“Foreshadowing and Forethought”Main point: We contemplate the scene of this dinner and the impact of Jesus’ statement.INTRODUCTIONTonight we witness a familiar scene. Jesus is gathered with his closest friends around a meal six days before the Passover. It is a simple scene. It is an intimate scene.  It is one of the final scenes of his life given to us in the gospels because it happens just a few days before his death. It is a scene into which we enter.Mary breaks a box of a costly perfume and lavishly anoints Jesus's feet and wipes his feet with her hair. The room is filled with the fragrance. Her actions are unusual and unique. They catch the attention of all who are gathered there. A couple of weeks ago we looked at this passage and highlighted the lavish gift Mary spent - never to be used again. Tonight we will highlight the words of Jesus when Mary's extravagant gift is questioned by one of the disciples.“Leave her alone,” Jesus says, “she bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial.”We see in Jesus's response both forethought and foreshadowing.ForethoughtJesus says, “She bought it so she might keep it for this occasion.” That means some time before this event, Mary bought this particular gift for this particular night. She anticipated a future date when Jesus's death would come and in preparation for his death she bought this expensive and beautiful gift for this anointing. Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha, was the intuitive one. On a prior occasion she was content to sit at the feet of Jesus while Martha was busying herself with preparations for their meal. Mary was content to sit at the feet of Jesus in contemplation and to celebrate the simple gesture of adoration. And now her story of intuition and forethought emerges as an example to us.We, too, sit here tonight in simplicity and in adoration of the presence of Jesus among us. Jesus said “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there with them.” In a moment I will invite you into several minutes silence as we gently and simply contemplate the events that lie ahead of us this week.ForeshadowJesus also foreshadowed his death  which was now quickly approaching. The anointing was for his burial, but of course, he was not dead yet. I wonder what questions swirled in the minds of his closest friends as Jesus spoke these words in this solemn and intimate setting. How would those words hit you were present with Jesus on that night?So we follow the example of Mary in contemplation of the presence of Jesus among us and the shockwaves of his announcement as we witness in our minds the annointing for his burial.We will spend several moments in silence before we continue with our prayers. Consider the scene we enter tonight. How might the words of Jesus strike you if you were there and heard these words for the first time?

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