5 Lent Year C 4/6/2025
Isaiah 43:16-21; Psalm 126; Philippians 3:4b-14; John 12:1-8
Rev. Mark A. Lafler
Our Lenten journey is almost complete as next week is Palm Sunday.
We are speedily moving toward the Passion Week…
The death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus.
And our Gospel reading today is full of hints of what is to come.
Hints of the death of Jesus that is shortly to come.
And a bold prediction of what Judas Iscariot is going to do.
It is a great story…
Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem for the Passover feast.
Of course, what awaits him is his arrest and death.
He knows this and decides to spend some time with his friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
They live in the town of Bethany which is only 2 miles from Jerusalem.
And being that Passover doesn’t begin for six days…
He takes a moment with them.
They shared a meal together.
Martha was doing her thing – serving the food…
Always the practical behind the scenes person.
Mary was present too.
The disciples were there: Peter, James, John, and the rest.
Lazarus was there…
The one that Jesus had raised from the dead just a few days ago.
Can you imagine what they might have talked about over dinner?
I would think the topic of the resurrection of Lazarus would come up.
Lazarus had been dead for four days before Jesus brought him back to life.
I know I would be asking…
What happened when you died?
Do you remember anything of the four days?
What was it like hearing Jesus call you from the grave to come forth?
I mean, how many dinner conversations do you get like this?
I would be asking so many questions.
And then the story takes off…
here come the hints of what is coming in the next six days.
Mary decides to do something different than the table conversation.
Whether she got up and went to another room to bring in the perfume or whether she had it this whole time and was planning to do it all along… we don’t know.
But the scriptures tell us:
Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard,
anointed Jesus’ feet,
and wiped them with her hair.
Now there are a few things going on here.
First, Mary took expensive perfume…
It was nard…
An anointing oil…
Nard is derived from a special plant that grows in India…
It was imported and purchasing it was very expensive.
A pound of it such as Mary had and used on Jesus was equivalent to an annual salary of a just-above-average wage-earner.
In this act, she was giving her very best of what she had.
She honored and treasured Jesus.
Secondly, in the first century, hair was considered a lady’s glory…
her pride and beauty.
To unbind her hair would have been regarded as unseemly…
But she was moved with the deepest feelings of love and devotion.
To wipe the feet of our Lord is to give her very best of who she was.
To humble herself and exalt Jesus.
So, in both her giving the perfume and her actions with her hair,
Mary gave the best that she had and the best of who she was.
She gave her treasure.
She gave her reputation.
She gave her honor.
For Mary it was to give her whole person…
Her whole being…
Her whole self.
She loved the Lord with all her heart, soul, mind, and strength.
She loved Jesus with all of who she was.
But not everybody was excited about this.
There present at this dinner…
At this moment of worship and exaltation of our Lord Jesus…
was Judas Iscariot.
As the author John notes: the one who was about to betray him.
Judas pipes up…
Probably with disgust all over his face…
Saying:
Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?
It’s a fair question…
One that is brought up so often in leadership meetings, vestry meetings, finance committee meetings, board meetings, conversations around coffee hour…
groups all across the church.
Why spend this much money here when it can be given to do this?
Why do we need this vestment, this building, this aesthetic, etc.
when we can give the money away to feed the poor, help the homeless, strengthen the community?
It’s a good question.
And a good question to ask.
But it’s not the question that was wrong.
It was the motive.
As the author points out with the parenthetical statement:
Judas 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.
And when this motive of selfish desire and greed is compared with the selfless worship of Mary…
It becomes plain to see Jesus’ response…
Jesus said:
Leave her alone.
She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial.
You always have the poor with you,
but you do not always have me.
This response is not suggesting that Jesus was indifferent to the poor.
Jesus isn’t necessarily presenting us with competing loyalties of “spiritual” versus “material” giving.
It is going back to the motive.
And Jesus could see the hearts and motives of Mary and Judas.
One was there to worship.
The other was there to make a profit.
And Mary’s gift wasn’t just a beautiful act…
Jesus said it was purchased for the day of his burial.
I don’t know if Mary knew it was going to be so soon…
But she was moved to use it at this moment…
Perhaps she did perceive the approaching death of Jesus more clearly than the rest of the people in the room.
Mary of Bethany is a saint and exemplifies the beautiful worship of our Lord.
And she is an expression of our lesson today.
May we worship God with our whole being.
Not just half…
Not just half-heartedly…
With all that we are…
All that we have…
All that we can give.
There is a lot in this world that can distract us from the worship of God.
The 24/7 news cycle’s aim is to keep us glued to all that is happening.
Entertainment can be used as an unhealthy way of escape.
Addictions can dominate our lives.
But it’s not always the most obvious of things.
Here at church…
When we gather for worship…
Many things can become distractions…
The liturgy wasn’t right…
The music was off…
How come the preacher said that or why didn’t they talk about this.
And on and on…
But the ultimate and primary purpose of our gathered worship is with one voice to worship God.
To sit at the feet of Jesus…
To give what we have…
To give our whole person…
To give our personhood and identity to our Lord and Savior.
Who has rescued us from sin and death…
By his grace through faith,
He has given us new life and hope.
May we worship with our whole being the King of kings and Lord of lords.
May we worship Jesus Christ…
May we be fixed on him…
For it is in him where true joys are found.
He is the one who eases our worries…
And supplies us with his peace.
It is Jesus Christ who invites us to himself, saying:
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me;
for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)
Our opening prayer today…
Our Collect expresses this same truth…
In our restless world that changes with the fleeting trends that blow like wind through our society…
With the sinful pride of humanity that continues to wreak havoc in our communities…
Listen once again to our prayer appointed for today.
Almighty God,
you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command
and desire what you promise;
that, among the swift and varied changes of the world,
(listen to this)
our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found…
You see… right there… where it says:
our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found…
That’s Mary…
That’s Mary of Bethany…
She was fixed on the worship of Jesus.
And that’s where I want to be too.
As we enter this week…
Just a short week before the holiest of weeks in our faith…
Let’s set our hearts on Jesus…
Not to impress him…
For He knows our struggles with sin…
He knows the temptation we face each day to be overwhelmed by all that is happening in our world…
But set our hearts on him…
For it is Jesus who gives grace to love what he commands…
It is Jesus who grants the desire to believe in his promise…
May we be fixed on him…
…where true joys are found.
…like Mary of Bethany…
Worshipping Jesus with all that we have…
and all that we are.
Amen.
