John 12:1-8
Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary 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. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” (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.) 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 is the last Sunday in Lent before Palm/Passion Sunday. So for today, I thought we would sit with Jesus, Mary, Martha, Lazarus and Judas around the table and have them help us review what we’ve worked on this Lent. We actually began this Lenten series before Lent even began, on Transfiguration. Do you remember? We began by noticing where in our bodies we carried the weight of the world these days. We took that weight and worked it like clay in our minds until it became a personified form. Then we named it, wrote that name on a stone, and by doing that injected that stone with all that weight and darkness. Then we left those stones right there for God to watch through Lent so we wouldn’t have to carry it all. Were you able to do that? Leave it? Not pick it up again?
For the first Sunday in Lent, do you remember what we worked on? Judas, in today’s Gospel gives us a reminder. “Mary” he says, “You SHOULD not waste that expensive perfume. You SHOULD sell it and give the money to the poor.” Judas SHOULDED on Mary! Didn’t he? SHOULDING sets us up unrealistic expectations which leads to disappointment and depression, so that was the first Cognitive Distortion we gave up for Lent.
The second Sunday we worked on Control Fallacies. The lie that everything is our fault OR the more common version which is that we have NO influence and we are all just helpless victims. The people at the dinner party in today’s Gospel lesson faced a horrific week to come. It would have been easy to give into the idea they were nothing but helpless victims, but what did Martha do? She brought to mind the people she loved and moved toward them with a kindness, making them a meal. Mary did the same, bringing to mind someone she loved, Jesus, and then moved toward him with the kindness of anointing his feet. In moving toward the ones they loved with kindness, they proved to themselves and to those around them that they were NOT helpless. Even with a horrific week ahead, they proved to themselves and the world that they still had the power to do kindness in the world.
The third Sunday we met Mr. Don Music and the Cognitive Distortion of Catastrophizing… focusing exclusively on the negative and filtering out and dismissing anything positive. Jesus taught us how to push back on that distortion with the Parable of the Fig Tree. It was with gratitude and generosity that the gardener fought back against the ALL or NOTHING thinking of the vineyard owner. In today’s Gospel Mary reminds us again how that works. Facing Jesus’ coming death it would have been easy and frankly incredibly understandable to Catastrophize the days to come, but Mary pushed back on that temptation with generosity… that was a $45,000 block of perfume with which she showed her gratitude for all that Jesus had done.
Last Sunday, Bishop Pipho helped us work on giving up Stinkin’ Individualistic Thinkin. The parable showed us the dramatic difference between going it alone and living in community. The dinner party in today’s Gospel puts an exclamation point on the power of community. Lazarus shows us how simple, quiet presence speaks VOLUMES in community! Martha was able to use her gifts to do the kindness of cooking only because they had gathered in community. Mary was only able to demonstrate the power of generosity and gratitude because they had come together in community. Even Judas, with all of his cluelessness, brokenness, and flaws, was given one more opportunity to see the world the Jesus Way simply because he showed up in this gathering of community.
The powers of darkness at work in our world today are Legion. They even seek to turn the values we have been taught by Jesus and the prophets… things like empathy and compassion, generosity and gratitude into sins. But this little group pushed back on the darkest of darkness. They showed up for one another around the table. Lazarus never said anything, and in his silence reminded us that having the right thing to say is often overrated. Simple, quiet presence is often what is needed most. Martha reminded us that no matter what might lie ahead, we can always move with a kindness toward those we love. Mary reminded us that community gives us a chance to push back on the darkness with gratitude and generosity and even Judas reminds us that in community we are always given one more opportunity to see the world the Jesus Way.
It was empowered by community that they all walked into the week ahead, still able to love God and love neighbor… still able to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly through life and even through death… and on into resurrection.
The evil at work in our world will continue to bring the darkness, but here in community we remind one another that we are neither helpless nor without help. May we, like this small group gathered around their table, dedicate ourselves to gathering around THAT table, where we, like them will receive the light of Christ… a light so bright that it shines in the darkness… a light so powerful no darkness can overcome it and take that light with us and shine it into whatever the future holds for us. Amen.
