stuff i think

early morning thoughts on Mark 14....

1Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him. 2"But not during the Feast," they said, "or the people may riot."
3While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.
4Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, "Why this waste of perfume? 5It could have been sold for more than a year's wages[1] and the money given to the poor." And they rebuked her harshly.
6"Leave her alone," said Jesus. "Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."
10Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. 11They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

For the past few weeks I've been pondering and searching out the people that Jesus took note of. I think it started when I ran across his comment saying that there had never before been a man like John the Baptist. It got me to thinking about the kind of people that caught his eye...when You are the creator and sustainer of the crowd, who stands out in a crowd?

I've also been thinking a little about how those people were regarded by the rest of the world and am noticing a remarkable trend. It seems the more they impressed Jesus (please don't email me with the theological peculiarities of that phrase - it's early in the morning and the Phrase Generator's running slow), the more they seemed to get under the skin of the other followers.

Given our recent decision to take some time and set it aside in our lives, I am kind of anticipating hearing a little from verses 4 & 5 above..."isn't it a waste to spend your time in this manner?" It all depends on who's eye we're trying to capture. As for Jesus, I see Him noticing and admiring extravance. Levelheadedness seems to end up being it's own reward.

At the end of the day, who wants "Levelheaded" etched in granite above their coffin? I'm living for something more.