- Sermon - Mickey Anders

Text: John 12:1-8

Thomas Long, professor at Candler School of Theology, tells a story about going with his wife to the movies one Saturday afternoon. They had barely found their seats and positioned the bucket of popcorn between them when a gaggle of teenagers sat down behind them. The teens were noisily talking, teasing and laughing. During the previews, the conversation became even more animated as each kid weighed in on the merits of a coming attraction. But when the credits started to roll, the group quieted down, but not for long.

One of the teenagers had evidently already seen the movie, and was eager to serve as guide for the others. "Omigosh," she croaked in a stage whisper, as the male lead made his first appearance, "he is going to like fall for her so-o-o hard."

Dr. Long had guessed that there might be a romantic spark between the leads, but it would have been nice to watch it unfold himself. "Look, look," the teen shrieked a few moments later, "he forgot to put the key back under the mat. Did’ja see that? That’s how the cops are gonna catch him!" There went the dramatic suspense!

When we read the Gospel of John, we often feel that John is narrating a play-by-play commentary of the events of Jesus life. Stories seem to take place at two levels, and John is quick to point out the higher theological meaning.

Professor Long says, "John wants us to go to this ordinary dinner party in Bethany, but not to miss the hint of resurrection we can see in Lazarus. He wants us to hear Judas’s pious speech about caring for the poor but also to discern the treachery that lies in the human heart. He wants us to see Mary not just as hostess but as prophet. He wants us to see her anointing of Jesus not as a mere impulse of indulgence, but as a costly act of worship. Jesus is not merely eating and drinking with friends -- he is the lamb at the Passover feast, and John wants us to smell the fragrance of the perfume that fills the house as the aroma of holy death. John whispers between the lines of the story because he wants us to see what is truly happening, and to believe." (The Christian Century, March 14, 2001, p. 11)

The story for today is a classic. It is a famous one that Christians have loved throughout the centuries. We find four accounts of this story in the gospels. Each one is slightly different from the others. As often happens, it is difficult to harmonize all the details, but the basic story is the same.

The incident happened right before the Passover, near Jerusalem, in the little village of Bethany, in a home owned by Simon in three of our gospels, or by Lazarus as John tells it.

A woman who is unnamed in three of our gospels and called Mary in John, takes a pound of expensive perfume that was valued at three hundred denarii; that is, three hundred days work. This was very expensive perfume, almost equal to a year's pay.

This woman takes this exorbitantly expensive perfume, lets down the tightly wrapped bun of her hair, and begins to wash the feet of Jesus. She is weeping, kissing Jesus’ feet, anointing his feet with the perfume, drying his feet with her long, falling hair.

In the middle of this tender, emotionally riveting scene, there is a spoilsport. In John's gospel, the spoilsport is Judas, the keeper of the money who grumbles, “This gesture of this woman is a real waste of money. This expensive perfume could have been sold and given to the poor.” Jesus defends the woman and says, “Leave the woman alone. The poor you will always have with you. She is preparing me for my burial by anointing my body with oil” The memory of this story will be told and retold of her throughout history.

Let's watch this movie play out before us again and listen as John tips us off to the deeper meanings.

1Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.2There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served,

If John were the teenager behind us in the movie, he would look up from his popcorn and proclaim, "Ooh, ooh, ooh, she's the one who does all the work. She prepares the meals. She is always found in the kitchen with a servant heart."

We should pause and speak a good word for all the Martha's of life. They are the ones who cook the meals, change the diapers, clean the floors, and do so much of the work that needs to be done. Thank God for the Martha's. All those things that happen behind the scenes are the things that Martha does.

We have seen hundreds of Martha's around our church this week. We have just finished the Consignment Sale, which was an amazingly successful event, but it did not happen without Martha. Martha was the one who organized the event with over 250 consigners. Martha moved out the worship chairs, put up the pipes which served as hanging racks. Martha organized the displays. Martha processed the buyers, cut off the sales tags. Martha totaled the items, gave the change, and processed the credit cards. Martha showed up after the sale to make sure the building was ready for worship today.

Martha even cooked the meal for the men's breakfast, and cleaned up afterward. All those things that happen behind the scenes are the things that the Martha's do.

In our story today, the Scripture says simply, Martha served. We are most grateful for the Martha's of life, who work so diligently, often in thankless tasks.

2) and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him.

In our movie, the teenaged John takes a big slurp from his 32 oz. Pepsi, turns to us and says, "Like, like, like Lazarus was so dead! He was so dead he stank. But Jesus called him back from the dead in the prequel. In fact, people still come up to him with a sniff just to see if he still smells like death."

Lazarus was the brother of Mary and Martha, and it is his home where this meal is taking place. The Gospel of John just relayed the story of Lazarus' return from the dead in the last chapter. We have heard that Jesus and Lazarus were deepest friends, that Jesus’ grief was emotional and profound, that Jesus wept not with a few tears but with great depth of emotion. Jesus sobbed when he heard that his friend Lazarus had died.

When Jesus raised his good friend, Lazarus, from the dead, the crowds began to follow Jesus even more and the Pharisees, who plotted Jesus’ death, also began plotting to do away with Lazarus. His presence at the table is a vivid reminder of death and resurrection. His presence is a forecast of Jesus' death and Resurrection.

3Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

With an elbow to our ribs, the teenaged John says, "Dude! Mary was so RAD! She shows a radical love for Jesus."

Neither Martha nor Lazarus is at the center of the gospel story for today. The focus is on Mary's act of extravagant worship.

We remember Mary because she was the one who was complimented by Jesus for sitting at his feet and listening to him. And after her brother Lazarus had died, Mary was the one who had rushed out to Jesus pleading, "Jesus, if you would have been here, my brother would not have died."

On an impulse, Mary allows her heart to lead her in an act of excessive generosity and reverence. She washes his feet with her tears, pours the costly perfume on them. The gospel of Luke tells us that she wet his feet with her tears, wiped his feet with her hair, kissed his feet, and then anointed his feet with the expensive perfume. This perfume would have cost almost a year's wages. Then she gently wipes his feet with her long hair.

In the story, we are invited to love Jesus the same way. We sense that Mary was giving her very best to Jesus, her most sacred possession, and that we too are to give our very best to Jesus in a relationship of mutual love. What kind of love for God would it require to give a gift equal to a year's salary?

I think hers was an impulsive act of generosity. She loved Jesus, so it was the most natural thing in the world for her to give him the best that she had. We read of that kind of generosity throughout the Bible. When people experienced the presence of God and God forgiving mercy, they seem to automatically respond with offerings. In Genesis and Exodus, it was the firstfruits and the firstborn from their agricultural income. In 2 Corinthians, it was the generosity of the Gentiles for the troubled church in Jerusalem.

One of my favorite translations of Hebrews 13:16 says, “Forget not to be kind and liberal; for with that sort of sacrifice God is well pleased.”

4But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5“Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” 6(He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.)

In our movie, John hisses and boos like this is an old fashioned melodrama, "Hey, keep your eye on that guy Judas! He’s about to betray Jesus! Boo! Hiss! Don’t believe a word of that caring-for-the-poor stuff. Judas is really a thief!"

In the gospel of John, Judas plays the culprit who loved money too much and sold Jesus to the Pharisees for thirty pieces of silver. I prefer a more complex view of Judas' motives. It just seems too convenient of John to propose Judas as a thief to explain his betrayal of Jesus. But explaining possible motives of Judas is another sermon.

I want us to look closer at this question he poses. Isn't it true that the money could have been spent on something more worthwhile? For me, this raises the issue of prioritizing our giving, and how we do that. I think it is a legitimate question, and raises some issues that plague us today. Just imagine that the local church treasurer takes $60,000 of the church's money and buys a bottle of perfume to pour over somebody's feet. Imagine what the reaction will be at the next cabinet meeting!

In church, we often wrestle with the problem of priorities. Someone says, "We need to spend $20 on this." Someone else says, "We need to spend $200 on that." And a third person says, "We need to spend $20,000 on the other" Inevitably someone will stand up and ask, "Why are we spending all of this money on ourselves when we should give it to those who really need it." That is a typical church question. It is a moral question.

I think our church especially wrestles with this issue of priorities. We have an ambitious budget which requires real dedication of the members to support it. We expect people to tithe for the on-going support of the church. Plus, we have this new building we are in and a good size debt that we need to pay off. Today, we are promoting Habitat for Humanity with a goal of $5,000. Next week, we will promote the Easter Offering. one of five major offerings promoted by our denomination. We also have individuals and small groups raising funds for a multitude of mission projects. We have requests to support the MS Walk, the Relay for Life, the Ronald McDonald House, the Galilean Home, the Church under the Bridge, Bloodwater Mission, the Hope Center, Salvation Army, Nathaniel's Mission, and the Heifer Project. Every one of these projects is worthy of support. My question is, "How do you decide the right priorities for the church and the right priorities for your personal budget."

Judas was very pragmatic when he asked, "Why was this perfume not sold and the money given to the poor?" It's a question for all of us. What is the something that is the more worthwhile?

7Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

Jesus defended Mary. He obviously approved of what she did. He thought her special affection for him was good and appropriate.

"You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me (v. 8). These words have often been lifted out of context to justify callousness toward the poor but, read in context, it does not serve that purpose. The reference is from the Torah, and the complete verse reads, "Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, 'Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land' " (Deut. 15:11).

He said that she was preparing him for his burial, for his death, for his crucifixion on the cross. Jesus loved her giving of herself to him in an extravagant way, and Jesus also loves when we give ourselves to him as this woman did.

We sometimes sing the song that says, "I want Jesus to walk with me." Today, I am hearing Jesus sing another version, "I want you to walk with me." Lent invites us to walk with Jesus the road from Galilee to Jerusalem. This story is obviously a forecast of the events of Holy Week. Let us walk with Jesus all the way to Good Friday, experience again the devastation of his death, and then, with the disciples, return to the tomb early on Sunday morning for a grand celebration of Easter.