Good morning,
It is officially Spring. The hundreds of crocuses in front of the parsonage say AMEN to that! We walked three miles yesterday, soaking in some Springtime sweetness and warmth before the Spring rains begin today. The Lord blessed us with a bountiful weekend. Our monthly gathering at the Grace Cafe at the Wesley UMC last Saturday was great blessing. The food was sumptuous. The fellowship was sweet. Eunice gave her testimony; it was beautiful and touching. Jeff spoke on Christians dealing with depression and overcoming in and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Yesterday our youth served their Spring Chicken barbeque, which was a huge success a (and a lot of fun).
Praise the Lord for His awesome power. He reigns and He rules. He is upon the throne. In the midst of the politically economically topsy-turvy world we rise up to worship the Living Lord.
The Gospel Reading for yesterday was taken from John 12:1-11. This account is sandwiched in between some (not all) of the religious leaders planning to arrest Jesus and put him and Lazarus to death and Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem by the welcoming crowds with palm branches and shouting “Hosanna!” You may also recall that, in chapter eleven, Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. Now, in chapter twelve, Lazarus, Martha, and Mary threw a party for Jesus and his disciples—probably out of their deep appreciation for the raising of Lazarus back to life.
The story of this meal is most unusual — in fact it is radical because Mary, in a surprising way, took center stage. In those days, it was unheard of for a woman to act as Mary did on this occasion. Women were not to be on center stage, especially in the presence of men! Not only did Mary crash this dinner party by taking center stage, but she did a most radical thing. She opened the seal of a pint-sized jar containing very expensive perfume and proceeded to pour it all over Jesus’ feet. As if that was not enough, she went on to wipe his feet with her long locks of hair.
Mary’s action of anointing and wiping Jesus’ feet in public was an act of loving extravagance, and spontaneous generosity. Webster’s dictionary defines extravagance as, “Spending more money than one can afford, or spending foolishly, carelessly or wastefully; using too much of anything involving expense; going beyond what is reasonable, justified or normal; exaggerated, overemphatic.” The expression of Mary’s deep love and gratitude for Jesus was carefully planned and calculated. Hers was a love that was full-to-overflowing with spontaneous, unmeasured giving towards Jesus in response to all that he had done for her and her family. Her loving extravagance and spontaneous generosity towards Jesus was an act of sacrificial giving. Mary was not content with convenient “minimal requirements,” or half-hearted gesturing. She went all out. By anointing Jesus with all of the perfume, nearly a whole year’s wages worth, she symbolically was giving herself completely in loving service of Jesus. Her loving, sacrificial example of serving Jesus in this way teaches us that we cannot fix a price on unconditional love. In true love there is no such thing as waste. True love moves us to act with extravagance and generosity as Mary did.
Mary’s extravagance and generosity was a prophetic act of courage and deep understanding. It was an act of courage precisely because it was so radical, so out of the ordinary, going far beyond the acceptable customs of that day. In a man’s world, it required a tremendous amount of courage on Mary’s part to crash that dinner party and anoint Jesus’ feet. Women were supposed to be unseen and unheard; their place was in the kitchen or behind the scenes. Only rarely were they shown in positions or roles of power, influence, and leadership. In her actions, Mary had the courage to express who she really was, and to be her true self as a faithful disciple of Jesus.
Sometimes we also might be inspired by Mary to have the courage to step beyond the confining, and stifling boundaries of the traditional customs of our day in order to express who we really are and to be our true selves in order to be faithful disciples of Jesus. Mary’s extravagant and generous anointing of Jesus’ feet was a prophetic act in which Mary, as Jesus rightly stated, did it to prepare him for his burial, which was just around the corner. Mary was given the insight to see that Jesus’ days on earth were numbered; he would soon face his own death. This was her way of preparing Jesus for that sad event. It was her way of saying good-bye to him. Yet, there may also be another prophetic meaning to Mary’s action. It may well be that Mary, in doing this action, was foreshadowing what Jesus himself would do with his disciples when he washed their feet. Understood in this light, we have here a prophetic act that underscores the truth of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus — namely, to live a life in humble service of others. Jesus, though he was the Messiah and “true God,” revealed that He was not a remote dictator on a throne in some luxurious palace. Rather, He revealed His nature in His humble service of others, such as in simple acts of washing his disciples' feet and leaving this example for every would-be disciple of his to follow. So, Mary foreshadowed a true discipleship of humble service toward others.
John, commenting on Mary’s act, noted its immediate consequence, as “The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” John provided this little detail to point us to a deeper, more symbolic meaning. The perfume’s fragrance filling the house and lingering there for a while may very well be a symbol of the beauty and joy of our loving relationship with Jesus which lingers and fills our lives with fullness and meaning. The pleasant fragrance of that lingering perfume may remind us that our life in Christ is not intended to be stinky, dull or boring. Rather, it is intended to be chock-full of meaning, joy, beauty and adventure.
The lingering fragrance of the perfume may also point us to the sweetness of deeds of loving kindness. We never know how our acts of loving extravagance and spontaneous generosity will influence others. Some would say that such actions linger on long enough to make a big difference. Our acts of loving extravagance and spontaneous generosity may even change the Church and world. You never know… especially when Christ our Saviour is able to work in us, with us, and through us.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA_bo8DSOwg
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