What Wondrous Love Is This: Preparation

Isaiah 43:16-21; John 12:1-8

            When I served a church in the District of Columbia Baptist Convention, my neighbor directly behind me was a Lutheran pastor, Steve Kummerness.  We became good friends.  When we were free on Sundays, he would visit my church, and I would visit his.  Two things struck me as significant when I visited his Lutheran church.  The first occurred immediately after the service. I walked back to Steve’s office to say hello just as he turned up the chalice of leftover Communion wine.  And it wasn’t Welches.  With a sparkle in his eye, he said, “Well, somebody’s got to do it!”

            The other significant thing was at the beginning of the service. At the very beginning, he processed down the center isle swinging an incense carrier, which is called a censer and boat.  The aroma of the incense quickly filled the sanctuary. Later I asked him why they used incense.  It certainly wasn’t a part of my Baptist tradition.  His response: “Unlike you Baptists, we worship God with all our senses.”

            Okay, sorry I asked!

            Today is one day of the year that I, a dyed in the wool “historic” Baptist, would favor using incense. The aroma would fill this sanctuary helping us connect with Mary the day she anointed Jesus’ feet with a costly perfume.

I’ve mentioned to you before that scholars have long noted that the Gospel of John is different from the other three gospels.  While Matthew, Mark, and Luke were content to simply tell the story of Jesus, John not only tells the story; he also gives subtle theological lessons.  John has been called “double plotted,” meaning his writing style often provides two messages, the literal message and then a theological message (Thomas Long, Christian Century, March 14, 2001, p. 11). Ordinary events and mundane things often have a deeper, spiritual meaning in John.  The wine is in the water, the light is in the darkness, and the Word is in the flesh. 

Today’s text is no exception, so we need to look for the two stories in this text: the literal story about five people at a dinner party and then the deeper, spiritual story.  It’s the second story, I believe, that takes us to the heart of John’s message.  It is about preparation.  In a very tender, very loving act, Mary was preparing Jesus for his burial.

In this theologically rich dinner story, Mary is the main character.  Even though Jesus is present, her actions drive the story.  John tells us that Jesus came to the house of Lazarus in the village of Bethany, about a mile and a half east of Jerusalem.  Today Bethany is located in the controversial West Bank.  When I visited Israel years ago, we were advised not to enter that area, so we did not.  Maybe when we go next year, we will be able to visit.  According to John, Jesus and his friends gathered at the home of Lazarus for a dinner party.  Here is an example of the double meaning in this story.  John says that it was six days before Passover. Why did he include that detail?  Was it an insignificant fact, or does it have deeper meaning?  Passover, we know, was on Friday.  Count back six days from Friday.  What day of the week then was the dinner in Bethany?  It was Saturday.  What is significant about Saturday in the Jewish tradition?  It’s the Sabbath.  Sabbath is from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday.  Without us even realizing it, John has just told us that this dinner party was on the Jewish day of worship.

Look at what Mary did.  She carried out the ultimate act of worship.  She took a pound of costly incense “made from pure nard,” the text says, and anointed Jesus’ feet.  Then she wiped his feet with her hair.  Mark says that she anointed his head, but John says she anointed his feet.  Why the change?  The anointing with pure nard would normally have been done at one’s burial.  This act of worship, then, anticipated what was coming for Jesus. And the wiping of his feet anticipated what Jesus would soon do for his disciples.  In a few days, he would take a basin of water, wash their feet and then wipe them dry.  So this action by Mary was an act of Sabbath worship, and it anticipated what was coming. 

There are some other things in this story that we must not miss.  John notes that the fragrance of the nard filled the whole house. Its purpose was to cover the odor of decomposition, so you can imagine how strong it must have been. A pound of pure nard would have more than filled the typical house.  So on one level it points to the extravagance of Mary’s act of worship.  But remember this. Lazarus had just been raised from the dead.  You may remember that Mary cautioned Jesus about opening the tomb of Lazarus. He had been dead for four days, and she feared that the odor of decomposition would be overwhelming. The stench of death that once enveloped Lazarus in a tomb was replaced by the fragrance of love and devotion in his home in Bethany.

Now enter Judas Iscariot.  If Mary was the model of faithful, loving discipleship, Judas was just the opposite.  John is careful to note, as if he needed to, that Judas was the one who betrayed Jesus.  After Mary anointed Jesus’ feet, Judas stepped forward to complain about Mary’s extravagant action.  Guys do that sometimes.  It was a waste, he complained.  Why, that perfume was worth nearly a year’s salary for a laborer.  Judas argued that it could have been sold and the proceeds used to aid the poor.  That’s a pretty noble and convincing argument, isn’t it?  But then John writes this in parentheses:

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.

            Despicable.  This story ends with Jesus coming to Mary’s defense: 

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.

            With those words of Jesus, this story ends.  The next thing we read in John is about a plot to kill Lazarus and then Jesus’ final entry into the city of Jerusalem.

            Let me say a word to our girls and the women who are present.  I want you to please take notice of Mary.  Girls and women, please notice that this story focuses the spotlight on a woman disciple of Jesus.  Most of the time we talk about male disciples.  Don’t miss your sister, Mary, and her extravagant act of worship and her faithful love of her Lord.  Her bold act of worship models for all of us what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.  She makes a costly gesture of love.  She knew what to do even before Jesus told her.  She fulfilled his love commandment before he even taught it.  And she did all this against the opposition of a male disciple. So don’t miss this strong heroine of our faith. Mary’s actions anticipate what is on the near horizon for Jesus.  Jesus will soon say farewell to all his disciples, including Mary.  And he will embrace a cross for them and for us.

            But first there must be preparation.  That’s the message of this Sunday of Lent.  Jesus had to be prepared, and we do too.  Like our sister, Mary, we prepare in the worship of our Lord, worship that is extravagant.  We prepare by giving costly gestures of love.  Next Sunday is Palm Sunday.  Our children will process with palm branches.  We will sing hosannah.  Next Sunday marks the beginning of the end.  Today we prepare for that, as we experience the wondrous love of our Lord.

Closing Prayer 

Lord, we smell it coming.  It’s only days away.  Help us to be prepared.  Amen.

Madison is going to help us prepare for coming to the Lord’s Table.