Sermon Based on : John 12. 1-8; Isaiah 43. 16-21; Philippians 3. 4b- 14
Preached on: – Fifth Sunday of Lent- 07. 04.19
The Gospel passage which has been read to us; where Mary anoints Jesus at Bethany, is told by all the four evangelists. All four Gospels tell this or a similar story. Details vary in the four accounts, Matthew (26:6-13) and Mark (14:3-9) being similar to each other and also to John’s account (the most significant difference being that, in Matthew and Mark, the woman anoints Jesus’ head and in John anoints Jesus’ feet).
Luke’s account (7:36-38) is distinctive, coming earlier in the Gospel, taking place at the home of a Pharisee, and involving a sinful woman who washes Jesus’ feet with her tears, wipes them with her hair, and anoints them with ointment.
Scholars believe that there might be two separate incidents behind these accounts, one as described by Matthew, Mark, and John, and the other as described by Luke.
An Extravagant Giving
Mary had about a pound of spikenard, an enormous amount of perfume. Wealthy Romans would use a little bit of it to anoint their heads. They’d use just a little bit because spikenard was very expensive. It came all the way from the mountains of northern India where the nard plant grows.
The perfume is worth three hundred denarii (v. 5), a year’s wages for a workingman. This does not indicate that Mary is wealthy. This is more likely an extravagant gesture by a woman of ordinary means—a sacrificial offering.
Mary “anointed the feet of Jesus” (v. 3b).As I said earlier, Matthew and Mark have Mary anointing Jesus’ head, a gesture sometimes associated with the anointing of a king. At this dinner men would be reclining at table, so Jesus’s feet would be accessible. Anointing feet is a humble gesture—care of another person’s feet being a task reserved for the lowliest of servants. Mary’s anointing of Jesus’ feet may also look forward to Jesus’ washing of the disciples’ feet in chapter 13. Also, a person preparing a body for burial would start by anointing the feet.
“and wiped his feet with her hair” (v. 3c). This is a shocking gesture in a culture where women do not let their hair down in the presence of any man other than their husband. If a married woman let her hair down in public, her husband could divorce her.
We might reasonably consider Mary’s behaviour as foolish or a bit creepy. I get that Mary was extremely grateful to Jesus. In the chapter just before this scene, Jesus had raised Mary’s brother, Lazarus, from the dead. Possibly Mary would have been destitute without Lazarus.
It
may be that what John has highlighted for us in this scene are two
different ways to be a disciple,
to be a follower of Jesus. There are two
different attitudes about discipleship, and most of us have both of them in us. For
Judas, discipleship was a duty, an obligation or formality.
On
the other hand, for Mary, discipleship was about passion, the thing
that energized her. She is sparkling by generosity, tenderness, and
enthusiasm… so in the moment, so vulnerable, and Judas was getting
on her case about it. Maybe she has something to show us about how
to follow Jesus.
Jesus
wants us to follow him, like Mary did, out of passion,
out of desire – not out of duty or obligation. If we find discipleship a burden, a
yoke, we are missing it; our motivation is confused. Love
motivates true discipleship. That’s what Mary showed us.
God wants passion,
not duty; love,
not obligation; desire,
not burden.
The challenge for every Christian: engage in
ministry and follow Jesus out of passion, out of love, out of
thankfulness.
Motivation matters… a lot. The way of
duty is: I’ll follow and obey God so that he’ll accept me. The
way of passion is: God loves me, accepts me, delights in me, and in
response I follow and obey. The human inclination is the way of
duty. The gospel is the way of passion.
Mary knew, more than any other of the disciples, that Jesus’ death was near. He would soon be arrested, tortured, and crucified. Mary’s anointing seized the moment, one of the few moments left, with Jesus. She knew what was coming, so Mary was lavish in living out the present.
So what is extravagant giving for us? What is a lavish life of service? Well, we know it doesn’t look the same for each of us. At least, not in practice. Some have time to give, others have skills, others give money. Just as we are gifted with different gifts from God, we respond to God’s grace in different ways.
A few chapters later in John’s gospel, Jesus gives his life, his whole life for all of us. Responding to Jesus’ ultimate gift takes our whole self every single day.
It’s like when Paul instructs believers “to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,” (Rom. 12.1). What Paul was getting at in Romans is making one’s whole life a gift, so much so that every act, every breath, is an offering to God.
As most of you know on Tuesdays we have our Bible study on the book of Romans. As I was studying the book of Romans I found that the word slavery is used frequently in the book of Romans and interestingly it is picture of us.. when we get to chapter 6 of Romans Paul says there is no such thing as freedom, you are a slave all your life- you are born into slavery- A slavery to sin and the result is death. And, a Christian is one who changed his/her master, a Christian is one who changed it one slavery to another. Christians are slaves it means- you have no time of your own, no money of your own, no possession of your own—they all belong to your master. It is slavery:-
from sin to slavery of Righteousness
from slavery to the devil to slavery to the Lord
from slavery to the death to slavery to eternal life.
Which slavery do you want? You can only have one or the other.
But Paul had no hesitation he is been bought with a prize- His whole life belong to someone else now. Some people think they have given tithe to the church the rest of the money is their to do what ever they like. Actually the New Covenant in Christ does not teach tithing it teaches hundred percent.
When our whole life is a gift, when every act becomes prayer, then lavish giving comes naturally. There will be times when you feel called to give in a way that the world sees as uncalled for when in your estimation its just living a life of service to God
We
see Mary’s lavish generosity, and we may wonder how we might ever
be like that. We won’t become truly generous by an act of will, or
by a feeling of guilt, or by sense of duty. Rather, the first
step is becoming aware of why wealth is important to us, how we tie
our sense of respect, or value, or security, or importance, or
approval to wealth.
In our epistle, Paul refers to another aspect
of this transformation of values, writing that “whatever
gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ.”
More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing
value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”
Mary
& Paul showed us a discipleship motivated by passion and
gratitude. It’s discipleship as a response to God’s acceptance
and love of us. That’s repentance. That’s a change of heart. Mary
& Paul showed us the disciple’s heart, a heart changed. God
longs for our love, for passion, not duty.
In
the name of God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen