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This November, with a nod to the American Thanksgiving holiday, Contemplative at Home will pray with stories on the theme of Gratitude.

In this episode we are with John 12:1-3. Jesus, travelling to Jerusalem for that fated Passover, stops in Bethany at the house of Lazarus, Mary and Martha. They put on a meal for him in gratitude for all that he has done for them.

“Six 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.”

Perhaps you will allow this story to become your own, calling to mind all that the Christ has done for you, imagining how you would welcome and honour Jesus in your own home, experiencing the fragrance of gratitude as it fills your space.

For further thought:
“The honorific anointing with perfume is an action frequently mentioned in other literature from the time; however, using long hair to dry Jesus’s feet, as in John and Luke, is not recorded elsewhere, and should be regarded as an exceptional gesture.” – Teresa Hornsby, “Anointing Traditions” in The Historical Jesus in Context

Every blessing as you pray.

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer – space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God’s love for you today – drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

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All music by Pete Hatch.