Michael Denton

March 25^th, 2007

Sam Il UCC, Des Plaines

John 12:1-8

¹Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. ²There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. ³Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them^£ with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. ⁴But 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^£ 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.) ⁷Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it^£ so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. ⁸You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

- Greetings

- Prayer

When I was a boy, there was a tree out in front of my family’s home that I loved. I had an old Army back pack that I’d fill with a book or two and some sort or snack. Then, I’d climb to the highest, sturdiest branch of the tree, sit and read for hours. My favorite book, the book I read at least once every summer, was one called “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by the 19^th century Southern American satirist Mark Twain. I’ve been re-reading this book recently and am amazed by how much social commentary went right over my head when I read this book with a child’s mind. It’s a rich, rich book that speaks to the American culture of that day with critiques of slavery, Southern etiquette, religion and government. Now, as I read it, intellectually I can see what a brave book it was when it was written and enjoy it on a whole other level. But, in my heart, I still remember reading it while sitting on the top branch of the tree and imagining that I was on these adventures with the main character, Tom Sawyer, or that I was Tom Sawyer himself. Tom was wise, funny, rebellious and mischievous. He got in a lot of trouble but seemed to get out of even more.

At one point in the book, Tom and a couple of his friends decide to run away and have themselves an adventure on an island in the middle of the Mississippi River for a few days. They have a great time on their unsanctioned camping trip before they decide to head back home. However, somehow those they left behind in the small town they’re from become convinced they’re dead and organize a funeral. The boys arrive back in town just in time for the service and hide in the back of the church. As they lay in hiding, they hear the town’s assessment of them and learn what they mean to the town. The pastor acknowledges some of the ways they were difficult but also acknowledges their generally good nature. Towards the end of the service, the boys make themselves known and those gathered in the church celebrate and celebrate and celebrate that those whom they thought were dead are very much alive. They get to experience in life that which many of us never get to experience this; a community full of gratitude for those who are among them; a community full of thankfulness for the unique gifts these children are able to share; a community that is able to recognize that they all are lessened when their numbers are diminished. These boys attended their own funeral and were able to hear those things the community never really told them in life.

I remember, as a child, wondering what this could be like; especially at those moments I somehow felt underappreciated. When my parents, teachers or friends were upset with me, I’d sometimes feel as though what was good about me was ignored. In my imagination, I was sometimes hiding in the back of the church, with Tom, listening to some of the positive things those who knew and loved me said now that I was gone.

It’s not that this is an unusual circumstance. Praise can be a difficult thing to give. All too often, it’s treated like a commodity or a special gift by many. There is the suspicion that if we say something kind or complimentary, we are expecting something back. Those who are over complementary are considered with derision and distain as people who are trying to get something; money, a job or power. Our compliments become understood as more of manipulative tool than a genuine, outward expression celebrating the person in front of us.

There is a certain degree to which having someone else sing our praises is just as difficult to hear. As I mentioned before, there is that sense of suspicion but more generally, we’re just not accustomed to it and, when we do receive a compliment, we tend to be embarrassed. Frequently, we have this sense that, if we’re being complimented, the person giving the compliment is somehow intruding on a territory where they do not belong. We’re almost embarrassed for them. Actually, if we’re not a little embarrassed as the receiver of the compliment and don’t make at least some sort of attempt to deflect the compliment, some will consider us vain or egotistical. There is an etiquette of humility that we’re expected to emulate. The exact thing that we may have intended or expressed to honor the other person can accidentally cause either the giver or the receiver of the compliment dishonor.

The text from today’s gospel has some of these two kinds of themes running through it. When Mary took this bottle of expensive perfume and drenched Jesus in it, it was such an unusual act that it was written about in two of the gospels. It was a moment that stood out in Jesus’ ministry. There were really two primary circumstances during which perfume was used in this way and scholars suggest that the writer of the Gospel of John may have been trying to suggest both of these possibilities. In one circumstance, perfume was a gift of extravagance heaped upon royalty or the rich and powerful so this text could have been used to show the implication of Jesus’ importance and reality recognized by this one called Mary.

It’s also very possible that the last time Mary had used perfume to anoint someone’s body was when she used it on her dead brother’s body. Within Jewish burial tradition, this moment of death is a very intimate one. From the point of death until the burial itself, the body is not to be left by itself. During that time, the body is ritually and thoroughly cleaned and perfumed by those who are present. It would have been completely normal for Mary and Martha to have been the ones who cleaned the body in this case.

We also can’t forget that, sitting right there at the table with them, was Lazarus; the person Jesus had raised from the dead. He was in this same home with his sisters. Imagine if you were in their position. A family member of yours had died and you were certain you were never going to see them again and then along comes this Jesus who gives you a second chance with this person you loved. How would you feel? How grateful would you be? What would you want to give to this person who had done so much for you and your family? What could you give? The only person at that table that speaks against this act is Judas. Maybe it wasn’t just Mary that had thought this would be a good idea but Martha and Lazarus, too. Maybe they were all that thankful. Mary was so thankful that she actually used her hair to wipe the excess perfume from the feet of Jesus. This was such an act of gratefulness and intimacy that to some it had to be embarrassing. Although I, for obvious reasons, can’t imagine using my hair to do this, I encourage those of you with hair to think about it. How would you have to feel to be unselfconscious about drying someone’s feet with your hair?

These three different understandings of the use of the perfume help explain Judas’ complaint and Jesus’ rebuke. From Judas’ perspective, using nard in this way was an extravagant waste of money that could not be afforded and, if we’d been around at the time, many of us may have given a similar argument. This wasn’t just any perfume, this was an expensive perfume that was made from a flower that grew in what is now Northern India, the Himalayas and China. It was not an easy perfume to get and was clearly regarded as a luxury in the area. Regardless of whether or not Judas was actually lining his pockets and had ulterior motives for asking this question, his question was fair. Was this really the right way to use this resource?

One of the commentators I read made the comparison of how inappropriate it might have seemed if we were invited to a dinner where Mother Theresa was a guest and the host opened a bottle of her most expensive champagne. It would seem like a luxury that could not be justified; a resource that could have been used to serve those whom Mother Theresa served; a gift that was contrary to how Jesus preached, taught and acted. In the same way, suggest these commentators, Mary’s gift could be seen as an embarrassing breach of spiritual etiquette. She gave extravagantly in an inappropriate way. She intimately touched Jesus in a way that had its own extravagance. Judas rebuked Mary and, probably, embarrassed her. She had given this wonderful gift of love, appreciation and honor and Judas’ rebuked her.

So, in that same setting, Jesus rebuked Judas by honoring the gift and honoring the intent of the giver. “Leave her alone,” he says. “She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial.” The writer of John is clear that this was a gift intended for Jesus’ death that was given early. We don’t know exactly why but, again, this family had just gone through the resurrection of a loved one. Can you imagine having that kind of second chance? It’s normal, at the point of death, for people to think about the ways they wished they would have said or done something differently to the person they loved. Now, this family had a second chance to think about doing things differently. That line between life and death had become very blurred. So, considering this, why wouldn’t this person see things differently and share this extravagance with someone while they could actually enjoy it. Why wouldn’t this person want to honor this person in their life as much as their death?

But that wasn’t all Jesus said, he also rejected Judas’ argument about how this resource could have been used to serve the poor by saying, “You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” This verse has frequently been misunderstood by those who’ve focused on the first part of this sentence. Some have suggested that Jesus is somehow saying that it’s not that important to serve the poor because there will always be poor people. Most commentators agree that it’s important to remember that this isn’t a general statement to all humanity but a statement made directly to his disciples. Jesus isn’t minimizing the fact that people are poor as much as he is reiterating his expectation that his disciples would always welcome the poor among them; to some degree, Jesus is making clear that this is such an assumption that the faithful are defined by the fact that the poor are with them. This is almost it’s own sermon so I’ll only touch on this lightly but basically, Jesus is saying here, in this little piece of a verse, that part of what makes a Christian community complete and whole is their work with and among the poor which could be extrapolated to say that if a community is not working with and among the poor, that’s not a community that’s following Jesus.

But, obviously, this is not what the Gospel of John’s Jesus was really emphasizing here. He took the presence of the poor as a reality but Jesus was suggesting to Judas that he was taking Jesus’ presence for granted. Now, that’s something to think about.

We get used to the presence of certain people in our lives and, as Tom Sawyer discovered, we all too only recognize their importance to us after they’re gone. We forget to be thankful of their presence in the here and now. The presence of Jesus in our lives is a different kind of presence. It’s not the same kind of presence as those whom we are able to touch or look in the eye or sit down and have a conversation with but it is a very real presence nevertheless.

The Gospel of Matthew quotes Jesus as saying, “Where two or three have come together in my name, I am there among them.” There is this very real presence of the Jesus “among” us; this Jesus that is between us like mortar; this Jesus is the reason we gather. Sometimes, we forget this and get so focused on our own needs being served that we forget we were called together to serve Jesus. We become all wrapped up in the smaller things within our communal life. We become convinced that there is only one way to worship, one way to believe, one way to speak, one way to use the money we gather together, one way to use our buildings. We become convinced that there is only one way to do things and live our lives - in the same way that Judas suggested there was only one right thing to do with the perfume – and we forget that in everything we do we’re called to serve Christ.

The question we need to ask isn’t simply “What is the correct way to do this or that?” but “Why?” and “How?” Why do we gather together? How can we best serve Christ when we do? Why do we worship? How can we best serve Christ when we do? Why do we serve others? How can we best serve Christ when we do? Why should we share the resources we gather together? How can we best serve Christ when we do? Why is it important that we reconcile with each other when we find ourselves in conflict? How can we best serve Christ when we do?

If we work to discern these questions together, and don’t take the presence of Christ among us for granted, we will be constantly surprised by the answers. Although God, through Christ, has been the same for ever there are frequently different things needed of us in different times and places to best do what Christ requires in those different times and places. The Church of our mothers and fathers and of those who taught us about the faith needs to be honored deeply and reverently. However, what Christ is asking of us in this time and place needs to be honored more. We are in error if we only repeat what was done in the time and place of those who have gone before us and do not honestly and openly look for Christ’s guidance for how to serve Christ, this Christ present among us, in the hear and now. To do so can actually dishonor the faith of our parents and those who taught us the faith and, more importantly, dishonor Jesus.

We have to be open to the fact that the best way to serve Christ in this place and time may mean difficulty for us. It may challenge us. It may frighten us. It may mean that we have to let go of some of those things that gave us comfort in the past in order to best serve Christ, now. Christ does not change but we have to change the ways we serve Christ in order to be effective in this time and place.

As I read the text for today, part of the reason I’m convinced Jesus rebuked Judas was because Jesus could see in to the heart of Mary. It was very important to recognize the presence of Jesus at that moment and, out of a spirit of rejoicing in that presence, give what Mary gave. Judas was looking through only one lens and not seeing the genuine praise of Mary.

We are faced with a similar challenge in our churches. We are called to look beyond our own perspectives and celebrate and honor the ways others are seeking to praise Jesus. One of the most common problems in many of our congregations is a generational one.

In many congregations, the younger members see a particular kind of worship or church structure that does not speak to them and, because it doesn’t speak to them, they choose not to participate. They find it difficult to see that worship is not about them but about Christ and that the older members of the congregation may be served and comforted by this particular style of worship, service and praise.

However, to stop there would not be fair because, in many congregations, the older member hear the younger members suggest changes in worship and church structure that they are afraid will not speak to or serve their fellow elders and they resist making the changes the younger members suggest. They also refuse to see that worship and church are not about them. The older members sacrifice the opportunity for the younger members to participate in worship and the life of the church by refusing to be open to a style of worship and structure that would keep the younger members in church. The older members refuse to see that, in the same way that they are part of the Church because of the way it spoke to them in a particular time and place, Christ, through the Church, needs to speak to and for younger members in a different way in this time and place.

If there is any problem that seems to be the most predominant in most of our churches, this problem between generations of people in our churches is one of the most predominant and one of those problems that, when not considered seriously and faithfully, gets in the way of our service to Christ. The end result is our churches are aging out and closing. Young people feel so rejected by the church that, according to a recent survey, 80% of those under 20 years old claim they have no relationship with the Church. We are failing to bridge this generational gap and make our churches welcome places for young people. In this area, we are clearly failing to serve Jesus best.

Sisters and brothers, we are called to seek out the ways we can best serve Jesus and some of those ways may, indeed surprise us. But we serve a surprising Savior who healed the sick, gave site to the blind, spoke out for the oppressed and, in the biggest surprise of all, rose from the dead. We serve a Messiah who is so present among us that we are constantly surprised by the places we may be lead. We serve a surprising Jesus who speaks so brilliantly of human nature that, every day, we find ourselves surprised by the truth we find.

Sisters and brothers, it is an honor to be in service to Christ with you and among you and I look forward to the ways we will still discover we can serve Christ among us. Thank you so much to your pastor for the invitation to be among you today. I pray God’s peace for you all.