“Why do you make trouble for the woman? She has done a good thing for me. The poor you will always have with you; but you will not always have me. In pouring this perfumed oil upon my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.”

Matthew 26:10-12

In all four Gospels, the anointing at Bethany precedes Judas’ betrayal of Jesus. A woman interrupts a formal dinner at the house of Simon the Leper to anoint Jesus. She pours costly perfume to show her love and adoration for Jesus. While the disciples and others at the table criticize her, Jesus defends her and praises her. He then announces that she is anointing his body for burial.

At this announcement, Judas realizes that Jesus is serious about his death. Jesus had announced many times that he would suffer but the disciples could not reconcile that Jesus was both the Messiah and a suffering servant. Judas is disheartened because he did not sign up to follow a suffering Messiah. His expectations are not being met and so his treachery begins.

In our personal relationships, our relationships at work, and in our relationship with God, there will be times when we are not getting what we want, when our expectations are not being met. When you feel disillusioned and disheartened, don’t do anything drastic; in fact, make no major change at all.

Pray today for the grace to handle the disappointments that come from living your life with patient endurance.