MONDAY OF HOLY WEEK - Gospel (John 12:1-11) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” (Jn 12:8)

FIRST READING - 42:1-7

A reading from the Book of Isaiah

Here is my servant whom I uphold,

my chosen one with whom I am pleased,

Upon whom I have put my Spirit;

he shall bring forth justice to the nations,

Not crying out, not shouting,

not making his voice heard in the street.

A bruised reed he shall not break,

and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,

Until he establishes justice on the earth;

the coastlands will wait for his teaching.

Thus says God, the LORD,

who created the heavens and stretched them out,

who spreads out the earth with its crops,

Who gives breath to its people

and spirit to those who walk on it:

I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,

I have grasped you by the hand;

I formed you, and set you

as a covenant of the people,

a light for the nations,

To open the eyes of the blind,

to bring out prisoners from confinement,

and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Jn 12:1-11

From the Gospel according to John

Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany,

where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served,

while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him.

Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil

made from genuine aromatic nard

and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair;

the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.

Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples,

and the one who would betray him, said,

"Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days' wages

and given to the poor?"

He said this not because he cared about the poor

but because he was a thief and held the money bag

and used to steal the contributions.

So Jesus said, "Leave her alone.

Let her keep this for the day of my burial.

You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me."

The large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came,

not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus,

whom he had raised from the dead.

And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too,

because many of the Jews were turning away

and believing in Jesus because of him.

MONDAY OF HOLY WEEK - Gospel (John 12:1-11)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

Six days before Passover, Jesus arrived in Bethany. He entered Mary’s house to dine there, and then a significant event occurred: Mary brought the most precious perfume to anoint Jesus’ feet. This act foreshadowed to humanity that the upcoming death of Jesus Christ was part of God’s plan of salvation.

Mary was someone who pleased God. She was always found at Jesus’ feet to listen to His teachings. Through her love for God and listening to His word, Jesus allowed her to foresee His upcoming burial through her actions. She brought the most valuable perfume to anoint His feet and even used her hair to wipe Jesus’s feet.

That was a powerful expression of her deep love for God. She was converted and transformed into a new person because she had felt God’s love for her, primarily through His forgiveness of the sins she had committed.

Through Her conversion and sincere devotion to God, Jesus allowed her to anoint His feet with perfume oil, which is a gesture that foreshadowed His death.

At the dinner in that house, Jesus was the center of attention. When a thief, Judas Iscariot, saw what Mary had done out of love for Jesus, he rebuked her, saying, “Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?”

When Judas said this, it revealed his true self as a liar and a thief who loved money and valued it more than his Master. This image also reflects the reality of our world today—many people are deceitful and greedy and place money above God.

In response, Jesus said to Judas, “You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” With this statement, Jesus wants to say that those who have been given the grace of experiencing and realizing that God is genuinely present beside them should return to Him sincerely and love Him with their true self.

In addition to the image of Judas Iscariot, we also see the image of the Jewish leaders who were greedy for power and status, constantly jealous of Jesus’ good works.

In today’s Gospel, when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, this was a miracle because no human being can do this except God. Because of the jealousy of the people of the world, the Jewish leaders plotted to kill Jesus and also the innocent man Lazarus.

This shows that Satan is raging throughout the world; they want to destroy Jesus Christ and the good children of God and those who believe in Him.

Through the images in today’s Gospel—Mary, Judas Iscariot, and the Jewish leaders, we can see that God gives each person the freedom to choose our way of life.

The first choice is to live according to Mary's image: to love God above all things, to fear Him above all things, and to make Him the center of our lives.

The other choice is to live like the image of Judas Iscariot and the Jewish leaders: God gives them freedom, and He does not force anyone to believe in Him. But He wants us to choose one of the two choices. For no one can serve two masters.

Whoever is wise will choose to love God above all things so that we may inherit eternal life with Him in Heaven.

Thanks be to God. Amen