A Norvell Note 2020
Vol. 22 No. 14 | April 6, 2020
What We Can When We Can
Not long before Jesus is put on trial and crucified, He is invited to a friend’s for dinner. During the meal, a woman comes into the room, opens a bottle of expensive perfume, and begins to pour it on His head. As described in The Message:
Some of the guests became furious among themselves. ‘That’s criminal! A sheer waste! This perfume could have been sold for well over a year’s wages and handed out to the poor.’ They swelled up in anger, nearly bursting with indignation over her.
Jesus defends her, saying, “She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial” (Mark 14:8, NIV). Or as stated in The Message, “She did what she could when she could…”
There is much we could discuss about this passage, especially during this season. But I want to focus on the underlying message in these words: “She did what she could when she could.”
The man who puts on a mask and gloves and goes to the grocery store to get what his family needs for the week; and the man who checks in on his elderly neighbor to make sure she has what she needs…is doing what he can when he can.
The woman who kisses her family goodbye and heads to the hospital to help care for the sick; and the woman who sits down at her sewing machine to make masks for her friends and neighbors…is doing what she can when she can.
The men and women who load up their vans with packages and make their daily rounds; and the people who share their gifts, positive words, and guidance with others who might need them…are doing what they can when they can.
All of us who are staying at home, and when we must go out, taking precautions to keep ourselves and those around us safe; all of us who are treating others with kindness, patience, and respect and doing our best to spread positivity…are doing the best we can when we can.
The anxiety and frustration created by our inability to do and help more is likely to continue over the next few weeks. But we can only do what we can when we can.
Let’s focus on that, and that will be enough.
“And you can be sure that wherever in the whole world the Message is preached, what she just did is going to be talked about admiringly.” (9)
A Norvell Note © Copyright 2020 Tom Norvell All Rights Reserved