Today’s reading provides true wisdom and insight into us and our tests. In it, we see how to identify the sheep and the goats.
Gospel: John 12:1-11
“Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany,
where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
(Raising Lazarus from the dead showed the power He had to restore human programs. Many of us have been, similarly, “raised from the dead” by His saving power.)
They gave a dinner for Him there, and Martha served,
while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with Him.
while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with Him.
(People must have been staring, wide-eyed, at Lazarus. Many had been there when he was buried, and saw what Jesus had done. Seeing His power made them believe.)
Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil
made from genuine aromatic nard
and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair;
the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
Then Judas the Iscariot, one of His disciples,
and the one who would betray Him, said,
‘Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages
and given to the poor?’
He said this not because he cared about the poor
but because he was a thief and held the money bag
and used to steal the contributions.
made from genuine aromatic nard
and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair;
the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
Then Judas the Iscariot, one of His disciples,
and the one who would betray Him, said,
‘Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages
and given to the poor?’
He said this not because he cared about the poor
but because he was a thief and held the money bag
and used to steal the contributions.
(In every age, those who betray Jesus do so in order to obtain funding in exchange for their souls. Today, Judas is echoed by those who say, “The Church should sell all that it owns and give it to the poor. ” The lunacy of that is to see that selling all its assets, say for five hundred billion dollars would give each of the world’s five billion poor a total of one hundred dollars each, minus distribution costs. Thus do those in the Culture of Death show their inability to think properly. That ability is taken from all who renounce God.)
So Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone.
Let her keep this for the day of my burial.
You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.’
Let her keep this for the day of my burial.
You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.’
(And, we may remember His words when we hear the nonsense about The Church reducing Herself to nothingness to “help”. In fact, without The Church, the poor would have only tyrants in high places.)
The large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came,
not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus,
whom he had raised from the dead.
And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too,
because many of the Jews were turning away
and believing in Jesus because of him.”
not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus,
whom he had raised from the dead.
And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too,
because many of the Jews were turning away
and believing in Jesus because of him.”
(Those in worldly concerns, in this case, the Jerusalem Establishment, will destroy any who might divert cash flows from them. They will destroy the miracle-worker AND the miracle. Each such human program is Judas, often writ large in giant organizations. The Historical Constant remains: Those who betray Jesus want money in exchange for their souls.)
