Author Archives: Galen Zook

When I hear the story of Mary pouring out her expensive perfume on Jesus’s feet, my initial inclination is to side with Judas on this one – all I can think about is how much money that perfume cost, and how all of that money could have been used to care for the poor. But the truth is that acts of worship and devotion and caring for the poor are not mutually exclusive.

The religious people of Jesus’s day were grumbling and complaining because he spent so much time with people who were outside the walls of the church – people of his day who were considered “sinners.” So he told them this story…

Those of us with no experience raising barnyard animals often think of chickens as timid and cowardly. When someone is referred to as a “chicken” it’s not usually a compliment! But when Jesus describes his attitude towards the city of Jerusalem as that of a mother hen, he is evoking one of the most powerful images of God’s love and protection found throughout Scripture.

What can we learn from the way Jesus handled temptation in the wilderness?

As followers of Christ, we are to “glow in the dark.” As we spend time in the presence of Jesus, we will begin to look more and more like Christ, and reflect more of God’s glory to those around us.