PSALMS OF MYRRH #1 - Anointing at Bethany

 Mary of Bethany came into

The room with the fragrance

Worth a year of wages.

She broke the box,

She poured out the oil,

She anointed Your head,

She anointed Your feet, and

She wiped them with her hair.

You said to the others,

“She has done a good work for me…

She has done what she could.”

Oh, that You would say the

Same of me.

I want to give You what only I can give.

May I be broken open and

My precious oil extravagantly

Poured out upon You.

May the fragrance rise and fill this house.

Copyright © 3/13/02 by Kendra Lane Barrow.  All rights reserved. Revised 9/13/10.

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Mark 14:6, 8 (New International Version)

 ⁶"Leave her alone," said Jesus. "Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me… ⁸She did what she could…”

John 12:1-3, 7-8 (New Living Translation)

 ¹ Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. ² A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. ³ Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.

[One of the disciples complained, saying the perfume should have been sold and the proceeds given to the poor.]  ⁷ Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. ⁸ You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” 

INTRODUCTION to the PSALMS OF MYRRH

Sometimes God speaks to me through dreams.

In 2004, I had a dream that felt spiritual and significant; it seemed to symbolize events that would happen in my near future.  In the dream, I saw God put three seeds into my hand —

new seeds that He wanted to plant into the garden of my heart.  One of those seeds was suffering.

At the time, I was a bit confused.  What did the dream mean?  What kind of suffering would I face? 

Within a few months, I heard a teaching that gave me a new perspective on suffering and prepared me for the road ahead.  This pivotal teaching referred to the line in Song of Solomon 4:6 (New King James Version), “I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh.”  In this sermon’s interpretation, traveling to the mountain of myrrh is a metaphor for each person’s individual journey of life.  The mountain and the myrrh symbolize obstacles unique to each person’s path.  Overcoming these difficulties, and the process of learning and maturing from them, will be our own individual way to “share in his sufferings”, as described in Philippians 3:10 (New International Version).

God used this sermon to prepare me for an extremely difficult year that included miscarrying my first child.  I was desperate to be pregnant.   I cannot express the depth of my grief at the loss of this child.  Tears still well up at the thought of this little boy I have never held.  In all the scenarios I had envisioned in my mind regarding my dream, this was a suffering I did not expect.

Myrrh is a scent symbolic of suffering.  It was a spice commonly used for burial in New Testament times.  John 19:38-41 records it was used in Jesus’ own burial.  Myrrh’s fragrance is most released when the spice is crushed — an imagery which I used throughout this chapter in my attempts to grapple with the topics of sacrifice, suffering, loss, grief, death, burial, resurrection and redemption.

Song of Solomon 4:6 (New King James Version)

⁶ Until the day breaks
      And the shadows flee away,
      I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh
      And to the hill of frankincense.

A Mother's Prayer: Love Labors Toward Glory

My first-born came in the days of December when I was preparing my heart for Christmas. This is a mother's prayer...

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Who for the joy set before me
Will endure the pain,
Spill my blood,
Spend myself,
And exhaust my strength.
For you,

I will despise the shame
Of my vulnerability;
I will expose my weaknesses
Before strangers.

I will not rest,
My labor will not cease,
Until the moment I sit down
With you at my breast.

Oh, Holy Spirit,
Groan with me.
Oh, Messiah Jesus,
Fellowship with me in my sufferings.
Oh, Father God,
Be glorified by my labors.

And oh, little one,
(heart strong from the very beginning)
know this:
You are wanted,
You are accepted,
And you are loved.

You are worth every moment
Of sickness, of stretching,
Of waiting, of groaning.
How I have longed to gather you in my arms,
Ached to smell your skin.

You are my beloved child.
I am yours and you are mine
For a season.
Each day: a gift, a privilege, a blessing.

When I finally awake,
And see your face with His,
I will be satisfied.

Copyright © 12/09/05 by Kendra Lane Barrow. All rights reserved.

(Based on Heb 12:2, Rom 8:26, Phil 3:10, John 17:1, Luke 13:34, Song 6:3, Ps 17:15)