Year C – Lent 5 | Isaiah 43:16-21; Psalm 126; Philippians 3:4b-14; John 12:1-8
The people of God’s covenant were promised God was going to do “a new thing.” When Isaiah delivered that commitment, he prefaced it with the admonition to forget about the past. The point being made is that God has not delivered all of God’s promises. There is unfinished business.
Psalm 126 is about restoration. It speaks of historic restoration as evidence for future restoration. It is a promise that when we find ourselves in situations beyond our control, we can trust God to restore us to God’s place of blessing. When we are seeking answers to questions that seem difficult to ask, there is unfinished business.
The Philippian Church, as part of God’s people of the New Covenant, were encouraged to look forward to the new thing God was doing. Past accomplishments mean nothing. Present needs can side-track us. Our focus is to be on the future work of God for God has unfinished business.
The Gospel passage this week highlights two persons and two views. Judas was unable to imagine God ushering in a new way of being in the world through Jesus. Mary understood that Jesus had unfinished business. She grasped the work about to be accomplished; how Jesus was going to upset the very structures trapping people like Judas.
In Lent, we are to “press on toward the goal” of a heavenly prize. That prize is the calling of God in Christ Jesus. It takes spiritual maturity to think that God will reveal in you that calling. As God’s covenant people, there is unfinished business.