The Fifth Sunday in Lent Sermon
Lent 5C – April 6, 2025
John 12:1-8
The Lingering Fragrance of Love
A sermon preached by The Rev. Dianne Andrews at
St. John’s Episcopal Church, Gig Harbor, WA
When you are considering a gift for someone you love… how do you make a choice that will best express your deep feeling and devotion? Do you have certain “go to” shops to procure an item that you hope will delight your loved one? Do you try to get creative and plan an experience, an adventure, to make a joyful memory? Do you give something that you make by hand… a labor of love that is evidence of your deep appreciation? Even the simplest gifts can be deeply meaningful. The aim of such giving is to touch the other’s heart… letting them know that they are cherished and cared for.
It is not unusual for gifts of love to be lavish or extravagant in some way… and I am not necessarily talking about cars or jewels. Truly precious, meaningful gifts… are about the loving connection between the gift giver and the beloved. It is about a moment of tender connection… a precious moment that often evaporates into a lingering, heartfelt memory. Anyone who has put in hours of practice for a one-time performance… will understand what it feels like to offer the lavish gift of time, determination, and talent. The giver gladly gives these more ephemeral gifts… out of love for their art and for the people who will be enjoying the performance. Any parent who has planned the details of a large wedding, from invitations, to flowers, to a reception menu… and all the rest… knows what it feels like to lavish time and resources on an event that will be over in a day. Sweet lingering memories will remain. Such gifts are given out of love for a child who has blessed their lives and is now stepping into a new future. Funerals are adorned with beautiful flowers given… in honor of the one being grieved… flowers that will soon wilt and fade away… beautiful gifts given in loving memory. Today’s gospel lesson is a story of lavish, extravagant love, offered in nearly scandalous intimacy, to one whose life would soon be ending.
The scene is a dinner party in the home of Lazarus. It is the eve of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem… just six days before the Passover… six days before the Last Supper… before Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane… Judas’ betrayal… and Jesus’ arrest. Not long ago, the home would have been heavy with the scent of grief over the death of Lazarus. But the scent of death would have transformed into an atmosphere of relief and joy… as Lazarus… who had been dead four long days… long enough for bodily decay to have set in… would have returned home to his family from the dead. On this night, Lazarus was at the table with Jesus… in what condition… we cannot know. The soon-to-be betrayer, Judas Iscariot… who is named in the passage…, was probably joined by some of Jesus’ other unnamed disciples. Martha, the sister of Lazarus and Mary, is serving her guests as she did on another occasion when Jesus had visited… the time when Mary sat at Jesus’ feet while Martha slaved away in the kitchen… the time when Jesus seemed to side with Mary. On this evening… the scene is similar to Jesus’ earlier visit. Martha is busy serving her guests… while her sister… and an expensive jar of perfume… seem to steal the show.
It must have been quite a sight to see Mary bring a pound jar of spikenard into the room and place it at Jesus’ feet. The costly perfume would have travelled all the way from the Himalayas where the amber-colored oil had been extracted from the roots of valerian plants that grew high up in the mountains. The sweet and spicy fragrance would have fallen somewhere between the scent of mint and ginseng… with notes of bergamot, cardamom, rose, and jasmine. This extravagance was worth an equivalent a full year’s wage for the common laborer. The perfume that Mary brought to the dinner was more than precious. As the scene unfolds, the gift becomes even more reckless and extravagant as Mary positions herself at Jesus’ feet… lets down her hair… and proceeds to massage Jesus’ feet with the perfume… creating an indelible and fragrant memory for all time. The scene was notable… not merely for the display of intimacy… but simply because a woman was doing the anointing. Men were the ones to anoint men. Samuel anointed Saul on the forehead, making Saul the first king of Israel. Popes made emperors through the act of anointing. But here, a woman not only anoints a man she clearly cares deeply for, she does so with extravagant tenderness, vulnerability, and sensuality. Mary’s gesture is a sermon without words, a witness of devotion… that offers a lingering fragrance of love.
Mary was showing her love in an act of extravagance… in a love language of physical touch. You may have heard of the Five Languages of Love put forth by the marriage counselor Gary Chapman. Some people recognize, receive, and express love through words of affirmation. Their hearts respond when they hear the words “I love you”… or “I adore you”… or “you mean the world to me.” Others feel love and express love through a physical gift… something special picked just for them… a symbol of affection that can be seen and touched and maybe kept as an ongoing reminder that they have been given a gift of love. For others, quality time or physical touch are the most meaningful expressions of love. I think that my dominant love language is “acts of service” because I swoon when I hear the words, “I’ll take care of it, honey.”
I would argue that Martha’s primary love language is serving. Martha showed her affection by working in the background to feed and tend to family and guests. We know from Jesus’ first visit that Martha, the caregiving worker… had problems with Mary’s love languages which are gifts of presence and of quality time. Mary sat with and listened to Jesus, while Martha carried on by doing and serving. On this night, Mary shows her love in four of the five love languages… through an act of service, through touch, by offering her presence in quality time, and with an outrageously expensive give of perfume. Mary’s gifts were offered in silence. Her expression of love required no words.
And what about Judas Iscariot’s part in this story? The gospel writer gives us a lovely aside when he names Judas as, you know, “the one who will betray Jesus.” Judas asks a question as he attempts to distract from Mary’s generous gift: “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?”… after which we get another aside, “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.” Judas was not only a thief, but a hypocrite. One commentator offers a blunt response to an often-referenced response to Judas’ intrusion. It is a question we may ask ourselves: Isn’t this story telling us that feeding the hungry is not a priority? One commentator offers this blunt opinion saying, “Anyone who quotes this verse to dissuade giving to the poor should be slapped. There, I said it.” Blunt indeed. Judas’ words might certainly evoke feelings of guilt to we who are well fed and comfortable. Judas’ words might also challenge the way we choose to spend our money… which is not a bad thing, for we should be ever mindful of how we choose to share our wealth and serve the poor. But this larger story of Mary’s act of love brings the focus back to Jesus … who is the one IN WHOM.. IN WHOSE LOVE… we serve others… especially the poorest of the poor. Our relationship with Christ is the heart and the source of our discipleship. In Jesus… we serve and live out our faith in the world. Our language of love, as Christians, is infused with the love of God known in Christ Jesus… a love that informs our choices, our call to service and our way of life. Our faithfulness is known right here, right now, as our worship and our prayers rise up like fragrant incense that delights the heart of God… nourishing us, inspiring us, and grounding us for our work in the world.
At the end of the story, Jesus chastises Judas… telling him to leave Mary alone. After all, Judas did intrude on Mary’s magnanimous demonstration of love and devotion. At the very end of the story, the cross rises up in the distance once again… as Jesus points to the great probably that the spikenard had originally been purchased for his burial. Jesus is going to die. Mary, however, could not wait until after Jesus’ death to offer her gift. She was compelled to show her love right then, right there. Jesus said, “You will always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” There will always be poverty, hunger, and need… and we are obligated… through the power of love… to serve Christ in the poor. But right now, Jesus is here. Today… right here, right now, in this place.. we are gathered to offer the whole of ourselves in love… to the one who freely gives his lavish, living presence in a feast of bread and wine and in this loving community. God’s love languages cannot be contained within any one list or category.
Today’s story began with the stench of death and ends with a vision of Good Friday in the distance. There is much more of the sacred story to unfold before that sad Friday. The evidence of extravagant love, the scent of this precious evening, would linger on Mary’s hands, in her hair… and in vivid memory… even as her beloved Jesus hangs dying on a cross. Perhaps… the sweet fragrance, if only in memory, would accompany Jesus in his last days and remain with him through his time of suffering… the bouquet of free-flowing love with him until his last breath. Vladimir Nabokov wrote, “Smells are surer than sights or sounds to make your heartstrings crack.” Heartstrings will crack… the curtain will be torn apart… and our stinging tears and sorrow will then blend with the lingering fragrance of divine love.
For now…
We offer our gifts of love by being here together,
By offering our gifts of presence to God and to one another,
By offering our hearts
And focusing our attention
On the extravagant gift of love
That is with us…
Right here…
Right now…
In Christ Jesus…
Amen…