Daily devotional

HOLY MONDAY PRAYER

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Holy Monday Prayer. To sacrifice yourself and all your life to Jesus is never a waste.

Bible Verse for Today

„You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.“ (John 12:8)

What is the tradition of foot washing in Israel?

If you are familiar with the Bible, you know Israel’s geography and living conditions during that period. It was no asphalt roads these times. People walked barefoot or with sandals on dusty and rocky paths. So if you have guests in your house, you should provide them with a bowl of water to wash their feet after the journey. Only after washing their feet the guest could enter the house.

So when Jesus came to Lazarus and his sisters’ house, He was given a bowl of water to wash His feet and stay for dinner.

Mary anoints Jesus’ feet with perfume

But in the Gospel of John, we can see a shocking Mary’s behavior. She takes expensive perfume and washes already clean Jesus’ feet. People are surprised because perfume is expensive and imported from Egypt. Such Mary’s behavior seems to them as a waste of money for which many poor could get food or could be cured.

But this history has another and much more critical side. Mary’s action had some other reasoning.

This is a sign of gratitude to the Lord

First of all, six days before Jesus raised Mary‘s brother Lazarus from dead. Lazarus is alive and sits together with Jesus at the same table. So this Mary‘s action is some sign of gratitude. She could not express her gratitude in any other way, so she chose such an expensive way.

Also, Mary hears gossip that some chief priests will kill Jesus. She feels that she can lose her teacher and savior, Jesus. So Mary anoints Jesus’ feet not with expensive perfume but with her honor, gratitude, and love. We can say that Mary anoints Jesus’ feet with her heart.

So the question for you on Holy Monday: What is your position? How much gratitude and love are in your relationship with Jesus?