Lenten Devotion - April 6, 2025

Sunday, April 6, 2025

Scripture: John 12:1–8

Devotion:
Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrives in Bethany. A dinner is held in His honor, and Mary does something unexpected. She pours out expensive perfume—worth a year’s wages—on His feet and wipes them with her hair. It’s an extravagant act of devotion that others criticize as wasteful.

But Jesus receives her offering as beautiful. What looks like excess to some is, in His eyes, the natural response of love. Mary is doing more than an act of kindness—she is preparing Him for burial, though she may not fully realize it. She chooses presence over practicality, love over logic.

This moment invites us to ask: What if the church looked more like this? A place where love was poured out freely, where people were honored, and where no offering of the heart was considered too much? Mary's worship was not in a temple—it was in a home, around a meal, in a moment of intimacy.

Action Steps:

• Reflect: When have you felt safe enough to love and worship freely? What helped create that space?
• Do something kind for someone today that others might consider “too much.”
• Journal a prayer of gratitude for someone who showed you unexpected grace.

Prayer:
Christ of compassion, may my love for You spill out in visible, generous ways. May I help create a church where everyone is free to worship and be seen for who they truly are. Amen.

Breath Prayer:
Inhale: Pouring out love…
Exhale: Welcoming every gift.