MONDAY OF HOLY WEEK
Psalter: Week 2 / (Violet)
Ps 27:1, 2, 3, 13-14
The Lord is my light and my salvation.
1st Reading: Is 42:1-7
Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight. I have put my spirit upon him, and he will bring justice to the nations.
He does not shout or raise his voice. Proclamations are not heard in the streets.
A broken reed he will not crush, nor will he snuff out the light of the wavering wick. He will make justice appear in truth.
He will not waver or be broken until he has established justice on earth; the islands are waiting for his law.
Thus says God, Yahweh, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread the earth and all that comes from it, who gives life and breath to those who walk on it:
I, Yahweh, have called you for the sake of justice; I will hold your hand to make you firm; I will make you as a Covenant to the people, and as a light to the nations, to open eyes that do not see, to free captives from prison, to bring out to light those who sit in darkness.
Gospel: Jn 12:1-11
Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where he had raised Lazarus, the dead man, to life. Now they gave a dinner for him, and while Martha waited on them, Lazarus sat at the table with Jesus.
Then Mary took a pound of costly perfume, made from genuine spikenard, and anointed the feet of Jesus, wiping them with her hair. And the whole house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
Judas Iscariot—the disciple who was to betray Jesus—remarked, “This perfume could have been sold for three hundred silver coins, and the money given to the poor.” Judas, indeed, had no concern for the poor; he was a thief, and as he held the common purse, he used to help himself to the funds.
But Jesus spoke up, “Leave her alone. Was she not keeping it for the day of my burial? (The poor you always have with you, but you will not always have me.)”
Many Jews heard that Jesus was there and they came, not only because of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests thought about killing Lazarus as well, for many of the Jews were drifting away because of him, and believing in Jesus.
REFLECTION:
When one comes back from the dead, a feast is not out of the ordinary. Most people do hold a banquet to celebrate the new life that they will live. It is no wonder that Lazarus had a feast held in Jesus’ honor. But it is not only for his sake that such a celebration is held. There are new lives that do not necessarily spring from the resurrection. There are those that find new impetus in life by a soulful encounter. This is where Mary enters. Her offering of a pound of costly perfume is her own way of celebrating her life transformed when she encountered Jesus.
But there are those who are not happy at the good fortune of others. Judas would rather see the practicality, or the lack of it, of the expressions of celebration that night. He was appalled at the seeming waste that Mary did in anointing the feet of the Lord with the costly perfume. He could not enter into the spirit of the feast. His heart is stuck with the mundane concerns of the world. He is not alone in his misery. The chief priests too were not happy. They saw the resurrection of Lazarus as a disaster. This incapacity to feel joy at the good fortunes of others is indicative of a malady of the heart. These are the ones who will live and die in misery because they see joy as costly and disastrous commodity.
Daily Reflection
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Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL
With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
Readings and Reflections
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