It's a story long interpreted through the lens of sin and shame, but in John's version of the anointing of Jesus, the act of anointing his feet is done by one of his close friends, Mary the sister of Lazarus and Martha. Pastor Nancy invites us to ask the question, "How does our understanding of the story change if we think of it through the frame of friendship?"
"Friends are those anchors for us when the happenings of life threaten to overwhelm us, those who know us in all of our brokenness and with all of the beauty that is in us too. Jesus calls us friends, and perhaps we hesitate because we feel the weight of the responsibility of true friendship, fearful that we don't measure up. What could it mean for us to call Jesus friend?" --Pastor Nancy Gowler
Scripture: John 12:1-8
