May 20

NT – John 11:1-53
Lazarus, Mary and Martha.
We meet Mary and Martha in two places – here and Luke 10:38-41. Luke also mentions a Lazarus but he is a beggar man, gone to heaven instead of the rich man. Probably not the same Lazarus.
John makes the statement that Mary is the same one who poured perfume on Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair.
This story is Luke 7:36-50. She is unnamed in Luke. Many have thought her to be Mary Magdalene but Mary is first mentioned as a follower and one who was cured of 7 demons in Luke 8. At any rate, Mary Magdalene is not the Mary of Bethany of John and Luke. The anointing of Jesus takes place in John in chapter 12 (tomorrow) and Mary of Bethany is clearly mentioned.
Mark 14 mentions the anointing and it happened in Bethany. But the woman is unnamed and she is not mentioned as a sinner.
Matthew 26 mentions the anointing but that it happened at the home of Simon the Leper in Bethany. Also does not call the unnamed woman sinful.
I have puzzled all this out because I am fascinated with this family. Luke only mentions the sisters and he squarely puts the house in their names. John is unclear. But there are no parents listed nor are there spouses. Why not? Highly unusual for good Jewish girls and boys of their age.
They clearly have a close relationship with Jesus and they clearly know that he is the Messiah. Mary and Martha expected a healing. “he wouldn’t have died if you had come”.
One of the commentaries I read said that one of John’s stated purpose was to correct previous gospels. Clearly, John is correcting Luke’s statement of Mary being sinful. What is with that?
We are totally missing the back story here.

Psalm 117
This is the shortest psalm in the Bible – it is 2 verses. Also part of the Hallel, it is a brief but strong assertion that God is great and he is faithful. And for this, we should give praise.
Too bad I didn’t study the Bible as a young adult. We had to memorize a psalm for confirmation. No one told me about this one. I did psalm 100. (5 verses.)

Proverbs 15:22-23
A man finds joy in giving an apt reply – how good is a timely word.
Or an encouraging word. One of our calls is to strengthen the weak of faith. You don’t do that by hitting someone hard. You do it by encouragement, a helping hand, a lifting of burdens. I am not sure that even advice is a good one here. Timely. I am going to keep that in mind.

Grace and peace to you all.