The teacher is here

Dear Friends,

“The teacher is here and is asking for you.”


I see, Mary of Bethany appears in 3 places in the gospels and at each time, she was at the feet of JESUS. First time, she listens to His word, second place, she speaks to Jesus and Jesus listens to her and in a third place, she worship Jesus by washing his feet with fragrance. If we see closely, there is some one or something is trying to keep Mary away from the feet of Jesus. Disciples would sit at the feet of their Rabbis, Paul says that he was educated at the feet of the a Rabbi, there is nothing unusual about this because Rabbi have male disciples, but unusual here is that one seated at his feet is a woman (Luke 10:39). Like everyone else, Martha also thought woman’s place is in the kitchen not at the feet of a rabbi. But Jesus told Martha that Mary had chosen a good part. It shows that Jesus , the great Rabbi invites you and me to be one of his disciples and to take Mary position at His feet irrespective of the sex, race, age etc.
For our meditation lets focus on the second place, where Mary was at the feet of Jesus from John 11: 28- 35. Jesus had opened a new world for Mary by becoming her rabbi, when Mary’s brother Lazarus became sick, she and Martha sent word for Jesus to come and help. John 11:3 “The sisters therefore sent to him, saying, "Lord, behold, he for whom you have great affection is sick." But after receiving this urgent message, Jesus stayed there another 2 days. Lets imagine Mary’s attitude. Mary’s world might have been rocked, not only she lost her brother, but the only one who might have been able to save her brother took his own time for responding. She must be thinking, “Is this how Jesus responds to those he loves? Is this how he responds to what I really care about? Am I a fool to ever think that great Rabbi would make me one of His disciples? Does he really care about me?”

Grief, questions and doubts rumble through out Mary, her heart was opened then it was broken. Jesus stayed where he was, now Mary stays where she is. So she has determined that it is the best to keep a safe distance between herself and Jesus. Like Mary, how many of us lost our hope? Are you questioning that, “where was Jesus when I was suffering?, Does he really care about me? Are you keeping distances from Jesus, the spirit of living water? Lets see the answer for our questions in John 11:28 “When she had said this, she went away, and called Mary, her sister, secretly, saying, "The Teacher is here, and is calling you." At this point Mary was raised literally. The message raised her from all doubts and disbelief. She gets up quickly and goes to Jesus. Earlier, she stayed away from Jesus, now she moves toward him quickly. There are greater titles for Jesus, but for Mary, “teacher” is the most meaningful. In John 20:16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him, "Rhabbouni!" which is to say, "Teacher!", We see that Mary saw the resurrected Jesus as a teacher.


It seems that Mary, even in her doubt, is waiting for a small indication that Jesus cares for her. Jesus said that, “ if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink”. Now he calls for Mary, whose thirst is intense and she comes to him and falls at his feet again. Earlier when she was at the feet of Jesus, He spoke and she listened, now once again, at the feet of Jesus, she speaks and He listens. All she needed to hear was that Jesus came for her. All she needed to see was a tear in his eyes. May be we are like Mary, waiting for a small indication that Jesus cares for us. The message is that He is coming for us. He wants us to come to Him, He enjoys the pleasure of our company. Get up, quickely, go out to him, fall at his feet, pour out your heart to him, he will listen to us. There is a time for listening to the heart of Jesus, and there is a time for pouring out your heart to him. He speaks and he listens and he knows the right time for each one of us.

When Mary was at his feet, each time, some one or something is trying to keep her away from Jesus. In the first place, Martha appears second place, Mary’s own disappointments and in third place, Judas appears. Let’s learn to overcome all the hurdles which are drawing away from His feet and learn to open our heart so he will listen to us. Like Mary of Bethany, the love of Jesus fills us beyond capacity and spills out of us. Amen and Amen.

Love and Prayers

Vathani