There is a narrative of Jesus being anointed by a woman in
all four gospels. Leon Morris says that the relationship between them is rather
complicated. John and Mark , and Matthew are similar in the words spoken and
even the setting, although Mark and Matthew have this happening after the
triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Luke is very different in timing and in the
insistence that the woman was a sinner, and therefore in the teaching that goes
along with it. John is the only one who puts a name to the woman; he identifies
her with Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus and places this wonderful act of
Worship and devotion into the context of a response to the raising of Lazarus.
This may seem like a real sort of academic bible scholar not very exciting way
of starting off this
morning. But as we
had this passage read out to us today and as I’ve been looking at it in
preparation for this message I couldn’t help but find myself standing in Mark
Matthew’s narrative, in fact I couldn’t help but think that we all today stand
in this story, with people from everywhere down through the last two thousand years
as Jesus says (click for quote) “Truly I tell you wherever the gospel is
preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory
of her.”
And we are working our way towards Easter by working our way
through peoples encounter with Jesus is John’s gospel and now. Today we look at
two very different responses to Jesus one that is a memorable selfless act of
devotion and the other a miserable self-centred act of denouncement: One responses
with worship and the other with what’s in it for me. Both lead to Jesus death
and both invite us to examine our hearts in relation to who Jesus is and what
he has done for us.
Jesus comes to the village of Bethany six day before
Passover. He is on his way up to Jerusalem so there is a sense here that he is
on his way to die. Mary’s act of
devotion is a preparation for his burial, and the seeds of Judas’ betrayal are
clearly seen here. This is on the road to the cross.
We know that Martha was her normal hostess with the mostest
and served. Once again it fits in with what we know of her character that she
would show her devotion to Jesus by doing the practical things for the feast.
Maybe again it was social expected of her as the oldest in her family. However there is a lot of scholarship round
the idea of Martha waiting tables. Because waiting tables is the Greek word
from which we get deacon, and the English word minister comes from the idea
also of waiting tables. Feminist
theologians quite rightly, I think, point out that Martha is always the one
going about this servant leadership role in the gospel narratives. AS we saw
last week she is someone who declares
her faith in Jesus as the son of God and I don’t think it stretches things too
far to see her running of the feast here as her act of leadership and devotion
to Jesus. If we are talking of encountering Jesus in this passage in worship or
in is it worth it…. She shows that serving is also part of our worship. She
carries out this role selflessly in contrast with Judas’ who saw his role as
the keeper of the purse as a chance for self-enrichment. This is always a
challenge for people who serve and who express leadership… is it about worship
and honouring Jesus or is it about status and self-actualisation or
advancement. Worship or what’s in it for
me.
Mary anoints Jesus feet with a very expensive jar of
perfume. With nard which is an extract from a plant called spikenard… it is
still used in perfumery and is still very expensive. In Mark and Mathew’s
account she anoints his head, and it serves as his being anointed king as well
as preparation for burial. It’s an acknowledgement of Jesus. In this instance
just maybe John sees her wiping the feet as the ointment comes all the way
down. In Luke’s account he points to the fact that he had been mistreated by
the host who had not bothered to wash Jesus feet, and that the woman had not
stopped washing his feet with her tears.
It’s a costly act, we are told that the nard cost about the
equivalence of a year’s wages. But it was also costly as Mary puts aside her
status, and as Jesus will with his disciples takes on a servant role. Jewish
women did not uncover their hair in public but here she had loosened it to wipe
his feet.
My friend Malcolm Gordon mentions this passage when he talks
about worship. He says Worship is a
conversation, in chapter 11 we see the awesome and beautiful thing that
Jesus had done for Mary in raising Lazarus from the dead, now in response Mary
does a beautiful thing for Jesus. Christ
initiates and moves towards us with grace and love and healing and wholeness
and we move towards Christ in response. One of the words in the Old Testament
for worship is to lean forward to Kiss, here that is demonstrated graphically
by Mary.
But the conversation of worship does not end there. Worship
is two words and means to give something or someone worth. Mary acknowledges
Jesus worthiness of all praise and Jesus
in return gives Mary worth, he acknowledges the beauty of this expression and
its significance in pointing to his death, he defends her actions, her
devotion. In Luke there is the affirmation of great love being shown when much
is forgiven, In Mark and Matthew he tell us that she will be remembered. Worship is God’s reaching out and initiating
relationship with us and our responding. That opens the door to more of God’s
grace as this conversation does not stop here but continues and is linked to
Jesus death and God’s grace shown to us
all.
On a real practical level Mary’s devotion is also
wholehearted and involves all of her, body, mind and spirit. I wonder if in her
heart and mind she has finally understood what Jesus going to Jerusalem will
mean. She gets it and this is her response, she does not get to care for Jesus
body when he dies that is left to Joseph of Arimathea and interestingly
Nicodemus. It involves her emotions and her body. It’s funny but one of the
nick names for us Presbyterian’s is God’s frozen chosen: Referring to the
reformed understanding of predestination and also our embracing of a very
formal and cerebral worship. Can I be cheeky and say it’s Ok to get excited about
Jesus, the amazing truth that in him the word became flesh, the creator came
and lived as one of his creation, that in the face of our brokenness and
darkness that there is life, and freedom and forgiveness and hope and joy and
peace, and fellowship and brothers and sister s to walk the road with us and
eternal life and the spirit presence to led and guide us to face down the evil
and sorrow of this world. I know it’s
easy to sing too many of those Jesus as girlfriend songs, homoerotic worship as
some have called it, its easy to get caught up in what we like rather than
focusing on the one who loves us. I have friends who are always worried that
worship can get too emotional, I worry that we don’t get caught up enough in
the wonder of who it is we are loved by and who we have the privilege to
worship. Mary is our model for worship.
However… It is easy to find ourselves standing with Judas.
On the surface Judas is right isn’t he. Imagine what the equivalent of one
year’s wages could do to elevate the suffering of few of the people who we met
by the pool at the sheep gate, or along the side of the road. Part of true
worship and Jewish piety was a willingness to give to the poor. It showed that your heart was attuned to the
heart of God, the kingdom mentality that we are blessed to be a blessing to
others. And Jesus does not dismiss that,
he does not fault Judas on his care and concern for the poor, rather he says
that there is room for both. When Jesus was asked what is the greatest command
he replied it was to love God with all your heart and soul and mind and to love
your neighbour as yourself. The two go
together . It’s interesting that in Luke’s gospel the two stories that follow
on from that are ‘ the parable of the good Samaritan, in response to the
question who is my neighbour and then we have the story of Jesus at Martha and
Mary’s house where Jesus commends Mary
for sitting at his feet. I wonder here if we don’t have what it means to
worship and give worth to Jesus, to sit at his feet, as we find ourselves
today, with Mary again, and the go and do likewise of the Good Samaritan.
But with Judas we are told that there is an ulterior motive
to what he has to say. We are let into what is really going on in his mind and
heart. He’s in it not for worship but for what’s in it for him? He’s been
dipping his hand into the money bag, lining his own pockets. I wonder iof Judas
does not also understand from what is going on where this will lead. He was
happy to follow Jesus when he thought that it would result in Jesus being installed
in the palace, you have to remember that the disciples in the other gospels had
arguments over who would be the key leaders when Jesus came into his earthly
kingdom. But now that it is leading to the cross it is a different matter.
What’s in it for me, does not present such an attractive alternative. When it was going to be victory and public
recognition and glory, Ok… But Judas begins to see where It is going that it
will lead to the feet of Jesus in humility, the feet of Jesus nailed to a
cross, without the understanding that it will also lead to Jesus feet stepping
from an empty tomb, then worship and following just don’t seem worth it, and
Judas looks for another source of what’s in it for me.
Ok well how do we tie this all together in a way that will
connect with us today?
Well Paul Meztger says this encounter with Jesus comes right
in the midst of a conspiracy theory. At the end of Chapter 11 where the
religious authorities plot to have Jesus killed and the end of this story where
we hear they want to have Lazarus killed as well. In fact he says this
narrative is part of that conspiracy as it directly tells us why and how Jesus
dies. However, “The real conspiracy” he says “isn’t taking place on the pages
or on the surface but in the hearts of respondents-including the readers, as we
react to Mary’s act of supreme devotion to Jesus and Jesus himself.” And he
brings it home in a very challenging way by continuing “We the readers tend to
praise Mary for her extravagant demonstration of love for Jesus but we tend to
behave like Judas, both in our carefully controlled piety and in our dismissal
of tactile costly worship when we encounter it in whatever form.” The narrative finishes with people in two
camps; those who came to see Jesus and believe and those who continued to plot
his down fall… It finishes with with worship or what’s in it for me?
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