Fifth Sunday in Lent Sermon

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, or hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

I have no idea if Mary knew what her gift to Jesus was about, what it would mean to him, or even to the others.

She simply went to her room, brought out the perfumed oil, and massaged it into Jesus feet.

It was an act of grace, of generosity, of compassion.

Imagine living in a warm climate, wearing sandals on dirt roads, and even dirt floors. Foot washing was a common practice, often done by servants, but in this case done with special, tender care by a friend. A dear friend.

You see, Mary and Martha and Lazarus were siblings, and this was a family meal with friends invited over. You might remember Mary sometime earlier, sitting at Jesus’ feet while Martha “slaved away in the kitchen…” Sometime I lean towards Martha in her complaint, asking Jesus to ‘tell Mary to get up and help me!’ I get a little grumpy, too, when I feel like I’m the only one doing all the work while others sit around talking.

And, you might remember not long before this, that Lazarus had died, and both sisters had something to say to Jesus about not being there, when he finally did show up, that is before he raised him up to life again.

And do you remember how he wept at his friend’s death?

All of this you might say are typical scenarios for families with close knit friends. (Well, except for raising your brother from the dead.)

And, that’s what they were.

Close friends and family.

… a comfortable dinner,

washing feet when you come in the house,

washing hands before you eat.

Nothing much, really, out of the ordinary, and it seems they were used to getting together, sharing meals, sitting around talking, and going deeper into meaningful conversation, simply because Jesus was who he was.

I might add, that Lazarus, who was at the table, it was his home, was not one of the twelve.

I can’t think of any other associates of Jesus, other than his disciples, who are mentioned as often as this family and across all four gospels. There’s something very special about these friends, and these relationships.

I bring all of this to mind for one purpose…

to help us understand both the everyday-ness of this meal and also, to bring to mind another meal soon to happen, six days later, the Passover Meal, what we now call the Last Supper.

As Christians, looking back, we know what was ahead of Jesus in this moment…

the cross,

the betrayal,

the excruciating time in the garden of Gethsemane…

But they didn’t know, this family;

not for sure, anyway,

even though Jesus had mentioned it several times.

And so, I think, if Jesus’ heart was heavy on this evening, because of the anticipation of his death…

just think of what it meant to him, to have Mary go into her room and bring out this lovely gift to share with him, rubbing his sore feet with this amazing oil.

Did she know what that moment held for him? I don’t know. Maybe it was just a lovely gesture for someone who meant so much to her and her family.

But Jesus interprets the act in that very moment: ‘she prepares my body for burial…, and furthermore, (Mark’s gospel says) everyone is going to remember it!

To bring this closer to home, here’s another image I’d like to give you:

Walking along a sidewalk as a young girl, I came to understand a deep paradox about mealtimes:

As I walked by a house, I heard the clink of dishes and silverware at dinnertime through an open window. It seemed both the happiest sound and saddest sound happy for a family with children, chattering and eating …and a sad for one walking by hungry, with little or nothing to eat, and no one to share it with.

The same sound is happy for those who have and unhappy for those don’t have.

I know; meals can be cantankerous at times, but meals meet a deep need we all have and meals together meet an even deeper need. Meals give time and space for relationships to develop, for conversation… for learning what’s important to another as we listen to their chatter while we eat.

We, at this communion table, in our tradition, open the meal to all who wish to come, and partake of Jesus in a deep and intimate way, and to step into faith in perhaps a small or big way, because ‘wherever you are on your journey of faith, you are welcome here.’ And we will share a meal Thursday evening here, for Maundy Thursday, and all are welcome.

But more specifically, thinking about our congregation’s Lenten practice of giving, causes me to reflect on Mary’s gift to her friend these 2,000 years ago.

I do wonder what Mary thought as she later recalled that day just before Jesus died,

…the criticism of Judas,

…the affirmation of Jesus.

‘she prepares my body for burial’

I imagine she was so grateful she did it, even if it was misunderstood by some at the time.

Just the same, you may never know what a gift you give means to the one you give it to, but I encourage you to continue to be about giving to others…

giving of Yourself,

Your spirit,

Your love,

not with an agenda, but out of simple goodness and graciousness.

I do not ask you buy costly perfume, But I do ask you to do what you can, for you can’t really know what another’s life holds, and you may never know what the gift of yourself your grace, your goodness your spirit, however it manifests itself, may mean to another…

as the fragrance of your gift fills the space you’re in, whether it’s the congregation, the neighborhood, or the world…

…just as Mary’s perfume filled the whole house that day. Amen.