Thursday: The Anointing

John 12:3 – “Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard… and poured it on Jesus’ feet.”

Sacred Invitation

The crowd is watching.
The tension is thick.
And into the charged silence—
she kneels.

She breaks the jar.
She lets down her hair.
She touches him with tenderness,
with reverence,
with something no one else understands.

This is the day love becomes fragrant.
This is the day worship doesn’t ask for permission.

Let your devotion speak without needing to explain.
Let the fragrance of what you offer rise.

Daily Reflection

Mary does not wait for the right moment.
She does not calculate the cost.
She pours what she has—fully, freely, beautifully.

It is a bold act.
It is also a tender one.

While others talk, she anoints.
While others posture, she prepares.
And Jesus receives it—not as excess,
but as truth. As prophecy. As love.

You, too, have something to pour.
Some tenderness to offer,
some grief to touch,
some costly thing to lay down.

Let today be the day you break open what you’ve been holding.

Somatic Practice

Take a small bowl of oil, water, or balm.
Touch it gently to your forehead, your chest, or your hands.

Feel the coolness, the weight, the scent.

Breathe in:
“This is my devotion.”
Breathe out:
“Let it prepare the way.”

This is your anointing.
It does not need to be understood by others.
Only offered in love.

Evening Prayer

Jesus,
let me love you in ways that are quiet and costly.
Let me pour out what I carry.
Let me be the one who does not turn away,
but kneels close and lets the fragrance rise.

Amen.