Lent V

April 7, 2019

St. John 12:1-11

Mary Anoints Jesus

12 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them[a] with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But 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[b] 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.) 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it[c]so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

The Plot to Kill Lazarus

9 When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.

Sermon for  Lent V - C

ELW -Hymn 721 – “Goodness is Stronger than Evil”  Sung by cantor.

Fear can come from all sorts of places.  There are at least 530 documented phobias. Some phobias include arachnophobia (fear of spiders), arrhenphobia (fear of men), bibliophobia (fear of books), and cacophobia (fear of ugliness).

We are a fearful people and we often react out of fear.  Fears can distort reality.  Fears can make us ill.  Fear can paralyze us from acting.

There are reasonable fears as well.  Crossing the street – a healthy fear of oncoming traffic is important for our protection.  Knowing our limits and having a good perspective about the fears we may have is good.  Awareness and knowing which fears to pay attention to and which to overlook is not always apparent.

The Gospel reading appointed for this Sunday shows us a group of disciples at the home of Mary and Martha in Bethany gathering in fear.  Now how do we know and why can I say that. 

Well, the previous chapter in John tells the story of the raising of Lazarus.  That miracle or as St. John likes to call it – that sign is the tipping point in the ministry of Jesus.  Here are John’s comments:

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what he had done.  So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, "What are we to do? This man is performing many signs.  If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation."  But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all!  You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed."

 …Jesus therefore no longer walked about openly among the Jews, but went from there to a town called Ephraim in the region near the wilderness; and he remained there with the disciples.  St. John 12:45-50, 54

The religious leaders are looking for Jesus and he returns to Bethany and the home of his friends Lazarus, Martha, and Mary.

You can imagine the fear in the disciples.  There must have been a thick hush in the room that day when Mary decides to anoint the feet of Jesus.

Worried faces full of fear knowing that the religious leaders were plotting something.  The silence could have been sliced with a knife.

Mary through her actions breaks the silence.  She anointed the feet of Jesus with a pound of costly perfume – costing a year’s wages.  The disciples in fear and distraction change the subject from what looks to be the eminent demise of Jesus to and argument about the poor. 

Judas, possibly out of fear as well as holding the purse strings, makes the statement that such an action is a waste and the money better spent on the poor. 

Jesus cuts through the fear to Mary’s faith and her act of love.  His response is twofold:

One:  Christ quotes from the Torah

from Deuteronomy 15:11:

For the poor will never cease out of the land; therefore I command you, You shall open wide your hand to…the needy and poor in the land.

He commends Mary for piercing though the thick fear to preparing Jesus for his death:

“Leave her alone.  She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial.”

Mary faces the fear of death – Christ’s suffering and death – by anointing the body of Jesus – she does not know the outcome but suspects God is up to something new since the sign of the resurrection given at the raising of her brother.

The disciples are fearful, distracted, in denial – Judas more concerned about the purse strings than the poor. 

Mary, on the other hand, faces the specter of death – faces fear with faith and with an act of love – anointing the feet of Jesus.

So what lesson can we learn about facing our fears and even the fear of death which is so prevalent in our parish?

The readings for today tell us some very powerful messages:

Isaiah:  God is doing a new thing, do we perceive it?

Images of water in the wilderness and deserts springing to life.

Paul in his letter to the Philippians:

Keep your eye on the prize – forgetting what lies behind, and straining forward for what lies ahead.

The Gospel reading – Mary piercing the fearful silence of the disciples with an act of faith – suggesting that God just might be up to something new in her friend and Lord, Jesus.

The reality is that we do not know what lies ahead for each one of us, or for our church.  What we do know is that Christ walked the path of death to new life.  What we do know is that God has said, “Do not be afraid, I am with you.”  What we do know is that God promises to make all things new.

Facing the cross of fear we dare not be Pollyannish, deny our fear, or side step fear, or be sidelined by arguments. Rather we need to remember that at the other side of fear is the image of Christ who went all the way for us. 

Piercing through the ultimate loss that we will all face God stretches the hand of Christ and anoints us with the lavish grace of healing.

In the words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu:

Goodness is Stronger than Evil

Goodness is stronger than evil; love is stronger than hate;

light is stronger than darkness; life is stronger than death;

victory is ours; victory is ours, through God who loves us.

Victory is ours; victory is ours, through God who loves us.

Amen.

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