Holy Spirit of Jesus, I present myself, my soul and body to you...

John 12:1-11
 
Mary’s brother Lazarus had been raised from being four-days-dead by Jesus, just a short time before.  It is no wonder then that when Jesus came to dinner, Mary who had sat at the feet of Jesus weeks before, totally transfixed by his teaching,  was prepared to present a wholesome gift of body, soul and spirit to her beloved Master! Using what soulful substance she had, Mary purchased a full pound of costly perfume made from pure nard. During the meal Mary came again to the feet of Jesus, but this time she offered this costly and sacrificial gift of soul by lavishing the two most precious gifts of spirit, her love and her thanksgiving, on her beloved Teacher and Healer. Finally Mary used her own hair, the crowning physical beauty of her body, to wipe the feet of Jesus.  Preconfiguring the washing of the feet that Jesus instituted at the Last Supper just days away, this gift of Mary’s soul, spirit and body stands forever in our collective memory as the perfect gift for Christ Jesus, living, and dead, and living again. As with any gift, any life, wholly presented to Jesus, this perfect gift was judged and found foolish by Judas, a worldly-wise ‘disciple’ of Jesus. So I need to be prepared for my own gifts of body, soul and spirit to be judged and found wanting by other.  Despite the judgements of the world, how will I present my whole being to Christ Jesus today? Holy Spirit of Jesus, help me present myself, my soul and body to you.   
 
May this song make your name for ever remembered. May the peoples praise you from age to age.    (Psalm 45: 17)
                                
And here we offer and present unto thee, O Lord, ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice unto thee.   Prayer After Communion. The Book of Common Prayer, 1959                     
 
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Soli ad gloriam Dei