A Sermon from Falmouth Congregational Church…

A Sermon offered by the Rev. Ian F. “Jack” Steeves in the public worship service of the Falmouth Congregational Church United Church of Christ in Falmouth, Maine on the Fifth Sunday in Lent, March 21, 2010. The scripture reading was Luke 12:1-8.

“The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume” (John 12:4)

“An Acceptable Excess”

Have you ever found yourself profoundly aware of your relationships with other persons? It can be because of a new insight, a deepened intimacy, or the awareness of sharing a life crisis. Today’s gospel reading shows some of that intensity in the relationship of Mary and Jesus.

The anointing of Jesus is set at the turning point of John’s Gospel. Jesus’ raising of Lazarus from the dead sets in motion the religious and political machinery that will crucify Jesus. The religious leaders are in a panic. They fear the popularity of Jesus, the possible actions of the Passover crowds and the reaction of the Roman legions. “So,” the text reports, “from that day on they planned to put him to death” (11:53). Four verses later, the authorities declare him an outlaw subject to arrest (11:57).

In the middle of the anxiety, the plotting and the threat, there is a dinner party hosted by Martha, the earnest, hard-working hostess and her brother Lazarus, fresh from his tomb, and her sister Mary, the passionate one (11:32).

Mary has very little inhibition. She simply does things not acceptable in the polite society of her day: she unbinds her hair as women did only before their husbands or when they were in mourning; she pours expensive balm on the feet of Jesus as would a servant or slave; and touches Jesus even though she is a single woman, never appropriate, and then she wipes his perfumed feet with her hair. What in the world is going on here?

Mary of Bethany is extravagantly generous. One reads several conjectures about the dollar-value of her bottled perfume, possibly the equivalent of one year’s wages for a day laborer. Whatever the cost, Jesus is drawn to her, in the moment, by her impulsive act. He values reckless generosity. The bottle’s contents poured on his feet and the wiping of his feet with her hair is a beautifully inexplicable, culturally unacceptable, and spontaneous act of self-giving love. She ministers to Jesus in a way that mirrors the ways he has ministered to her and her family, and anticipates the new thing that Jesus is about to do in his own extravagant self-giving and outpouring (kenosis) death and resurrection.

Mary recognizes, to some extent, who Jesus is. She recognizes who she is as a follower: one who serves, one who anoints, one who gives extravagantly without counting the cost, and one whose response to Jesus is an act of love.

If you ponder Mary’s actions, you find that you have a stewardship message. Too often, like Judas, we think stewardship has to do with conserving and saving and using things very carefully. Taking care of the earth and appreciating our gifts and not wasting them are all part of being a responsible disciples and grateful caretaker of God’s creation. But, extravagant sharing, extravagant giving, extravagant receiving from the heart, is also good stewardship. It is never a waste to give from the heart and not count the cost. It does not matter if it is the last jar of expensive nard in our cupboard, does it? We want to crack it open, break it open, and pour it out. I am a little uncertain about wiping feet with my hair (for obvious reasons). Our hearts are full to the brim and overflowing.

When our hearts are full, when our hearts are breaking, when we are not sure what is going to happen next but it could spell a loss, we do not waste time computing (like Judas did) the cost of our current expenses or of our continued commitment.

“The house,” says the gospel text, “was filled with the fragrance of the perfume” (12:4). The unselfish gift she gave affected all who were there. Often a spontaneous gift of love given in our presence helps us to be in touch with our own walls, hesitations and reservations. Simple gifts of often carry a meaning that goes far beyond the event itself. Mary was capable of giving. Judas was not.

Like Judas, one can live so controlled and so carelessly in the presence of fine things and good deeds that they lose their true significance. He had no real appreciation for Mary’s need to love, and, therefore, had no realization of what she had done.

All Judas saw, was the pouring out of expensive fragrance onto a pair of dusty feet. He saw the process and the results, but not the hand or the will or the need behind it. Judas had lost the capacity to wonder and to marvel, the most precious gift we have. It is a gift, for many of us, that is soon lost after childhood. “Leave her alone,” Jesus said to Judas. “You don’t see the miracle, and perhaps you never will. It means nothing to you. You are only interested in what you can get out of it for yourself.” Ouch!

There is a place for waste or, if you will, prodigality in the divine scheme. God wants us to pour out some of the precious perfume of our lives onto others. There is a time and a place for excess. Mary poured out her life in both perfume and love. Jesus accepted the love of Mary and was soothed by the perfume. Could she ever be too extravagant? Never! Not with him!

I wonder then about our hearts and our giving, our hearts open to one another and to the world God loves. I wonder about our generous spirits that offer forgiveness and healing…that speak words of encouragement and hope… and that give out of the abundance we live in so that others have enough to live.

There are moments in life that call for utter extravagance and acceptable excess, moments when we must lay aside calculation and caution. The intimate moments of our living often defy words. A gesture, an action can convey so much more. Today’s gospel reading should remind us of the actions of love – God’s love for us and ours for God. Experiencing the depth of divine love and God’s longing for our love in return may help us to grow into extravagant gestures of joy and incredible acts of love. Not just at times of Resurrection but when we walk with one another in their Gardens of Gethsemane.

A Prayer…God, our Creator, you have given us life itself, the world in which to live, new life in Christ, and life everlasting. As we look to our life together, we seek direction from your Holy Spirit. Grant us sensitivity to the needs of those around us. May we not look on the world’s pain with dry eyes and wrinkled brows. Grant us the wisdom to choose new ways of faithful service, courage to walk the extra mile in those ways and the constant challenge of your Spirit to reach out to others in loving welcome and acceptance, through Christ our Guide. Amen.