Our Lenten experience is reaching is ultimate teaching and mystery. Like the disciples and Apostles, we have been well-reminded of our sins and wretchedness and of our need for a Savior. And, probably more surprisingly than we like to admit, we have reminded ourselves of the fact that Jesus has died, been raised and ascended, and will One Day return to judge and truly establish God’s kingdom on the new earth. I say surprising because for far too many of us Christians, the Resurrection is more of an intellectual assent. We think ourselves so smart and so advanced that we are sometimes loathe to consider the possibility that Jesus really died, really was raised on the Third Day from that Tomb, and really Ascended into heaven to be with the Father. Some of it is our “incredible understanding and relative brilliance to those who came before us;” the other is likely the realization that, if it is true Jesus was raised on the Third Day, it has far reaching implications on our lives and our attitudes. Of course, that is a sermon for a couple weeks hence.
Today, we
are upon the real Holy Week, the week when Jesus was tried, tortured, and
killed for our sakes. In John’s Gospel,
Jesus has taught plainly that He will be handed over to the authorities and be
killed, but on the Third Day be raised.
The disciples and Apostles have not understood what He has meant, even
though He has spoken plainly. Their
problem, of course, is the same as some of ours. The know that nobody gets up from death. It just does not happen. Death is far more of a constant companion in
their life than ours, so they would tell us they have more experience with
death than us. Wars, diseases, access to
good medical care, sanitation—all of it was omnipresent in Antiquity. (Yes, I know we would say we have all those
things now!) The disciples range from
not understanding to thinking Jesus is probably using another weird parable to
illustrate some point. They have pinned
their hopes on the fact that Peter was correct, that Jesus is the Messiah. Some have even asked, to the anger of others
among them, for the privilege to sit at His right hand and His left hand when
He comes into His authority.
But, for
now, we are gathered with the disciples just six days before the Passover in
the home of Lazarus, and Mary and Martha, in Bethany. Lazarus, Luke reminds us, is the guy whom
Jesus raised from the dead. Mary, you
remember the sister who chose the better part when Martha complained about her
sister’s shirking of hostess duties.
Both sisters also firmly believed that Lazarus would not have died, had
Jesus made it to him in time. Mary takes
a full pound of nard and anoints Jesus’ feet.
The
symbolism should not be lost on us. The
job of washing the feet of guests fell to slaves. It was considered among some of the worst
menial work in the ANE. Such an attitude
makes sense. Not everyone had shoes or
sandals. Sewer systems were, let’s just
say primitive. Animals roamed or were
herded down streets. And few neighbors
really bothered with carry their privy pots to any designated latrine areas
outside villages or cities, leading to what you and I would call unsanitary
conditions--and yet another reason death was a constant companion! So, people traveling by feet were likely to
step in any number of wonderful presents.
I see your faces. You get it
now. That’s why the jobs were given to
the slaves. Nobody else wanted to do it!
And, keep
in mind, this family likely had slaves or servants to do that work. They are throwing a huge party for Jesus and
His disciples. That’s not going to be
cheap! Few of us throw huge parties when
we do not have two nickels or shekels to rub together. And, just to make sure we understand their
means, Luke reminds us that the nard was worth a full year’s wages! No, this is a voluntary act of love and
humility and service on her part. Think
of a matriarch in your family scrubbing a filthy commode for you.
She takes
the nard, which would cost her a year’s worth of work, and uses it to wash
Jesus’ feet. Can you imagine? Can you imagine spending your yearly salary
on something so mundane? So menial? So beneath you? It would be akin to giving the hungry in our
midst filet mignon or rib eye’s or tongue, apparently, if the recipient is from
certain cultures! That is a brief
understanding of what Mary is doing here; it is THAT counter cultural.
But then,
wait, there’s more! She uses her hair to
wipe and dry His feet! We have a number
of ANE people in our midst, and we interact with more during the course of the
week, so we begin to understand this on an intellectual level. But Mary’s hair is her crown and glory! In her culture, and many of those around her,
her hair was a treasured characteristic.
In some of the surrounding cultures, the only person allowed to see her
hair let down would be a father or, later in life, a husband. It is that intimate an act, letting down her
hair. Yet, she thinks nothing of her
crown and glory and uses her hair to wipe the dirt and crap, literally, from
Jesus’ feet. Can you imagine? What would you use, were you in her place? What do you value about yourself more than
anything? Would you use it to serve
Jesus in this menial way? Given our
uncomfortable relationship with Maundy Thursday foot washing , I wonder.
Mary, of course, has an advantage over each
of us. She has seen Jesus call her dead
brother out of a tomb and be restored to life.
She has experienced the teaching of Jesus first-hand. She has met any number of disciples who have
shared the signs they saw. And she has
come to believe that He is the Holy One of God.
For many of us, it is more a question of faith. We believe in Jesus because we trust those
who shared God’s love for us. We know
people who have experienced miracles, signs of power. We may even know people who have had mystical
encounters with God or angels. None of
us, though, have sat at the feet of Jesus.
None of us, though, have had the opportunity to serve Him in the way
that Mary and Martha did. We have not
smelled Him. Touched Him. Eaten with Him. Laughed with Him. Cried with Him. Or have we?
John, for
his part, is not yet finished with the tale.
Judas Iscariot, John tells us, protested about this wasteful use of the
nard. Those of us who have studied
John’s Gospel will note how John always reminds us that Judas was a false
believer and the betrayer. There is
always a reminder of this in John’s description of his fellow Apostle. Judas complains that the 300 denarii could be
used to feed the poor. John reminds us
that Judas did not care for the poor, only for his access to steal from the
common purse. If 300 more coins were in
the common purse, who would miss a few?
Jesus, for
His part, instructs Judas and any others who share that attitude, to leave her
alone. Jesus knows Mary’s heart. Jesus teaches them and us that Mary bought the
nard specifically for His death. Though
the men in the crowd do not seem to understand Jesus’ plain teaching, Mary has
accepted it on faith and prepared for that horrible day. I know most of us gathered here do not buy
into the nonsense that God hates women in the Bible. But in case you encounter some who do believe
that skubala in your daily life and work, here’s another counter-example. Mary is praised for choosing the better part
by Jesus, and she is defended by Jesus as believing His words of His impending
death.
Jesus goes
on to remind those present at the feast that they will always have the poor
with them, but they will not always have Him.
The statement certainly prophesies Jesus’ impending departure, but the
disciples and Apostles would have heard a bit more in their ears than our ears
hear. Way back, during the time of the
giving of the torah, God gave economic instructions to His now-redeemed
people. If Israel would obey His
economic teachings, there would be no poverty among them. Everyone would eat. Everyone would have what was necessary to
live. But then, even before Israel
promises to keep the Covenant, God goes on to tell them that they will always
have the poor among them. Before Israel
swears to keep the Covenant with God, God knows they won’t. So, He tells them they will always have the
poor among them. The presence of the
needy among them will testify against their hardness of heart and their
inability to keep the Covenant. We might
say that will be one of the early signs of covenantal unfaithfulness—long before
droughts or Exile. The presence of the
needy will remind them they need a true Savior!
They will need someone who can truly free them from all the bonds of
oppression, from the big consequence of their sin! Death!
All of that
is pretty cool teaching and symbolism, to be sure, but John is not done. One of those interesting aspects of nard is
that it is crimson in color. When we
understand the physical appearance of what Mary is doing, there is a whole new
visual. Yes, the nard would look a bit
like blood being smeared all over Jesus’ feet and Mary’s hair. We talked a bit about what feet experienced
when walking in the ANE, but how much worse are the consequences of our sins! St. Paul would say the inward conditions of
our hearts makes the skubala from the roads and byways look good! But in this amazing foreshadowing, inspired
by her faith in Jesus, Mary points to the washing of the real dirt off her by
the blood of her Lord! In a way, her
crown of glory, her hair, is washed in the blood of her savior, much as Peter
asks of Jesus on Maundy Thursday. Her
crown of glory is His Blood!
Today, of
course, is a Healing Sunday. Today, I
will invite all those who desire anointing and prayer to come forward. Foreheads will be marked with Healing Oil,
and prayers will be said. We will pray
for the cure of any number of ailments or diseases or the healing of however
many broken relationships. But through
it all, we remind ourselves of the promise we all share thanks to the work of
Christ on this week especially. All of
us approach His throne cognizant of our sins; yet we trust in the efficacy and
power of His Blood to restore us to our Father in heaven. We recognize that we have claimed our own
death in His, that we might share in His Resurrection, should we face death
before His return. Just as
significantly, however, we remind ourselves of the fragrance that such acts
have in our Father’s nose.
I mentioned
a few moments ago that most of us do not have the privilege of knowing Mary as
intimately as Mary. She spent time with
the Incarnation! Even those of us who
have had mystical encounters with God understand the blessing afforded Mary and
the other early disciples and Apostles.
They could touch Him. They could
smell Him. They ate with Him. They heard His joyful laughter. As I reminded us of their experience of His
presence compared to us, I made the questioning statement about whether we are
afforded those same opportunities. Jesus,
for His part, will remind the Apostles during the so-called Doubting Thomas
scene, that we are blessed because we have not seen and yet believe. But . . .
John is, of
course, the great symbolist and theologian of the Gospels. We lump the Synoptic Gospels together and set
John apart. And there is a logic to
that. Who among us would argue that John’s
prologue is anything like the birth narratives of Jesus in the Synoptics? Who among would argue that John’s focus on
the Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus, is identical to that of the
other Gospel authors. As a result, we
sometimes fall into the trap of believing that John was mostly concerned about
the “big” matters of salvation and the other authors about the “mundane” matters
of salvation. And, for those who have
studied John’s Gospel in Bible studies or EFM, we know that Chapter 12 is the
chapter of signs. It is here, in this
very chapter, that the cosmic battle described in the first eleven chapters
reaches its fever pitch. And the
response to these crescendos will be the betrayal, torture, and death of Jesus,
the very suffering death we are invited to join when we undergo the Sacrament
of Baptism!
Yet, even
more subtly perhaps than the anointing of nard, which reminds us all we need
the same crown of glory as Mary, is that reminder that we do, in fact, have an
opportunity to see, to feel, to touch, to smell, and to serve Jesus lovingly
and lavishly. The great theologian of
the early Church, who reminds each of us in the beginning of his narrative that
the world came into being through Jesus, also remind us that our service of the
poor and outcast is service of Him. John
records that Jesus says we will always have the poor among us. For those who claim to have hearts prepared
as thrones for Jesus or to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to do His will,
Jesus’ words remind us of God’s love of everyone and our bounden duty and
service out of gratitude, that we serve them to serve Him. We lavishly serve others because we want to
lavishly serve Him! Make no mistake, it
is a loving obligation, a thankful obligation, we feel in our hearts. But, we who desire an intimate relationship
with our Lord understand on a fundamental level that in seeing others, we see Him;
in smelling others, we smell Him; in crying with others, we cry with Him; in
laughing with others we laugh with Him.
They, just like us, were created in His image. They, just like us, cannot begin to
comprehend the crown of glory that He offers who choose to serve Him. But serve them we do. Because we know and trust that in serving
them, we serve Him. And like our Master
who came not to be serve but to serve, we know that such is how God draws the
world to Himself! Even those unworthy
like you or like me!
In Christ’s Peace,
Brian†
