Thursday, March 18 “Standing up for Mary”
40 DAYS and 40 NIGHTS
John 12:1-8
7 Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial.’
Jesus is sharp and clear in his defense of Mary. In the gospels of Mark and Matthew, she is not even named, but it is clear his defense of all whose voices and gifts are stifled by the church. He defends her as he did in Luke 10:42. Mary understands what is coming, and Jesus helps us look forward to what is his fate.
Often times people are misunderstood or do things that make others angry. Mary is hardly the image of family values. Change the names of the characters in this story and Focus on the Family would condemn this as sensuality straight out of Hollywood.
When have you stood up for someone in a situation like this? When have you been the minority voice?
I was a daily newspaper reporter/editor in one of my previous careers, some years back. Another woman, let’s call her “D,” also a relative newbie like me, was a real high-energy reporter, very pretty, very cheerful, very bright, always using her wits and charm to get excellent info from countywide political figures. Old-time reporters HATED “D” becz she was so successful and, doggone it, so happy and direct about it. Each day, at coffee break time, in the middle of the newsroom right by “D”‘s desk, they’d ask one another to take a break in the staff lounge — but they would pointedly NOT invite her. I was always invited, and I always said no, but for the first couple of weeks on the job I always gave some excuse about why I was refusing. (Actually, it was just really mean of them, but I didn’t know how to handle communicating that.) Finally, one day as the gang was assembling for coffee, and before they could ask me, I called out from my desk to “D” so that all could hear, “Hey, D, want to go to coffee together?” Silence from everyone else. She accepted happily, and the two of us spent a lovely time in the staff lounge. A small step for inclusivity, fairness, and just plain human decency connected me with someone who turned into a lifelong friend.
That’s a great story, Nora!