"Devotion or Expediency?"  2010

John 11:45-53 John 12:1-11

 

(John 11:45-53 NRSV)

45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what he had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, "What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place  and our nation." 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all! 50 You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed." 51 He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the dispersed children of God. 53 So from that day on they planned to put him to death.

 

(John 12:1-11 NRSV)

            1 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.

 

When I worked at the Smithsonian Institution,

            there was a story about an ecology researcher banned for life.

 

It seems that specimens were disappearing from the collection

            whenever he was around doing his research …

                        … and then one of the suspicious curators was watching him,

                                    when he dropped a little skull onto the floor,

                                                and stomped on it, destroying it ---   and then,

 - they found tags from several other missing skulls in his briefcase.

 

            As it turned out, the missing skulls and bones

                        were one's that went against a theory he espoused à

                                    and the hypothesis that he was trying to prove…

 … so he was just adjusting the data  to match with his preconceptions.

 

                            I guess it makes sense,   if the evidence

                                    goes against what you've already decided to be true.

 

If you think about it, the evidence of

            Jesus raising Lazarus to life after four days dead in the tomb,

                                    that would seem to cut against the claims made by

                                                the religious leaders that Jesus was a fraud.

 

I think that would be sufficiently credible and convincing evidence

            that  Jesus probably had something special going on with God …

                                    … if he really could raise a dead man back to life.

 

But no, that did nothing to dissuade their opposition to Jesus;

            and in fact, it made them all the more determined   against him.

           

                        Better to change or adjust your research data –

                                                            better to destroy or dismiss the evidence

                                                               then to rethink your position or hypothesis;

 

      àbetter to kill Jesus and Lazarus

                  then to grapple with the possibility that you might be wrong,

                            or that Jesus might be as he claimed, the Son of God.

 

I think it's important for us to understand that  as their mindset.

            The religious leaders didn't oppose Jesus for lack of evidence,

                  and a little more convincing wouldn't have changed anything.

 

vs. 47-48, 53

            So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, ‘What are we to do?  This man is performing many signs.  If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, … So from that day on they planned to put him to death.  

 

They recognized that Jesus had power to do miraculous things,

                        but they only saw that

                                    as a threat to their power and authority to rule.

            Regardless of any evidence or miraculous signs that Jesus did,

                        they were not going to accept or let things change,

                                    even if it meant   opposing the will and purpose of God.

     The religious leaders were adamant about maintaining their grip.

 

I have to put Judas in that same category and mindset as well,

            for he had seen Jesus do amazing things and signs of wonder;

                        sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, the lame leaping,

                                    the storm at sea calmed , lepers cured of their disease,

                                                and now even a dead man brought back to life.

 

            For three years Judas has traveled with Jesus,

                        he had heard him teach and preach, feed a crowd of 5000.

It certainly wasn't for lack of evidence

            that Judas turned on Jesus, apparently impervious to grace.

 

John makes it clear, Judas opposes Jesus, because Judas is a thief.

            vs. 4-6             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?’

                        (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.)               

 

 

I have been dodging   having to preach a sermon on this passage  

            for as long as I have been a pastor.

                        I had trouble with preaching a message on this text,

                                    because other than being a thief…

                        … I'd find myself coming down on the same side with Judas.

 

Honestly, pouring such an expensive perfume

            that costs over a whole year's wages to pour over someone's feet…

                                … strikes me as a bit extravagant and maybe over the top.

 

            You could feed a lot of hungry folks with that;

                        and it seems to me   to be a simple matter of principle. à

 

à Something like  grandma living on dog food

            so she can send her social security check to Jim and Tammy Baker,

                        who then used her contribution to PTL ministries,

                                    for air conditioning their Pomeranians' doghouse.

 

I had never been able to make sense of this passage,          or what Mary did,       

      for it always struck me as overly sentimental, wacky and wasteful.

 

Though I am can say that finally,   today, I read it a bit differently.

                        Perhaps its having lost my parents,

                               that, what Mary did makes perfect sense to me these days.

 

You see,   what I wouldn't give for a little more time with them,

            and how incredibly grateful I would be

                        for even just one more hug,  or a conversation with them.

 Maybe you have to have lost a dear loved one, to understand this story.

 

It is clear that the death of Lazarus

            left Martha and Mary devastated, crushed and heartbroken.

Also in that time and culture, without another male family member

            the sisters might have been left destitute without Lazarus,

                        and their very survival might   well have been in jeopardy.

 

We can well imagine their extreme gratitude,

            their unrestrained joy when Jesus raised Lazarus from death,

                        and that they held a festive dinner party to celebrate…

 

            … and even Mary's response     of uninhibited exuberance,

                        and maybe  no extravagance is too much or over the top,

                                    for Mary, it’s a meaningful gesture of gratitude

                                                for bringing her brother back alive,

                                                            and an expression of her deep love for Jesus.

 

There is a sharp contrast being made between Judas and Mary.

            Judas knew well the exact price, the cost – 300 denarii;

                        but Mary knew the value, she knew what it was worth,

                            a mere trifle compared to God's love and sacrifice for us.

 

Ironically, she by anointing him, and Judas by betraying him;

                                     they are both preparing Jesus for burial.

 

In his hypocrisy, Judas claims that it’s a matter of principle,

            that the perfume should be sold and the money to feed the poor.

But for Mary it wasn't about principle, it was all about passion;

            it was entirely driven by her love for this person, Jesus…

                                                … and that I believe is the point of this passage.

 

By and large, we tend to operate and be guided by principle.

            We do the right thing,   well, because it is right.

                        We are faithful and religious, because we should be.

            We obey the rules and commandments, because the Bible says so.

But  we mustn't let our sense of what's proper and fitting,

              keep us from doing that which is   more generous and loving.

 

It's not that there is anything wrong with following principle,

            it's just that there's so much more and deeper than that.

Mary takes it to that deeper level.

            She isn't committed and devoted to just the principle,

                 she is committed and devoted to the person, her Lord Jesus Christ.

           

Mary is motivated by her all encompassing love for her Lord…

            … and so she is free to feel   and to waste the costly perfume,

                            and she fills the whole house with is aromatic fragrance.

 

The writer of John is painting an important picture for us,

            of true worship and passionately faithful discipleship.

                                    Writing many, many years after that dinner together,

                                                a very old disciple named John remembers it,

                                                            and perhaps the scent still fills his senses.

 

            And as he travels back in his mind, reflecting on that event,

                        he recalls that moment

                                    of Mary's unrestrained extravagance and total joy;

                        a prophetic act of love before the coming horror, vs. 7-8

   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.’

                       

There will always be poor needing your help, and you should;

     but this is a onetime special moment, try and grasp what it means.

 

            Mary symbolizes heartfelt devotion to Jesus. 

                                    A devotion that breaks open what is most precious

                                                and pours it out at the feet of the Savior. 

 

The task and the gift of this season of Lent

            is for us to refresh and renew the passion of our walk with God.

                        It's a time to rekindle our passion, our hunger for the Lord,

                                    that we might know Jesus, and not just the rules…

              … deepen our love for Jesus,   and not just learn more theology.

 

The funny thing about this story,

            is that Jesus had already explained what it meant,

 

                        when he told a couple of parables,

                                    that we can read in Matthew, 13:44-46

 

            ‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

 

            ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.     

                                               

 

There is so much more

            to the Christian life than just trying to behave and live right.

 

            God loves us, and want us to know him,

                        for then we can truly love the Lord with all our heart.

 

This day,   may we learn from Mary's devotion to Jesus,

            and learn to fill our world   with the costly aroma of love.