I was amazed to behold the very tall, very costly monuments above many of the graves in Buenos Aires. The people desired to remember their lost loved ones. In China, we watched great numbers of people streaming down toward the graves, where they planned to clean off the memorial markers and pause to remember their departed relatives and friends.
Our text tells us of Mary’s costly tribute to her Lord, a remembrance that totally outshone the tombs in Buenos Aires or the tributes of the days of the dead in many countries. For her gift would be—is—remembered 2000 and more years later. A tribute to the Lord of all.
And us? Do we best remember our loved ones with flowers on the graves or do we bring to mind the lovely things they did for us? I remember my mother’s remarkable patience and love. Once she dressed me in a nice outfit so we could go to town to shop. While she was getting ready, I slipped and fell into the mud. Mom didn’t scold or swat me, just took me in and quietly dressed me again. And your memories?
Let us give thanks for beloved friends and relatives now gone. Amen. —