder by trickery of Jesus has become the solution for the religious leaders of Israel. Asking the religious leaders about this a couple of years later a scribe would likely hear a different take on this, such as, "We carried out a successful operation for the removal of a false prophet without upsetting the people." Today we will find similar opposing views on what happened this day 25 years ago in New York City, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C. In remembrance of those who boarded flights and went to their work. or reported for duty as first responders, and did not return to loved ones that evening, we recall that the One those religious leaders wanted to 'get rid of' is the one answer to the evil in this world today.

Trust in Jesus,

Bucky

Patient Urgency

Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch.  Mark 13:33-34

To each his work, Jesus has gone for a time and left to each of us his or her work. But didn't He just tell in the preceding verses about these big events and those persecutions? In our verses for today, Jesus tells of an 'until then' time. We live in that watching time when some are persecuted, some are affected by a war, and others by earthquakes. Most of us reading this will not be facing any of that today. But then there is the doorkeeper whose job of watching is by nature passive, dull, and stuck in the same place. It is not what many young persons just graduated from school want to do. Even some older folks want to be on the move, going forward, working toward, and staying active. The doorkeeper may not get to do all of that. It is on his or her watch though that the other servants are able to go about their duties. Any day the master may return, and so with patient urgency the doorkeeper maintains the watch. It is not the most exciting or glamorous job, but it is important. 

And just think how much prayer that watcher can do while waiting there on watch!

Bucky

After That Tribulation

But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.  Mark 13:24-27

After those verses today, there isn't much left to say. Of course we all then want to know the when - day, date, even a month and year. But in verse 32, Jesus lets us know that none of us knows. Occasionally a cult will step up and name a date, and we all immediately know the foolishness of that. It is always amusing to see a representative show up the next morning and try to explain why the cult is still here with the rest of us. But, the rest of us, no matter how far away we may be on the earth or in heaven, will not miss this gathering. Our Lord's angels will be thorough in their gathering, the Son of Man oversees them from the clouds with great power and glory! 

So, we anticipate with great yearning a date we cannot know? Yes, have faith and wait on the Lord Jesus!

Bucky

Out In The Desert

Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.  Mark 13:21-23

The recently completed Burning Man 2026 shows us that large gatherings in the desert are not unknown. The gathering runs about 72,000 persons in a place without food or water, well, most of the time it is without water. The past few years have provided evidence of the dry lake bed occasionally attempting a return to lake status. Of course the warning of our Lord in this prophecy today is not against gathering together in the desert, but what will happen when a claimant to His title takes a gathering and sends them forth to spread the word. Actually, in our day the pretender wouldn't have to send anyone; social media would take care of the spreading of the news. All the false messiah would need is a decent cellular data connection out there in the desert. So be warned, the time may be near for a viral message we must refuse to believe. 

Praise unto the Lord our God on this Labor Day,

Bucky