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Psalm 55:9, 12-14

Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words, for I see violence and strife in the city. \u2026If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were rising against me, I could hide. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God, as we walked about among the worshipers.

Exodus 9:1-7

Then the Lord said to Moses, \u201cGo to Pharaoh and say to him, \u2018This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: \u201cLet my people go, so that they may worship me.\u201d If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back, the hand of the Lord will bring a terrible plague on your livestock in the field\u2014on your horses, donkeys and camels and on your cattle, sheep and goats. But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.\u2019\u201d The Lord set a time and said, \u201cTomorrow the Lord will do this in the land.\u201d And the next day the Lord did it: All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died. Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart was unyielding and he would not let the people go.

Hebrews 12:1-7\xa0

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, \u201cMy son, do not make light of the Lord\u2019s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.\u201d Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?

John 12:1-8

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus\u2019 honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus\u2019 feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, \u201cWhy wasn\u2019t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year\u2019s wages.\u201d 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. \u201cLeave her alone,\u201d Jesus replied. \u201cIt was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.\u201d

Prayer

Lord God, we have felt the sting of betrayal and the exhaustion of powerlessness. \xa0Teach us to bear what hardship we must, forming us into the likeness of Christ who suffered before us and gave us the pattern for bearing a cross. \xa0May you also form our character and purify us from sin. \xa0But O Lord, may you also make a distinction between us and those under whom we suffer when we suffer as Jesus did from a friend\u2019s betrayal, or as the Israelites did under masters with hardened hearts. \xa0Not our will though, but yours be done. \xa0In the name of Jesus, amen.

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