This Easter will you worship him?

John 12 1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 "Leave her alone," Jesus replied."It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me." Easter is but a few days away. Many worldwide are anticipating a celebratory, reflective and meaningful period of remembering our Lord Jesus Christ. In the same reflective spirit I write this devotion to help us embrace Christ maybe in a new or more heartfelt way. Come with me as we worship the king. Its roughly 4 AD, Jesus is but a few days away from being crucified. 6-7 days to be exact. We find Jesus in the home of some of his favourite people, Mary and Martha of Bethany. Mary unclear about the ensuing events in the days to follow, is moved to sit at the feet of Jesus. As she stoops down, she breaks open an alabaster vial of perfume. She begins to anoint his feet with the perfume using her hair as towel. This is quite unusual. To top it off, the contents of this jar is valued at a year's salary. She simply empties the contents at the feet of Christ. The onlookers are stunned. "Why would she do such a thing? What a waste." And "why isn't Jesus saying anything?" He finally replies. But to their chagrin, he commends her actions, and calls it preparatory for his burial. I believe her love for Christ, propelled her to this great act of sacrifice, indeed of worship. True worship will require you to sacrifice your precious time, give of your best resources, and devote your talents to Christ. The next day Jesus enters Jerusalem in what we call the triumphal entry. He is worshipped in fervour and zeal, proclaimed the king to come by all of Jerusalem. Incessant chanting practically demanding his immediate coronation would surely count for true worship. Yet he tells us elsewhere that true worship is not just with words, but in spirit and truth. Unfortunately the crowds worship was fleeting, 5 days later, on the the eve of his death, their worship had changed to a death chant, demanding his blood by the hand of Pilate. Our practical question of course is how can we be like Mary who shamelessly worships the king with all she had? It all begins with spending time at the feet of Christ. Spending time with him means elimination of maybe necessary but non vital distractions. Too often are we caught up with balancing our books, shopping for the household, or recuperating after a busy day by the television. These things have their place, but have we prioritized our time with him? In Luke 10:38-42, Mary chose Christ first over all the other important things. Martha her sister chose to cook a meal for Christ, Mary instead was satisfied by the spiritual food Christ's word meant to her. As a friend describes, she was postured towards Christ. Yes, she fixed her gaze upon him. Despite the sure concerns that needed to be attended to, she chose for those few moments to focus all her attention on Christ. This discipline of exclusively spending time with the master, was the foundation of her worship. No wonder, Mary can devote her priceless treasure to Christ. He had captured her attention. Thus her worship moves from sacrificing her time to giving of her treasure. This was no small fortune, it could have been her retirement. Perfumes were something investment worthy in ancient times, and could have enormous value. Yet doling it all out on Christ did not phase her. After all, he owned her heart, her life, and he was her constant obsession. Is this descriptive of your relationship with the master? Is he your constant thought? Do you need to declutter your life, simplify your activities and get back in that closet with him, so that his desires will again become yours? It's a principle, that where your heart is there your treasure lies. Is your heart with Christ, not just positionally but experientially? Do you feel his spirit pulsating through your being? Are you "burning aflame" for him? This is the kind of passion I believe Mary had for Christ, that led her to worship him with her treasure. Jesus said, her worship prepared him for her burial. This I believe was Mary's legacy. Every time the passion and resurrection of Christ is being recounted, we read her narrative and are reminded of the importance of a life spent on Christ. Said her a different way, Mary was faithful with the talents that she was given. The word talent here is of course used as a metaphor, and in relation to the story that Christ told of the noble man who travelled and gave units of money called talents to several of his servants. Several of them were faithful and productive, but one in particular was delinquent. Instead of investing the master's money he hides it and returns it to the matter on his return. This is a picture of the religious rulers of the day who were given a great opportunity to believe in Christ and lead Israel to truth, but instead chose to protect their own interests and deny the reality of Christ's Lordship. Can I ask. What are you doing with your talents? Will your resources, opportunities, influences and so forth achieve something worth glorying God? Or are you too busy building an empire for yourself. Can others see proof of Christ living in you? Do you have a testimony? These are some of the thoughts I want you to reflect on, as you prepare to celebrate Christ's death and resurrection. Let your worship not just be with words, like the masses who welcomed Christ jubilantly so many years ago. But let it be with substance, as you turn your time, talents and treasure towards him once again.

Out with the old

1 Corinthians 5:7 7 Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. In the historic retelling of the first Passover, we are told about the crucial role of the lamb, and it’s saving power rendered to Israel. This lamb we know as New Testament believers points to Christ. Scripture tells us that Christ is our Passover lamb. Through Him we are delivered from sin, and preserved for eternity in Christ our saviour. The Passover story however includes another element that I find intriguing. Exodus 12, reveals that the Israelites were forbidden to put yeast in their bread. This strange injunction is the crux of my thought today. On the eve of their escape from Israel, they would eat flat “pita like” bread. The practical reason for this of course was because yeast took time to work into the dough. Time was a scarcity that evening as in just a little while, the death angel would swoop down on the unsuspecting Egyptians wiping out their entire first born en masse. The Jews were thus instructed to hasten, for surely Pharoah would be on their heels in no time, as they made their escape out of his domain. Thus there was no time to add yeast to their bread. But why the continued emphasis on yeast? After all what does yeast have to do with anything? Well it must have been important to God for he chose to have a 7 day feast called the festival of Unleavened (non yeasted) bread, celebrated annually by Jews since the inception of the first Passover over 3500 years ago. But also here in the New Testament, Paul in his letter to the Corinthians reflects on it. “Get rid of the old yeast” Omitting yeast meant a couple of things. First, that we need to lend an attentive ear to God. Too often we take a step towards a new life change, or maneuver without careful dependence on God’s leading. The Israelite who obeyed God in this detail was one who heard, believed and obeyed. And as we know, the result was a blessing. Their freedom from bondage literally had to do with their ability to simply obey him. No need for lingering around waiting for yeast to rise. Simply eat and run, and thus avoid the hand of judgement via the death angel. A second aspect to excluding yeast is that of being holy. In the same chapter of our text (1 Corinthians 5) yeast is described as the flesh or carnality. Could it be that God was saying adding of yeast to the bread was tantamount to doing things in our own human strength. See, the command to get rid of the yeast would indeed have caught the Israelites off guard. They were probably saying, “God I can’t pack up my baking ingredients just yet. I still need to add yeast” or “Why is God messing with how we always do things. Does it really matter to him”? You bet it does. See, In Matthew 9, Jesus calls for a new way of doing things. Though the Pharisees and John’s disciples wanted Jesus to conform to the normal religious rite of fasting, Jesus emphasized the need to be sensitive to the the Spirit’s leading. Jesus was always confronting religious and popular culture’s way of doing things (even good things) against God’s leading. He prophesied that new wine (representing the spirit, Eph 5:18) is coming, but we must be ready to do things differently. So next time you eat that well yeasted croissant, think of the import of our thought today. Would you obey God in anything he asks you to do, even if it sounded strange? Do you desire His leading more than popular culture’s pull? Will you step out and do something bold and radical if prompted? I pray your answer is a heartfelt yes, and that you find more of God in laying down your ways and taking up His.