Change in plans

Updated

Now what was she going to do? Here Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus, had a whole pound of this very expensive perfume… and she had no use for it! She dug into what money she had because it was the job for Mary and her sister, Martha, to care for their dead brother Lazarus. And this special work, which typically fell to women, would mean using this special kind of perfume.

She bought the perfume for one purpose, to anoint the dead; but now, thanks to Jesus, Lazarus was alive!

So, what was Mary going to do?

Today’s Gospel tells us what she did: Mary anoints Jesus’ feet with this very expensive perfume--and her tears--filling the whole house with its fragrance!

I was a kid when I first heard this story from the Gospel of John and my little ears couldn't make heads nor tails of it! Because what I heard was that Mary covered Jesus’ feet with lard—you know, the stuff in that can on the stove where my mother and grandmother used to pour off the bacon grease! Yuk!

Actually, Nard is a very expensive perfume that came all the way to Palestine from India, the Himalayas actually. And to use all of it on one person’s feet would be, to say the least, extravagant!

Now washing feet was an ordinary part of life in 1^st century Palestine. In all the better homes, one’s servant washed the feet of the guests of the household. Using a little ointment on the feet—often scented—was soothing to the person and a sign of hospitality, if not honor. Remember that in those days everyone walked, and even if they rode they still had to walk some, so everyone's feet got dirty. And in those better homes, a servant would do the washing. Mary’s family clearly had money. After all, they could afford a private tomb for her brother—but just as Martha did not relegate her meal-serving to a servant, neither did Mary leave her foot-washing to a servant.

Jesus himself would copy Mary’s example in the Upper Room at the Last Supper. Come to Church on Thursday of Holy Week and experience that yourself.

Remember, the purpose of Mary's perfume was not cosmetic, and it was not meant for dirty feet, but to help care for the dead. Remember that in John’s Gospel there were three reactions to Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. First, it made Jesus a marked man because some people want to kill him because of this miracle. Another response was gratitude, which is what Martha and Mary with her perfume demonstrated. Lazarus’s healing—remember this was only a short-term resuscitation, Lazarus would eventually die a natural death like the rest of us, presumably now at an older age— anyway, his healing is a pre-figuring of Jesus’ resurrection and is the occasion for both gratitude and for fear.

John’s Gospel only has a few … maybe a half dozen… so when you are reading John and a miracle happens, your ears should perk up. The Gospel writer is telling us something! The raising of Lazarus from the dead reveals Jesus as messiah. And it is also the beginning of Jesus’ journey towards the cross. So the second thing that makes us go "aha" and "oh!" when Mary anoints Jesus’ feet, is the fact that hers in the ultimate act of discipleship.

You know what a disciple is, right? A disciple is a friend and an apprentice of Jesus Christ! 

Mary, Martha and Lazarus are certainly friends of Jesus, and we hear in the Gospel of John that they are apprentices, too. They are learning from Jesus. They are learning the art and craft of doing the work of Jesus. We are disciples, because we are also learning and doing the work of Jesus!

That sounds cool, except that Mary of Bethany seems to keep getting in trouble—or at least raising eyebrows—for how she is living out her apprenticeship, both when she sits at his feet to learn from him, and here, when she anoints his with the nard.

In both encounters we have in the Gospels between Mary of Bethany and Jesus, both times Mary (and Martha) are “serving” Jesus. “Serving” here is the same word in Greek as the word “deacon” When Mary anointed him. Jesus is being served and he is being readied to go to his final battle against death and evil.

Mary—and Martha! — by their service have joined with Jesus in that battle. She has undertaken in a deep way the life-changing, world-challenging, relationship to God in Christ that pushes back evil, returns dignity to the outcast, and restoration to the lost. Her life and Jesus’ work are one. The perfume was a gift that showed where her heart was.

Of course, what Mary does is not without controversy—which is the third response to Jesus’ healing of Lazarus.

Judas actually speaks for many of us when he scoffs at Mary’s action. He’s not wrong when he said that this gift of expensive stuff could have sold back and used to serve the poor. Judas is not being a chiseling cheapskate; he genuinely misunderstands both Mary’s gratitude and what is really going on for Jesus.

When someone in our congregation grumbles about how this or that could have been used to serve the poor, I have to wonder what going on really. When someone grumbles about why we spend money on the landscaping around the church, or on these gorgeous vestments, or on our music, or on whatever instead of giving it to the poor, I kind of wonder what’s really going on. As St. Benedict of Nursia points out in his monastic rule, the grumbling is almost never about what is being complained about. The resentment often points to something else, something deeper.

So, I don’t really think that Judas was really angry about the money. Despite the Gospel-writer’s dig about Judas being a thief, I think what really displeased him was the honor given to Jesus was not the honor Judas would have chosen. Maybe he might have preferred the stars of a general? Or the crown of a ruler? Whatever, it comes from an inability that we all often share with Judas: our failure to live in God’s time, our sense of urgency, and our need to manage God’s work for God… but we’ll leave that discussion for Holy Week.

But wait! There’s more! Did you notice how Jesus never said “Gee, that perfume would feel great right now.” Mary offers her gift freely and without expectation of reward. That’s another point that poor Judas missed.

Our gift giving tells us where our heart is. And only God and ourselves know what’s really in our hearts! How we use our stuff—how we spend our money, our time, our attention, creativity, intent, and talent—both leads us and communicates. How we use our gifts, time, and talent help us become deeper and better disciples of Jesus Christ. How we use what we have for God’s purposes both deepens our friendship with Jesus and shows us that we are also his valued apprentices, learning and doing his work right here, right now.

Just like Mary of Bethany, who took a gift set aside for death and turned it into a loving, grateful, affirmation of life.

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Here is a link to the bulletin for the Fifth Sunday in Lent, Year C, March 20, 2022.

Here is a link to a video of the liturgy at St. John's Episcopal Church, Clearwater

Here is a link to a video of the sermon.

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Here is other takes on the same text:

Here is a Sermon by Bishop Nicholas Knisely of the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island