Monday of Holy Week

Calculating the Cost

We get that glimmer in our eyes, and we just have to have it – whatever the ‘it’ may be.

The ad has set us up. So, we are told we need this, and we can have it because we can. It’s a familiar carrot at the end of a stick, and we will follow that which we so much desire. But at what cost?

Jesus and company are having a meal with Lazarus, recently raised from the dead! It was a thankful gathering to have a loved one returned to his family. Lazarus is living proof – pun intended – that death is conquerable, and the final blow will take place at Calvary, but for now, the gathering is a farewell meal for Jesus among family and friends. Martha is busy serving food, and Mary pours an expensive oil on Jesus’ feet.

And then there’s Judas complaining that the oil was a waste of money that could be used to feed the poor. And this coming from a thief! Mary doesn’t count the cost of a liter of oil nor the cost of discipleship.

Now think of Mary kneeling in front of Jesus. We see Mary in adoration. Father Eymard, in his retreat notes (269-270), lists four acts of adoration: Mary’s humility, thankfulness, devotion, and compassion. We can add this one to the list – “willing to serve” – here is my model, writes Eymard.

This is some week. We walked into Jerusalem; we will eat a remembrance meal; we will go to Calvary. This is the week we diminish so that Christ can increase in our lives.

Prayer:

Glorify the Lord with me. Together let us praise his name. I sought the Lord, and he answered me. From all my terrors, he set me free. (Psalm 54 adapted in Praise God in His Holy Place, by Father Bernard Camire SSS, Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, 2019.)