Lent 5 (C) + Love broken open + 4.7.19

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(http://championbuilderscenter.com/
2018/02/02/faith-poured-out/)

M. Campbell-Langdell
All Santos, Oxnard
(Isaiah 43:16–21; Ps. 126; Phil. 3:4b–14; St. John 12:1–8)

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?"
And later…
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."
Did any of you watch the movie “Crazy Rich Asians” last year?[1] I have been reading the books, and I will warn you that they are a bit adult at times but they have been a fascinating education (albeit definitely a send up and a bit hyperbolic) on how the uber-rich of Asia live. In the story, a middle class Asian girl from the US meets and gets together with a man who belongs to one of the elite families of Singapore. And then they have adventures among the well-heeled of Asia. And one of the things that strikes me as true, despite the clear fiction of the writing, is the mind-set of the uber-rich, not just of Asia but in general. Great wealth often coexists with great fear of losing said wealth, and so the rich can actually be afraid to be generous. Sure, they can be lavish at times, but that is usually in order to impress or gain status. Other times they seem ungenerous- i.e. the author, Kevin Kwan’s point that many wealthy people do not tip- because they do not feel they can afford to be generous. On the other hand, the poor person who is not used to abundance will often (although not always) share generously out of the comparatively little that they have because they do not cling to maintaining certain levels of abundance.
This makes me think of Mary. Here her family is hosting Jesus, and yes her brother Lazarus has been returned to life, but by the placement of this story in the gospel of John, right before Jesus will put on the Last Supper and then suffer his passion and death, we know that this very small, intimate moment is also about something so much more.
Mary’s gesture in this scene at first may seem overly excessive- an obscene display of wealth wasted. But unlike multimillion dollar jets that house ancient temple reproductions and handbags that cost more than fancy sports cars, this display is loaded with meaning.
You see, the anointing oil that Mary breaks open is worth over 19000 dollars in today’s money[2], nothing to the rich jet set of our day, but a fortune in the lives of the fairly humble people among whom Jesus served. And it was only used in two events- a coronation or a death.[3] And you kind of get the feeling if the anointing were for a dead body, it would not be so lavish as to use every last drop of the vessel.
“The poor you will always have with you.” Is Jesus being coarse here, and callous? Surely not. One commentator points out that another translation is “keep the poor with you.”[4]
Why? Because Mary is giving like a poor person. She may not be fully poor, after all, her family is lucky enough to have quite a nice jar of anointing oil. She is giving out of the riches she has, without counting on tomorrow. Yes, there may be a more reasonable way to manage her wealth. But today she just wants to give freely. She wants to give because of what Jesus means to her. But she is also moved with emotion. Perhaps she senses how near Jesus’ time was. And so she wants to give him both the coronation and preparation for death that he deserves. The strength to face what will come.
But imagine being in the room. It would have been impossible to miss the strong smell of the precious oil and Mary’s self-abasing love as she literally bowed down to wipe the feet of her Lord, of her brother and friend. Of the one who had shown her forgiveness and resurrection. Of the one who had shown her love in a broken world.
Liturgy uses big gestures and lavish garments to point us to the divine. To point us to what God is doing and what God wishes us to learn. Some might enter our church on a given Sunday who are unfamiliar with our tradition and ask, why does that priest wear such fancy robes? Why do they play that stately organ? Why so fancy? Well, none of this is for me. Sure, it’s fun to play dress up. But we make this ritual to draw closer to God and to God’s saving mysteries in Jesus.
In the same way, Mary’s act of pure devotion here is also liturgy. It is a physical, sacramental reminder of the fact that Jesus and his followers are entering a time of transition. They will be scattered. They who have feasted at the bridegroom’s table will be in mourning and will fear, and then they will be filled with joy. But not before entering the Via Dolorosa. Before passing through the Via Crucis, the Way of the Cross that we have revisited each Sunday of Lent before our Spanish service (check it out at 11 today if you want to). This gesture is a personal one, filled with love. It is an expression of the way that the poor give- freely, without fear of loss. And it is a ritual, in which Mary reminds us all of what is going to happen, and helps Jesus prepare too, by once more feeling the deep love of his disciples, embodied in her tender touch.
We stand at the gateway to the Way of the Cross this week. Next week we will wave palms and read the Passion gospel from Luke. Palm and Passion Sunday prepares us for the touching moments of our own foot-washing and bread-breaking on Maundy Thursday, the stark moment of Jesus’ death on the Cross on Good Friday, and of our Easter joy in the Easter Vigil and on Easter morning. But how are we preparing internally for the resurrection to come in our hearts? What will Easter look like for each of us this year?
For those of us who are rejoicing in new beginnings, Easter looks one way. And for those of us who are mourning, we weep with Christ’s passion and death in a new and deeper way. How can we give generously, not counting the cost this week? And how can we prepare our hearts for what God has in store? Be careful, it may break your heart for a moment, but it will deepen your life and love forever.

[1] Based on the book by Kevin Kwan (Doubleday, 2014).
[2] Rolf Jacobson, Karoline Lewis, and Matt Skinner, “Sermon Brainwave #656 – Fifth Sunday in Lent,” https://www.workingpreacher.org/brainwave.aspx?podcast_id=1120.
[3] Lindsey Trozzo, “Commentary on John 12:1-8,” https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3993.
[4] Ibid.

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