Uncomfortable

This is my sermon text for Sunday, March 17, based on the John 12:1-8, the story of Mary (sister of Lazarus) anointing Jesus.

Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.  There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 

Please be seated.

I’m stopping reading the Gospel lesson here, because there are things you should know before you hear the rest.

First, the story you are about to hear occurs, in some version or another, in each of the other 3 Gospels, but with some different details. If you are aware of those other stories, please try to ignore them, and listen to the story I am going to tell.

Second, this is from John’s Gospel. John’s Gospel was the last of the four gospels to be written, and was written to present a different perspective on the life of Jesus Christ. John writes assuming you know the story, he’s just bringing ideas and details to the forefront.

Third, you really should know what happened just before this. There is a very good reason why there is a dinner for Jesus, hosted by Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary.

 Lazarus of Bethany was ill. His sisters, Martha and Mary, sent a message to Jesus. When Jesus arrived, he found Lazarus had been in the tomb four days. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” She called her sister Mary, and told her, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” When Jesus saw her weeping, Jesus began to weep. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth.

You may be familiar with the story I just summarized. They are having a dinner for Jesus because he raised Lazarus from the dead. I believe that merits a home cooked meal. But other events transpired between that moment, and this.

Many Judeans saw what Jesus did, and believed. But some went to the Pharisees and told them what he had done.  So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, “What are we to do? 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.”

Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said, “It is better to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.” So from that day on they planned to put him to death.

Jesus withdrew to the wilderness; and he remained there with the disciples. Now as Passover near, and the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where Jesus was should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

John’s gospel tells us that the chief priest and Pharisees had already decided Jesus must die before he even arrived in Jerusalem. They had people looking for him. Jesus knew it. His disciples knew it as well. Lazarus, Martha and Mary also knew. Bethany is only two miles east of Jerusalem. It is on the Mount of Olives. Jesus has been invited to dinner in hostile territory.

While Martha serves the meal, her sister Mary, the one who Jesus asked about, the one who moved Jesus to tears, comes out as well. She has a container that contains one pound of pure nard. Nard was an ointment, made from a plant that grew only in the high altitudes of the Himalayan mountains. It has a pungent, spicy musk like smell. Because it was so hard to get, and came from so far away, it was expensive. Judas Iscariot said the pound could be sold for 300 denarii, or what an average worker would earn in a year.

Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, and began to use the nard to anoint his feet, and she wiped them with her hair. There were only two reasons and two times when someone would be anointed. The first is when you were chosen by God for a special responsibility; traditionally, this would be when someone was declared to be a king. The second is when you are dead.

Mary continues to anoint Jesus’ feet, wiping the pungent nard onto his feet, then wiping it with her hair. The smell of the nard fills the room where they were eating, and then goes onto fill the entire house.

Think about that. Most of our fragrances, the perfumes and colognes we wear, the lotions and after shaves, are in bottles of just a few ounces. We only use a couple of dabs, a spray or two, maybe three. But Mary is using a pound of pungent nard. The odor just builds and builds, becoming uncomfortable for those around the table. You know the smell when someone puts on too much perfume or cologne? Imagine watching someone continue to put on more and more.

But this grows more uncomfortable. Because Mary continues to put on the nard, and to wipe it with her hair. This simple act is just too intimate, it is too much contact between a man and a woman. It must be excruciating to watch. She continues to put on more and more lotion.

If you can imagine how the smell builds and builds as Mary puts on more and more, think of how long it must be taking. In the driest of homes, you are not going to put on more than a handful or two of lotion at one time. When you do, you take your time to work it into the skin. But Mary continues to put more and more nard onto Jesus’ feet, working it in with her hands, wiping them with her hair.

Watching her do this, time after time, as she pushes at the boundaries of social conduct must be troubling. Watching her do this, time after time, as you become overwhelmed by the musky odor of the nard must be testing your tolerances. Watching her do this, time after time, as she works her way through this pound of precious nard must be punishing your patience.

This scene, of Mary sitting at Christ’s feet, massaging in the nard, wiping them with her hair, has to be so uncomfortable to watch, to smell, to experience. You want to leave, but you dare not. You want her to stop, but you cannot say a word. As much as you want to, you can’t stop watching.

You are transfixed, almost hypnotized as she continues to add more and more nard to his feet.

Finally, Judas Iscariot speaks up. He asks why this couldn’t have been sold, and the money used for the poor. John reminds us that Judas is going to betray Jesus. He also says that Judas didn’t care about the poor, and that Judas was the treasurer of the group, and he used to steal from it.

But Judas does make a valid point. This nard, which Mary is still applying to Jesus feet, which still is stinging your nose, could have been sold for what would be the equal of one year’s wages. It could have done great things for the least, the last, those who are lost and the little ones.

Jesus tells him to leave her alone. He says release her, as one would release, or forgive, someone of a transgression or sin. Jesus said that Mary had kept the nard, which she still is putting on his feet, for when he would be buried.

Jesus told Judas, You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.

We find that statement to be uncomfortable. Does Jesus mean you can’t solve poverty, so don’t bother trying? No.

There will always be those who don’t have as much as others. There will always be people who are struggling. We are called to always be caring and helping them.

But for the disciples and for those who love Jesus, his time with them is coming to an end. The chief priest, the Pharisees and the council has decided it is better for Jesus to die than for the nation to be destroyed.

And it is six days before the Passover. That means it is Saturday; and tomorrow Jesus will enter Jerusalem, with the people waving palm branches and shouting “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

It is six days before Jesus will be killed. And Mary is anointing him with nard, preparing him for his death and burial.

This story should make you uncomfortable.

Mary’s actions broke all kinds of rules and norms. It must have been so uncomfortable to sit there and experience.

But how would you act, what would you do, how much would you spend if you knew you were spending the your last hours with someone you love? If you knew one of your loved ones was going to die, how would you express your love? Would you care what anyone else thought?

Mary didn’t care. Yes, the nard could have been sold and the proceeds given to the poor. But she wanted to show how much she loved Jesus. She wanted to be with him, and didn’t care what anyone else thought.

Jesus did that as well. He wanted to show all of us how much he loves us. So he allowed others to conspire against him. He allowed himself to be arrested. He allowed himself to be condemned. He allowed himself to be crucified. He wanted to get our attention, to show us the depths that God will go to in order to show us how much we are loved.

In the middle of our stinky, smelly world, with all kinds of actions that are uncomfortable for us to watch, but from which we cannot stop watching, Christ comes to us, spending the last of OUR time on earth, showing us that we are treasured and loved by God.

That is the Gospel of Our Lord. Thanks be to God!