Greetings friends.
This is Mark Ludman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighbourhood monk in docks.
Welcome to day 43 of our Lenten 2026 series,
In the Wilderness,
Still Held.
And today,
As we enter the first of the walk through the Easter week,
Holy Saturday,
Our presentation will take a slightly different turn.
We'll start each day with a reading from scripture,
Which will be like a short Lectio Divina.
I'll read the passage through once,
And for those of you who aren't familiar with Lectio,
We'll be saying a quick prayer,
Just inviting God to draw our attention to a word or a phrase,
And then in the silence that follows the reading,
I invite you just to sit with that word or phrase,
Just for a short moment,
And allow the spirit to speak to your heart of it.
And after that short,
Reflexive time,
I'll share with you a brief verbal reflection to give you a little bit more for your contemplation as you go through the day.
And so,
As we begin,
I invite you to sit and be settled as we give ourselves to God in this moment.
Gracious God,
Open our ears to hear what it is that you have to show us from the text that we read together today.
Open our minds to think and contemplate clearly on what it is that you're brought to our attention.
And open our hearts to receive these words as seed in good soil,
That they might bring forth beautiful fruit in our own lives and for the world.
Amen.
Our reflective reading today comes from John chapter 12,
Verses 1 to 3.
6 days before the Passover,
Jesus came to Bethany,
The home of Lazarus,
Whom he had raised from the dead.
There they gave a dinner for him.
Martha served,
And Lazarus was one of those at the table with him.
Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard,
Anointed Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair.
The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
Today,
We pause on the threshold of the great events of Holy Week.
And this scene in Bethany is intimate and almost domestic.
Jesus is at the table with friends,
Lazarus,
Mary and Martha.
And yet something beautiful unfolds.
Mary takes a pound of expensive perfume and anoints Jesus' feet,
Wiping them with her hair.
The fragrance fills the house.
And this moment invites us to reflect on love's quiet preparation.
First,
Notice the beauty of attentiveness.
Mary's gesture isn't a dramatic performance in public.
It's deeply personal,
It's deliberate,
And it's very tender.
She doesn't do it to seek applause or recognition.
And the truth is,
The spiritual life often unfolds in these small,
Quiet acts.
A kind word,
A thoughtful gesture,
A moment of listening.
These are the ways our hearts are prepared for what is to come,
For the resurrection that's quietly being born in our lives,
Even before we see it.
Next,
Consider love as anticipation.
Mary's anointing anticipates Jesus' death,
His burial,
And ultimately his resurrection.
Holy Wednesday teaches us to live as if preparing the world and ourselves for transformation,
Even when we don't see it yet.
We don't wait for perfect conditions or grand gestures.
We simply live in the present moment with devotion,
Planting seeds of resurrection in the ordinary moments of our day.
And finally,
We reflect on fragrance as revelation.
The perfume fills the house,
John tells us.
Mary's love cannot be contained.
It radiates outwards.
And so it is with our small acts of devotion.
What we do quietly,
With care and love,
Leaves traces of God's presence in the world.
The ordinary gestures we offer with generosity,
Attention,
And devotion can quietly transform the spaces we inhabit,
The people we encounter,
And even ourselves.
On this Holy Wednesday,
We're invited to offer our best quietly,
To love fully in ordinary moments.
Even when betrayal,
Shadow,
Or uncertainty surrounds us,
Love is already at work,
Preparing,
Anticipating,
And transforming.
Take a moment to ask yourself,
Where in my life can I anoint Jesus today with devotion,
Attention,
And generosity?
Perhaps it's in a relationship,
A moment of service,
Or a simple act of kindness.
Your love,
As small,
Or as quiet,
Or as insignificant as you might think it is,
Leaves a fragrance that lingers.
And in this way,
Holy Wednesday becomes a school of the heart,
Teaching patience,
Attentiveness,
And the power of love to quietly prepare for tomorrow.
For resurrection.
So as you rise to go into the day,
May grace,
Peace,
And love,
As always,
Go with you and be with you every step of the way this Holy Wednesday.
Amen.
Until tomorrow,
My friends,
Grace and peace be with you.
