Wednesday, March 25, 2020
John 12:1: Resting in Bethany
Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
We know that we must balance our lives with activity and reflection; Jesus teaches us this by his example and by his word. Too much work makes us anxious, resentful, and forgetting of God. Too much reflection makes us indolent, uncaring, and forgetting of others. We must interweave our intent with our deeds and through Lazarus’s two sisters, Martha and Mary, Jesus shows us how we are to act and what we are to do.
He entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple area. He looked around at everything and, since it was already late, went out to Bethany with the Twelve. (Mark 11:11)
Jesus visits his friends before he goes up to Jerusalem – he knows what experience is about to unfold. Jesus allows himself to be anointed – he knows that he will need special blessings to allow the coming days to teach humanity’s greatest lesson. Jesus does not draw out his enemies – he knows that even he must adhere to God’s plan.
We have need of our rest in Bethany and so we must take it. We must store up, revive, take stock, and recuperate from the work of the world.
We have need of balance and pacing and so we must execute it. We must plan, reflect, pray, be still, and prepare for the next leg of our journey.
We have need of a circle of friends and so we must rest with them. We must ask, we must listen, we must abide, and we must allow others to tend to us.
![C_Werner_Bethany_525[1]](https://thenoontimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/c_werner_bethany_5251.jpg?w=300&h=201)
We must rest and restore in Bethany for Christ awaits us there before he journeys to the cross. Let us choose a chapter in Jerusalem’s story and abide awhile as we do with an old friend. Let us relax and listen. Let us revive and receive. We have miles yet left in our journey . . . so let us rest awhile in Bethany in the arms of the one who loves us so well.
Images from: http://truthbook.com/index.cfm?linkID=1380 and http://www.awesomestories.com/assets/christ-in-the-house-of-martha-and-mary
For an essay that examines a Martha and Mary life, read Mary and Martha Revisited at: http://caroleduff.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/mary-and-martha-revisited/
The Noontimes 