Sitting at Jesus' Feet

SITTING AT JESUS’ FEET

John 12:1-12

What if Jesus was coming to my house today?

Just a few weeks ago we prepared for my son’s wedding.  What a joy for my children to come home from miles away for this monumental celebration!   Getting ready to feed them all became an all-consuming project for me!  When someone comes to my house, (especially the most important people…the ones I cherish the most…) it’s customary to go all-out to make their visit comfortable, enjoyable and meaningful.  Of course, my sister helped!  We cleaned, got all the rooms ready, (in both of our homes,) and shopped.  We could not overdo the preparations!  Everything had to be just perfect for the people we love most in the whole world!

Getting ready must have been similar to that when Jesus came to Bethany that day.  Mary and Martha were friends of Jesus.  They were close friends.  They were followers.  They believed what He said.  They were disciples.  After all, He had just raised their brother from the dead a little while before this.  They must have been filled with excited anticipation as they got ready for His visit.  I can only imagine those two sisters cleaning, shopping, and the whirlwind of activity in their home before their special guest arrived that day!

As usual, Martha was still busying herself in the kitchen.  I can’t give her too much of a bad rap since I am usually the one in the kitchen.  After all, somebody has to prepare the food and clean up the mess!  But Mary… I just wonder… I wonder if in all her scurrying for this special visit she had thought ahead of time about how she would sit at Jesus’ feet.  I wonder if she had considered way before His arrival about how she would pour the expensive ointment on His feet?  I wonder if she had calculated the cost?  I wonder if she had been concerned about how she herself would do without it once she elaborately used it on the tired feet of her divine guest?  Maybe she hadn’t even had a thought in her head about doing such an outlandish thing, but then in His presence, all the preparation just wasn’t enough.  The clean house, the food, the fellowship, the perfect evening was just not enough.  All that she had done was insufficient to express the love in her heart.  She had to do something more to show just how much value and respect she placed on this Man.  She had to somehow bear the adoration of her soul.   She was compelled to give more.  Maybe she responded to a spontaneous thought…and ran to her own room, coming back with her greatest treasure on earth.  Whether impromptu or planned, her gift was precious.  It was a clear message to the Savior of her pure heart of love and devotion.   “…and she anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair.  The house was filled with the fragrance of her perfume.”  V3

We have heard a lot about washing our hands these last few weeks during the Coronavirus world-wide pandemic.  It is certainly important.  But how are we doing with washing the feet of those we love?  Perhaps more than ever, we can wash the feet of those in our own homes.  How we have needed this opportunity!  We have been confined to home with those we cherish most on this earth.  How are we doing washing those feet?  What sort of aroma is filling your home during this unusual time we are experiencing? 

Or even metaphorically?  How can we wash the feet of our friends and neighbors while we are socially distant?  Sometimes a phone call, a text or a card with an encouraging and loving word will soothe worn and tired feet trying to journey through this pandemic. 

May we, like Mary, seek to pour out our love with little thought of saving ourselves.  May we, with sweet abandon, give up our greatest earthly possessions to express the true treasure of our hearts.  As Mary dried Jesus’ feet that night with her hair, she sealed a memorable testimony of her faith and devotion to the things that really matter.  To the One who really matters.  For eternity.  May we, like Mary, gain our perspective as we learn to sit at Jesus’ feet.

Sitting at the feet of Jesus,
Oh, what words I hear Him say!
Happy place! so near, so precious!
May it find me there each day;
Sitting at the feet of Jesus,
I would look upon the past;
For His love has been so gracious,
It has won my heart at last.

Sitting at the feet of Jesus,
Where can mortal be more blest?
There I lay my sins and sorrows,
And, when weary, find sweet rest;
Sitting at the feet of Jesus,
There I love to weep and pray;
While I from His fullness gather
Grace and comfort every day.

Bless me, O my Savior, bless me,
As *I sit low at Thy feet; [*I'm waiting]
Oh, look down in love upon me,
Let me see Thy face so sweet;
Give me, Lord, the mind of Jesus,
Keep me holy as He is;
May I prove I've been with Jesus,
Who is all my righteousness.

By:  Floria Cameron D / Hull Asa