Anointed for Burial -- Lectionary Reflection for Lent 5C
John 12:1-11 New
Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
12 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3 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. 4 But 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.) 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
9 When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.
*************
Jesus
restored Lazarus, his friend, to life. That brought Jesus much notoriety (in
the Gospel of John). Now that Lazarus was once again alive Jesus sat down for a
meal with him. Of course, Martha served. I should note that Martha appears in
the Gospel of Luke, along with her sister Mary, with much the same
configuration of relationships (Luke 10:38-42). Although in Luke there isn’t a
Lazarus to raise from the dead. In Luke, it is Martha who complains about Mary’s
decision to hang out with Jesus instead of helping with the meal. In this case, Martha simply serves, and it is Judas who complains about Mary’s actions. It
would seem then that while the details differ, there is a connection between
these two stories.
There
are a number of Mary’s in the gospels, and so it’s easy to conflate them. But
there is only one Martha. She seems to be the model of one who serves, though
in John’s version she doesn’t complain about her role. This Mary on the other
hand is an interesting character. In Luke, she is the one who sits at the feet
of Jesus and listens to his message. In other words, she takes up the role of
the disciple, the learner, and Jesus refuses to take that away from her. In
John’s gospel, she fills a similar role, though her actions are different. In
Luke, she sits and listens. Here she engages in an act of devotion. She anoints
Jesus for burial. In both cases, Jesus commends her for recognizing an
appropriate role of discipleship.
For the
preacher, it might be wise to connect the two accounts, just so we don’t
conflate the two without some thoughtful conversation. In other words, I think
there’s a connection between the two stories, but we need to be careful with
them. There is, of course, another story
about a woman anointing Jesus, but she’s unnamed. That story seems connected.
Turning
to our text itself, Jesus’ journey is nearing its end. He has drawn near to
Jerusalem. He has made quite a statement by raising Lazarus from the dead. The
crowds are gathering around him, so much so that the religious leadership is
getting worried. According to John, they’re plotting to get rid of Lazarus along with Jesus.
In any
case, it’s six days before Passover. Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem is
just around the corner. Thus, this is a fitting text for the Sunday prior to
Palm Sunday. It prepares us for the complicated nature of Holy Week. There is
both joy and pathos in the days to come. The way in which this is told reminds
us that Palm Sunday is really a blip on the screen. Don’t be taken in by it. It’s
a false positive because it suggests an alternative path that Jesus isn’t
willing to take.
But,
back to the story at hand. Jesus sits down for dinner with Lazarus. Martha
serves the meal. Then Mary appears with a bottle of perfume made of pure nard,
an ointment that apparently was rather expensive. She pours out the perfume on Jesus’ feet and
then wipes his feet with her hair. This act of anointing Jesus’ feet fills the
house with the smell of the perfume. This fragrance stands in stark contrast to
the smell of death, which had been the topic of conversation in the previous
chapter when Jesus asked that the stone covering Lazarus’ tomb be rolled away
(John 11:38-44). Mary’s act is one of devotion and even discipleship. It might
also be an act of gratitude in response to the raising of her brother. Whatever
her reasons, hers was an act of devotion and the perfume was hers to use as she
pleased. Yes, it could be sold and used in another way, but this was Mary’s
gift to Jesus.
We should
note that Mark and Matthew have a similar story. In their version of the story, an unnamed woman appears at the home of Simon the Leper, who is also from
Bethany, and at whose home Jesus is dining. Instead of anointing his feet as in
John, this woman anoints Jesus’ head (Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9). The
actions are different and yet the same. In both stories, the woman’s actions
elicit an angry response. The difference is that in John the protester is one
person—Judas—while in Mark and Matthew it is the disciples as a whole who
protest. This overlap suggests a common origin to the stories, even if they
have been restructured by the Gospel writers.
Judas
Iscariot stands in contrast to Mary. She offers us a vision of discipleship.
She seems to understand where Jesus’ path is heading. Judas, on the other hand,
offers a different picture. He seems to not understand Jesus’ mission. John
calls him a thief, but perhaps that’s too harsh. Perhaps John is seeking to
scapegoat Judas. But it’s clear that Mary knows something Judas does not. One of
the twelve, Judas gets upset when Mary wastes such a valuable commodity on
Jesus’ feet, and in doing so seems to deny the value of Jesus’ own life.
According
to John, the perfume could be sold for a great sum and used to care for the
needs of the poor. Those of us who value social justice ministry wouldn’t want
to argue with Judas’ logic. After all, wasn’t Jesus a prophet to the poor? Of course, John suggests that Judas has
ulterior motives. He’s not really interested in helping the poor. He’s a thief
intent on lining his own pockets. But even if his motives are less than pure,
does he not have a point? How might we respond to such an act? Would we protest
as well?
Instead of reprimanding Mary for the waste,
Jesus commends her. Jesus tells the disciples that while the poor will always
be with them, his time with them is growing short. So, it’s appropriate for
this bit of perfume to be “wasted” on him. The journey forward will be
difficult. He needs to prepare, and Mary has done her part. But, that doesn’t
relieve the disciples of their responsibility to care for the poor and the
marginalized. Honoring Jesus and caring for the poor are not mutually exclusive
acts.
What I
hear in this passage is a call for a more complex reading of the Jesus story.
It invites us to engage in a more nuanced conversation about our own identity
as part of the Christian faith. I often
hear the complaint that churches spend too much money on buildings and their
accouterments when that money could be better spent on caring for the poor. The
critique may have validity, especially if a congregation only cares about
itself and closes itself off from the world, but does life have to be so
binary? Is there no place for reverence, beauty, and creativity? Must
everything be task-oriented?
Gathering
for worship, for instance, is an act of communion with God. This act of
devotion, which might include such things as vestments, art, musical
instruments, could be costly. If you’ve been in a magnificent cathedral you
might be overwhelmed by its beauty, and that grandeur draws you into the
presence of God. But, that doesn’t mean we’re off the hook when it comes to the
poor, who are always present in our midst. Their voices need to be heard. We
need to attend to their concerns, for God hears their voices, even as God heard
the cries of those caught in slavery in Egypt.
Rather
than an either/or vision, might we instead embrace a both/and response to
Jesus? We can show our devotion to God through caring for the poor and the
marginalized, but we can also show our devotion through seemingly wasted
moments like anointing Jesus’ feet with priceless perfume. As Stephen Shoemaker puts it:
******We live our lives in the shadow of the cross, but we also live in the presence of the risen Christ. So here is an invitation to daily companionship with Jesus, at the Table, in extravagant acts of compassion and generosity, in moments of worship. All this in a world which lives by a mind-set of scarcity, rather than a mind-set of abundance, and so tempts us to close in and give little. All this in a world whose violence and cruelty crucify people every day. [Feasting on the Word, Year C, vol. 2, p. 145]
Picture attribution: Bassano, Jacopo, approximately 1518-1592. Christ in the House of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56138 [retrieved March 8, 2016]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jacopo_Bassano_-_Christ_in_the_House_of_Mary,_Martha,_and_Lazarus_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg.
Comments