Daily Reading: March 10th

Tuesday Day12, The god Mammon, John 12:1-6, Acts 1:18-19)

1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. (John 12)
18 (With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. 19Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) (Acts 1)

These two passages reveal at least one of the primary motives for Judas’ betrayal of Jesus - the love of money. Judas did not worship the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ but rather at the shrine of the god mammon. The first passage from John shows how money can distort our sense of values. Mary shows her devotion by spending all she has on Jesus but Judas can only evaluate the act in terms of dollars and cents.“How much did it cost?” “What did they pay for that?” These are statements we often hear. When it comes to giving lavishly to spiritual enterprises, our reaction is often the same. “Be careful you do not give too much”, we say. “We have to look after ourselves first”, we rationalize. Certainly we need to be fiscally responsible and living within our means. Such questions about cost are not always out of order. They become dangerous when these issues become the driving force behind all our deliberations and such questions are the only ones we ask. We may find ourselves bowing before the god mammon even though we never intended to do so.
The story in Acts where Peter describes the demise of Judas reinforces the danger. He describes what happens as “the reward he got for his wickedness”. The broken body of Judas lies sprawled on the ground as a warning to what happens when greed grips our heart. It is what Jesus describes as “the deceitfulness of wealth” (Matthew 13:22). The end result seems promising at first, but as Jesus says in another place, we may gain the whole world and forfeit our life (Mark 8:36). We may not have gone as far down this road as Judas did but we need to look into our hearts and ask whether we have taken the first step on the road to ruin.

Lord, I desire to be devoted to nothing else but you and your kingdom. Help me to seek first the kingdom and its righteousness and then I know all else will be added unto me (Matt 6:33). I confess any covetousness, greed or self sufficiency that I find within me.

Old Testament Reading Psalm 55