The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1914-10-03

Lescu-Mark XIV. ILL
Golden Text-MaFk xiv. ..
"shs hath done what ne could: she hath
Anotnted Ny body Hforehhnd for the burning
Cd Now after two days was the feast
Of the passover and the unleavened
bread: ana the chief priests and the
scribes sought how they night take him
with subtility. and kill him.
CD For they said, Not during the feast,
lest haply there shall be tumult OF
the people.
CD And while he was in Bethany in
the house Of Simon the leper. as he
sat at meat there came a woman hav-
ing an alabaster cruise Of ointment Of
Epikenard very costly; and she brake the
cruise. and poured II over his head.
90 But there was some that had in
dignation among themselves, saying. To
what purpose hath this waste OF the
ointment been NADER
% For this ointment might have been
sold for above three hundred pence. and
given to the poor. And they murmured
against her.
90 But Jesus said, Let her alone; why
trouble ye her? she hath wrought q
good work on me.
Cd For ye have the poor always with
you, and whatsoever We win ye can do
90 She hath done what she could; she
hath amounted my body aforehand for,
the burying.
90 And verify say unto you, Where
soever the gospel shall be preached
throughout the whole world, that also
which this woman hath done shall be
spoken of for a memorial Of her.
Q0 And Judas Iscariot, he that was
one OF the twelve, went away unto the
chief priests, that he might deliver him
unto them.
CID And they. when they heard It,
were glad, and promised to give him
money. And he sought how he might
conveniently deliver him unto them.
The. story of the amounting OF Jesus by
Mary is chronologically out Of order In
the records Of Matthew and Mark, but
they both place It in order to show how
things came to pass. In each case We
have the declaration that Immediately
followed the olivet prophecies. He said
to His disciples. In two days the Pass
over" when He would be delivered. Now
at that very time the rulers were schem-
ing for His arrest in intrigue with Judas.
John. in his Gospel, tells US that this
feast was six days before, and II was
in connection with this that Judas had
left the company, and gone TO the high
priests.
We are here. then, in a strange and
electric atmosphere. Everything was
converging toward the Cross. For its
accomplishment grace was planning, and
sin was plotting.
Now We may confne ourselves to this
wonderful story. The coming Of Mary
in this way on this occasion was most
significant From the confession Of Pc
ter. certainly some months before until
now, the Lord had constantly reaffirmed
His statement then made for the FIRST
time, that He must 60 to Jerusalem, and
die, and be raised again. The teaching
had amazed His disciples, had hlled them
with fear. 1t is idle for US to criticize
them. for their attitude was a perfectly
natural one. This sense Of amazement
and fear so diseased them that they seem
almost entirely to have lacked anything
like sympathy with their Lord. Now
here, as the darkest hour was approach
ing, there famed out one touch OF real
apprecIative sympathy. With keen, wom-
anly intuition, Mary seems to have real
lied II. apart from what II meant TO
them, or to their hopes and aspirations.
She would seem to have realized 1t from
His standpoint, more nearly than any
Of them. How was II possible to tell
Him? How could she communicate with
Him. and reveal to Him the fact OF her
appreciation. and the going out of her
heart toward Him in sympathy? Words
and almost useless. Ordinary actions are
not sufficient. 1t was an hour demand
ing the extraordinary; and she yielded
herself to It, lavishly pouring upon Him
the wealth and fragrance of the sacred
nard.
The story is made yet more beautiful
by the record We have of our Lords
words concerning the occasion. True II
is that they were called forth by the
criticism of apostles who did not under
stand, but We are none the less thankful
for them. He realized the true meaning
of the action. and named 1t, as He said:
She hath done what she could; she hath
anointed Ny body aforehand for the
burying." Let 1t be observed also that
He received the action for Himself, but
He also received II for the world, as He
said that what she had done should be
told for a memorial Of her wherever the
Gospel should be preached. This vas
not merely a reward for Mary. 1t was
the taking OF her action, and making II
the inspiration OF like attitudes and ac-
tivities through all the coming age.
The tender story ends with the terrible
account of Judas. He had no sympathy
for Mary. because he had no sympathy
with Jesus He complained, and. being
rebuked, left the company and went out
on his dark work OF betrayal
Here, again, under very different cir
cumstances, as to the immediate happen
ing, our Lord is seen in all His glory.
Here He is revealed as compelling the
deepest things in human lives to find
their expression. In the case Of Mary II
was that of her devotion. In the case Of
Judas II was that Of his treachery. Here
He Is seen, moreover, perpetuating the
good, as accepting the adoring amounting
Of Mary. He immortalized II, and thus
made II, as we have seen, not a revela-
ton Of what was In her heart merely.
but the inspiration of similar love and
service throughout all the coming years.
By His revelation Of what lay in the
heart Of Judas, He was compelling the
bad to move out into that definite hos
tility to Himself which must issue in
its own self-destruction.
In our study Of this story OF Mary 1t Is
impossible to forget the other scenes in
which she Is presented TO US In these
Gospel narratives. The mind goes back
first to those days OF joyousness in which
she and her sister and her brother were
the honored and delighted hosts OF Jesus,
the days in which she chose the better
part, and, sitting at His feet, received
His teaching, and was brought into close
fellowship with Him. We remember also
that scene Of not so long ago, when, her
life crushed by the death Of her brother,
her Master had come and given her the
profound sympathy Of His tears, before
raising her brother from the dead. She
who had learned discipleshLp in days of
sunshine, and the value of the friend
ship OF Jesus in days of sorrow. now
came, and pouring out her love in the
sacramento amounting OF Him, had the