Building a Bethany Heart

Sept. 7, 2025

Today we’re talking about building a Bethany heart, a heart that wants to serve God. What’s a Bethany heart? It’s named after Bethany, a town that was important to Jesus, where he was accepted, loved and refreshed.

In different places people act differently. Did you ever go to New York City? People aren’t that friendly there and don’t usually talk to strangers. My cousin old me, “We only stop and help when someone pulls out a map because we’re afraid they’ll get lost and slow things down! Have you ever been to Disneyworld? People are very friendly there and ready to help! I live in the big city of Tamaqua. When I ride my bicycle in town, nobody in Tamaqua waves. But when I am out of Tamaqua, in the country (they call it down country), riding my bike, it’s different. People give a big friendly wave! Wow! I wonder if they like me for some reason, or if they’re always this friendly!  Why do they wave? Tower city is also a friendly place. Sometimes people wave at me while driving by. Often, I can’t tell who is waving at me, but I wave back. Thanks for waving!

Well, Jesus moved around as he did ministry. And people acted differently toward him in different cities. In Jerusalem, some people were unhappy with him because he didn’t meet their expectations. There were many religious leaders in Jerusalem, and they were expecting a Messiah to come, a Savior. But when they saw Jesus, he didn’t meet their expectations. They thought Jesus would be like king David, that he would be a warrior king with a sword who would go to battle against their enemies: the Roman empire. People didn’t like paying taxes, and they thought Jesus would change that, but he didn’t. Jesus came instead to deliver them from sin and death, and to offer us a new relationship with God! In Jerusalem, many people weren’t open to Jesus because he didn’t meet their expectations.

That can happen today, where Jesus doesn’t meet expectations. Lee Strobel is a Christian who writes books like the Case for Christ, which contains convincing arguments for believing in God. When he talks to people, he often asks them, “If you could ask God a question, what would it be?” People say, “If God is so good, why does he let tragedies happened?” Lee has some ready answers for why bad things happen. He could preach a sermon. But Lee learned to skip the sermon. Instead, Lee asks them, “Why did you ask that question?” They might respond, “I lost a child to childbirth. Where was God in that?” Or “My wife has cancer. Why did God let that happen?’ Lee says he learned that’s not the time to preach a sermon. People need you to weep with them, listen to them, relate to them, love them and show them the grace of Jesus. We all have unmet expectations. Can you embrace Jesus despite unmet expectations?

That was Jerusalem. Another place Jesus went was Nazareth, which was where he was from, he was raised there! People in Nazareth had had trouble relating to him as son of God because they were too familiar with him. They thought, “Hey, Jesus is not a prophet. I remember when he was this big.” “I know his family. Jesus is nothing special.” Mark 6:4-6 says, “Jesus said to them ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.’ ⁵ He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. ⁶ He was amazed at their lack of faith.’’ Of all the things you want God to find amazing about you, lack of faith would not be one!

When Jesus spoke, he spoke with authority. People in Nazareth thought, “Wait, didn’t I babysit you?” “Didn’t I coach your soccer team?” No, you’re not the son of God.

Today, our culture is familiar with Jesus. We know he was born in a stable. He performed miracles. He died on the cross. He saves people from their sins. The problem is if we feel we know all about Jesus. God is so much bigger, wiser, and more loving than we can imagine! None of us know everything about him.

There are some surprising things about Jesus: sometimes, he didn’t claim responsibility for miracles he did. For example, Jesus healed someone and said, “Your faith has made you well.” Or “Rise and go, your faith has made you well.” Jesus didn’t boast, “I did that miracle!” Instead, he stressed how important it and wonderful it was for people to have faith in God for a miracle to happen!

We can feel we are very familiar with Jesus and say, “I know Jesus. I’ve seen pictures of him with the blue eyes and flowing hair.” Here’s a surprising thing, Jesus didn’t have long flowing hair and blue eyes, like in so many pictures! Most Jewish men had short hair and dark eyes. We don’t have any photos of him. Jesus’ appearance wasn’t important. Jesus came to teach us to love God and one another, he came to establish a brand-new relationship between God and people, and to start a movement, the Christian church.

You can get too familiar with Jesus, like the people of Nazareth, and write him off. You can lose that sense of awe and wonder of who Jesus is.

There was another town Jesus travelled to, I think it was his favorite town: Bethany. Because Jesus had some really good friends in Bethany: Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha. When Jesus came, they made sure he was loved, listened to, and ate amazing food! Then, Lazarus got sick and died, and Jesus brought him back to life. You can imagine how grateful they were to Jesus! In today’s gospel Lazarus, Mary and Martha have a dinner in Jesus’ honor: Lazarus sits and listens to Jesus, Martha serves an amazing dinner. Mary takes a year’s worth of wages, buys a very expensive perfume, and pours it over Jesus’s feet. The house is filled with the wonderful smell of this perfume! Then, she wipes his feet with her hair!

You might wonder, why would she wipe Jesus’ feet with her hair? But remember, Jesus recently brought her brother Lazarus back from the dead! She is beyond grateful and shows a real Bethany welcome! When Judas complains that she wasted money, Jesus tells him to leave her alone! Mary knows Jesus is going to die soon, and it’s like she’s preparing him for his burial. The next scene in the gospel of John is Palm Sunday, when Jesus goes to Jerusalem to die on the cross. It’s good Jesus spent the day before at dinner with his friends who had Bethany hearts!

What does it mean to have a Bethany heart? First, it means you slow down and make time for God. It’s easy to get disconnected from God because we’re too busy! We’re too busy to worship God, or too busy to pray. Time is one of the most precious things we have today. For some of us time is more precious than money. To have a Bethany heart means to give God something precious, your time! Waste your time with God! Talk to God every day! Give God a few minutes. Listen for him to speak through a Bible verse. Slowing down helps you to be like the Bethany folks, welcoming God into your heart.

Second, someone with a Bethany heart shows humble gratitude! Usually when you anointed a person back then, you put oil on their head. Mary doesn’t, she puts perfume on Jesus’ feet, and when there isn’t a towel, she sops the perfume up with her hair! It takes a humble person to want to care for someone’s feet! Her message was clear: “You, Jesus, are great and worthy and I thank you!” To have a Bethany heart means you come to God humbly, grateful for his love for you.

My challenge for you is to think of a place where you have been accepted, loved and refreshed! It could be with friends or family, or a special community. Where is your Bethany?

Instead of coming to God with an attitude of “God, I’m too busy for you”, or “Sorry Lord, you don’t meet my expectations,” or “Jesus, what have you done for me lately?” we can come to God differently! Think about how you can slow down and come to God in humble gratitude, giving God a Bethany welcome. We can approach with a Bethany heart. And when we do, God is there! He’s happy to sit with us, teach us, fill our hearts with his presence and love, and refresh us. Amen.