A Sermon by Pastor Tom Lacey . . .

acts of devotion

John 12:1-8, Preached at Congregational Church of Boca Raton, March 21, 2010

Dave went on a business trip for a few days. When he returned, his wife reported that the dog really missed him. "She spent every night at the front door, waiting for you to come home," she said. "What an example of devotion," Dave replied. "I wonder if you'd be that concerned about me?" "Honey," she answered, "if you were gone overnight, and I didn't know where you were, you can be sure I'd be waiting for you at the front door." I’m not sure those were the same….

We have two weeks to go until Easter, and the Lectionary reading today takes us to the time just before Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. John tells a story told by the other Evangelists, but his telling of it emphasizes the extreme humility of Mary in her display of devotion to Jesus. It is surprising to me that Mary's action, which provoked the entire discussion in the passage, is only described in one verse. Verse 3 is packed with thoughts, four of them which call for mention. First is the value of the ointment. It is described as "pistic nard," a rare phrase in Greek, but it is combined with the adjective translated "costly." The closest paralled to this story (Luke 7:36-50) mentions the ointment but doesn't focus on its value. Rather, the point in Luke was the character of the woman who anointed Jesus' feet. The richly laden narrative in John's Gospel, however, stresses the cost of the ointment. Second is the fact that she anoints Jesus' feet. Anointing of feet is mentioned in Luke 7 but not in the other synoptic stories of this event (Mk. 14:4-9; Mt. 26:6-13). The anointing of feet is seen by most commentators as an indication of the most abject humility. When John the Baptist mentioned that one more powerful than he was coming, he said: "I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals" (Lk. 3:16). That is, the contrast between John and Jesus was so great that even this act of servanthood belongs to someone more worthy than John. If it was an act of humiliation to untie the shoes, how much more to wash the feet? And, I think it isn't taking things too far to suggest that her action made such an impression on Jesus that he performed a sort of imitatio Mariam when he washed the disciples' feet (Jn. 13). Peter recognized that it wasn't fitting for Jesus to do it (13:8), but he, following Mary's loving example, required the disciples to receive this gift from him.

Third, the story stresses that Mary washed his feet with her hair. In order to do this, she had to unbundle or loose the hair, an action that was, as one commentator suggests, "apparently a mark of loose morals." In Num. 5:18, for example, the priest loosed the hair of a woman who was suspected of adultery. And, from the rabbinic writings, we have the following story: "Kamitha (a woman) had seven sons, who all performed the office of high-priests: they ask of her, how she came to this honor? She answered, 'The rafters of my house never saw the hairs of my head'"--meaning that a respectable woman always kept her head covered (cited in Morris, The Gospel According to John, 577n14). Finally, the verse ends with a note of verisimilitude--the house was suffused with the odor of the perfume. Our minds wander to other biblical passages where houses are filled with fragrances, whether it is the temple in Jerusalem or the "aroma" of Christ which the Christians bear (cf. II Cor. 2:15). In any case, in v. 3 we have a showstopping and unexpected demonstration of affection by Mary. Why did she give so much? Certainly there was gratitude for Lazarus' life, but there is probably more. She, too, knows that Jesus' days are numbered, and she is pouring out her heart fully to him. It is as if she is making personal the words of the Psalmist:

"I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart.../ I bow down toward your hold temple and give thanks to your name/ for your steadfast love and your faithfulness..." (Ps. 138:1-2).

Love has its effects on people, and it did on Jesus.

Jesus' words include his much quoted and misunderstood v. 8: "You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me with you." We need to understand Jesus' words in the context of Judas' words. That is, Judas was the first one to interpret Mary's action, and now Jesus is interpreting Judas' interpretation. Judas has said that it was a shame that the poor weren't served in this situation. Indeed, the Book of Proverbs, among many other Biblical books, stresses the importance of giving to the poor or treating them justly (e.g., "Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and will be repaid in full," 19:17; "Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor," 22:9; "Those who mock the poor insult their Maker," 17:5). Thus, Judas was on fine Biblical ground in making his point.

But Jesus' answer is a twofold one. He says that her action is not really about the poor but about something else; and that something else is preparing Jesus for his death and burial. Just as we might say that when a one-time experience comes along in life we had better put our all into pursuing it, so Jesus is saying that Mary had basically gotten her priorities straight. In this moment, the call of God was to respond to Jesus in preparation for his death. The poor will be there in God's special time and in "ordinary" time, and there will be plenty of time to minister to their needs.

Mary has demonstrated that she knows what is supremely important in life--to give of her best, with all her heart, in an action of selfless giving, to her Lord. By giving all she had she loves "just right." And, her example not only affected Jesus deeply (Matthew has Jesus conclude his version of the story with these words: "Truly I tell you, wherever this good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her," Mt. 26:13), but it is a continual challenge to us 2000 years later. In what ways, as we approach this Easter Day, are we unreservedly pouring out ourselves to God? In which ways do we hold back? In which ways to we give a "Judas-like" financial explanation of ours or others' gifts? Mary's extreme action challenges us, then, on a number of levels today. How do you hear her?

The striking thing about this text is not Judas’ protest, or even Jesus’ answer.  It is the fact that Mary has chosen to anoint Jesus now.  Rather than wait until after his death, she does so while he’s still living. By anointing him now, as opposed to after he’s been put to death, Mary is essentially giving the very best that she has (quite literally, the most expensive thing that she owns) to the living Jesus.  The real waste would have been to devote her effort and her expensive gift to the dead Jesus.  Rather than give what she has in memoriam, she gives it in witness to the living, breathing, presence of Christ.

Her stunning act of devotion has stark implications for Christians today.  There’s a danger that churches will become museums for Jesus, that our existence will reflect more about his death than his life.  In The Preaching Life, Barbara Brown Taylor tells of happening upon the ruins of a massive cathedral while hiking in the Kachar Mountains in Turkey.  After reflecting on the reality that what was once an impressive church built to the honor and glory of God in the very land that Paul walked was now nothing but ruins and garbage, she writes:

“God has given us good news in human form and has even given us the grace to proclaim it, but part of our terrible freedom is the freedom to lose our voices, to forget where we are going and why.  While that knowledge does not yet strike me as prophetic, it does keep me from taking both my own ministry and the ministry of the whole church for granted.  If we do not attend to God’s presence in our midst and bring all our gifts to serving that presence in the world, we may find ourselves selling tickets to a museum.” (p. 6, emphasis mine)

Think about that for a minute.  We must devote all our gifts, from the smallest to the grandest and most expensive, to serving Christ’s presence in the world, or else we may find that our churches have become museums.  In other words, rather than devote our time, our attention, and our energy to merely preserving the memory of Jesus, as one would a deceased relative, we are called to give the very best we’ve got to the living Christ.  This text reminds us that authentic devotion to Jesus will involve giving him the best we’ve got right now in a continuation of his living ministry.  Let your life be centered on the living Christ in your midst, rather than offer simple and ultimately hollow testimony that he once was.

Now, as they are having dinner, a woman comes to Jesus and does a beautiful but extravagant thing for our Lord. The Gospel of John tells us that the woman was Mary, (the sister of Martha and Lazarus). Mary brings an alabaster jar of very expensive ointment. She breaks open the jar and pours the costly perfumed oil on Jesus' head. She anoints His head with oil. Why did she do that? Some say it was an act of gratitude in which she was thanking Jesus for raising her brother Lazarus from the dead. Some say it was an act of consecration in which she was baptizing Jesus to encourage Him to go into the Holy City and do what had to be done. Others say it was a foreshadowing, an act of preparation, in which she was anointing His body for the death which was to come in Jerusalem a few days later. All say it was an act of love and kindness.

But Judas said it was a waste. If you lived strictly by the Judas mind-set, you would have no Spire on the church, no flowers on the altar, no art on the wall, no robes for the choir, no fine organ, no beautiful weddings. Your daughter would come to you and say, "I'm in love and I'm so happy. I want to get married." And you would say, "Well, why don't you just elope? It's much cheaper. It would be wasteful to have a wedding." But the Mary mind-set says, "Sometimes in the name of love and kindness and gratefulness; it's O.K. Indeed, it's beautiful to be extravagant."

David Livingstone is considered one of history’s greatest explorers. Born in Scotland in 1813, he was one of five children in a poor family that resided in two small rooms. His parents were poor in earthly wealth but rich in spirit, and they inspired their son to devote his life to serving God and his fellow man. Livingstone began working in the cotton mills at age 10 and continued there for many years, eventually earning enough money to put himself through college, where he studied medicine and theology.

He spent most of his adult life exploring Africa, bringing “modern” medicine and God’s Word to its remotest regions. He was the first person to cross the continent from east to west and the first white man to see Victoria Falls. He planted missions, spread the gospel and endured incredible hardships. In doing so, it is said that he added a million square miles to what was then considered the known world — and hundreds, maybe thousands, of souls to the heavenly rolls.

He was showered with accolades for his work. But the thing about David Livingstone’s life that most touches my heart is the way he died. Early on the morning of May 1, 1873, he was found dead, kneeling beside his bed. While doing God’s will, praying alone in a remote African hut, he was lifted up by God’s own hand and surrounded by the heavenly host singing a glorious “Amen!” (Barbara Johnson, The Women of Faith Daily Devotional)

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