This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on Sunday March 25, 2012, the 5th Sunday in Lent.
Podcast of "Picking Up, Dusting Off, Moving On" (MP3)
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 51:1-12
Hebrews 5:5-10
John 12:20-33
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
Growing up, my mother was raised in the town where I was born, Mexico, Missouri. Mexico was once known as the “saddle horse capital of the world.” Simmons Stables still stands (well, sort of) on West Boulevard between Grove and Webster Streets. She was also raised in the shadow of the Mexico Military Academy, a boy’s military school with an equine program. So horses were always a part of her life. She passed that on to me with the Triple Crown.
When I was ten years old was the perfect time to introduce anyone to the Triple Crown. It was 1973 and the horse was Secretariat, still one of the most regaled horses of all time. He won the Kentucky Derby in a time that is still a race record. His win in the third race in the crown not only established a race record that still stands, but he won by 31 lengths, an absurd distance to win a race. It’s like winning the Daytona 500 by a half a lap going away.
Over the next five years, the Triple Crown would be won in 1977 by Seattle Slew and the next year by Affirmed. Before Secretariat won the crown, no horse had completed the feat since Citation in 1948. No horse has won the crown since Affirmed either. It was a great time to learn about horse racing.
Because of this upbringing, I was unknowingly in a great position to meet Marie. As you know, she is horse crazy. I may like to watch a race, but she can tell you things about the horses and the “Sport of Kings” that I would never guess. Among the things she taught me about was race preparation.
We can begin with pedigree. The sires and dams of great horses can be traced back so many generations that Luke’s genealogy of Jesus almost looks quaint by comparison. Preparing a horse for the Triple Crown begins long before the horse turns three, it takes generations and generations.
Training begins on these horses almost after they take their first steps. There is much for a farm, trainer, and horse to do even before setting foot on a track. Just preparing a horse to run takes work, and instilling and nurturing that love to run takes the right amount of work and play.
On the day of the race there are the stable hands and horsemen that work the horse to prepare for the big day. There is feeding and grooming. There is walking and putting on tack. There is a ton of preparation before the horse goes out before tens of thousands of people, probably the biggest noise they have ever heard. This all before the jockey dresses and weighs in before the race. Then comes the post parade and the wait for the gate. That’s when the hard work begins.
While I was contemplating this scripture, this is the image I could not get out of my head.
Our Gospel reading begins not long after Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the events we will celebrate next weekend on Palm Sunday. Jesus was a threat to the establishment. He was drawing crowds that made the temple leadership uncomfortable. They were uncomfortable because any large crowd around a charismatic Rabbi would make the Roman overlords uncomfortable. Momma Rome wasn’t happy; and when Momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.
So our reading begins with the Greeks looking for Jesus. These Greeks were pagan Greeks; the Book of Acts uses a different word for Greeks who were Jews and believers in Christ. While Rome was the political and economic capital of the Empire, Athens was the cultural center of the Empire. The Greeks were travelers. They brought art and stories and mythology and religion home with them from their journeys. Also to say “the Greeks” wanted to “see Jesus” is to say that they wanted a meeting. They wanted a sit-down.
They wanted to hear his story. They wanted to learn about him and they wanted to take the word of God and Jesus home with them to share with others. These Greeks would be among the first evangelists. I suspect they stayed in town long enough for the crucifixion and resurrection. Scripture doesn’t say whether or not they did. It doesn’t even say whether or not they ever met with Jesus at all.
With the arrival of the Greeks Jesus saw the final domino fall into place. It was at this moment that Jesus knew his message would go beyond the bounds of Palestine. Jesus knew his words and his deeds would be known throughout the world. He knew that what was coming would be told. He knew his hour had come, and after it came word of it would go through the whole wide world.
Jesus and Philip and Andrew; we first heard these names after the baptism of the Lord as Jesus calls his first disciples. In a wonderful way, the news of the Greeks comes in the reverse order of their call to discipleship. What once went from Jesus to Andrew to Philip now goes from Philip to Andrew to Jesus. The Lord saw this circle close. So with this news, with these signs, and with his knowledge; he picks himself up, dusts himself off, and moves on. This as he moves the whole world one step closer to eternity.
This is probably not how it happened, there’s very little chance it did. But I imagine when Jesus gets the news of the Greeks seeking a meeting he literally picks himself up, dusts himself off, and moves on.
As he begins to move on, he begins with a quick agricultural parable. Usually, the agricultural parables were used to describe the Kingdom of God. This is one of the purposes for this parable. He tells his disciples that unless a seed dies, it remains a single seed. But when it dies and takes root it produces many seeds. Jesus tells them that only by the death of a seed will other seeds be produced. This is the Good News of the Kingdom of God, more seeds will be produced, but Jesus shares the price of the bounty. It will cost the life of the first seed to produce all of the rest. The second purpose of this parable is to show that the fully-human fully-divine Jesus must die.
This takes us to something important to remember about Jesus. Our Lord did not have a death wish. Jesus did not approach the hour singing “Get Me to the Cross on Time.” We hear this speech in the Garden of Gethsemane, and we hear it here too.
His heart is troubled. Jesus knows what’s going to happen, and now happen soon. But he’s not in a hurry to meet his fate. I guess he has always known his time with his apostles would be short, but he has just gone from an indefinite “one day” to a very finite “the hour.” He has gone from “some day” to “not long from now.”
What troubles him? Perhaps it is the coming crucifixion. Surely the humiliation, indignity, and pain would be troubling. He knew he would soon be paraded like someone worse than a common criminal. Rome saved crucifixion for special cases. Rome saved crucifixion for people who were to be made examples for all to see. He knew he would be writhing. He knew the pain would be unbearable. He knew the thirst of the day’s sun would scorch his body inside and out. He knew the flogging and mocking would come.
Yet, Jesus knew that it was for this very reason that he came to this hour. In all of the horror, terror, and glory; Jesus both dreaded and embraced the hour and his destiny.
In this knowledge, in this hour Jesus cried out “Father, glorify your name.” And the reply came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” While the crowd didn’t hear the thunder of God at the baptism of the Lord, they heard this. They heard the voice from Heaven in all its glory. Jesus declares this word is not for him. After all, Jesus is confident with his relationship with his Heavenly Father. This voice is for the disciples. This word is for us so that we may be confident. Confident in the Heavenly Father and confident in the one he sent to us, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus the Messiah, the Christ, the Lord Incarnate, Emmanuel—God with us.
Friends, I have never heard this thunder so clearly in all my life. I feel like we, this part of the Body of Christ, is that race horse being led to the gate. We have been made ready to run the race of our lives. Unfortunately, we don’t have the benefit of knowing the track is a dirt oval and the race is going to end after ten furlongs. Horses and NASCAR drivers have the benefit of knowing it’s nothing but left turns for the whole distance. We don’t.
So what do we need to know to run the race? What do we need to know about this hour for this congregation? The first thing we need to remember is that if we try to hold onto our life, surely we will lose it. Jesus warns his disciples and I can’t imagine this warning doesn’t pertain to the Body of Christ as well.
Jesus says the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. This English translation isn’t quite what Jesus means. This is an expression, like “month o’ Sundays” meaning “a long time” and not “thirty weeks.” What Jesus means is that those who love their life more than Him will lose what they hold onto so dearly. It is when we hold the Lord and the love of God above everything else that we will keep our lives for eternal life.
Yes, I say again, eternal life is available to us on this side of the grave. It is not something we wait for while on this earth. It is available to us now when we love God more than anything else. Because of this, because of this gift, because of God’s good grace, we are called to respond faithfully. This is how we live eternal life, not just have it. To live life, we must share. We are called to take what God has given us and share it with the world.
So if we love the building and the programs and the denomination and all other manner of things more than we love the Lord our God we have surely missed the point. If we love our history more than we love the Lord we have missed the point. If we love our polity and Confessions more than we love the Lord we have missed the point.
We are called to love the Lord who loved us first more than everything else. Jesus leads us to places we would have never considered going without him. In its way, this should be troubling to us. It was troubling to Jesus so it would be awfully conceited of us to not be troubled too. But like Jesus we are called to embrace this hour. In Christ, we are called to approach the hour with confidence in our relationship with the Almighty, not in the trappings we put around Him.
We are called to love God and one another, not history, buildings, and paperwork. I found a way to describe a healthy relationship with the church a couple of weeks ago on the wall of a fellowship hall in Dallas—“Cherish our past—Support the present—Embrace our future.” This is a good plan for any congregation.
So, am I about to share my five point plan with you? Am I about to tell you it’s going to be in the newsletter so stay tuned? Oh how I wish it were so. If there is one thing that has been revealed to me recently it’s that thinking has put the church in the place it is now, and it’s not more fancy thinking that’s going to get us out of it.
I’m a smart man, I’m a learned man, I have great knowledge and training, and right now it’s not changing the world. If all it took was good thinking, a smooth voice, and an internet presence; I’d have this thing licked. But that’s not what it takes, not at all.
We have to begin again with the basics. We have to begin with establishing Godly priorities. Our first priority is this, establishing a relationship with the Lord. That’s where it has to begin. It begins with walking the word. It begins with prayer. It begins by keeping company with those who walk in the word and live life bathed in prayer. It begins by realigning our priorities.
We need to hear that voice again, the voice that came from heaven saying “I have glorified my name and I will glorify it again.” Only by listening and responding to the voice and its glory will we ever, ever make it out of the starting gate.
Showing posts with label John 12. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John 12. Show all posts
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Sunday, March 29, 2009
True Stories
This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Sunday March 29, 2009, the 5th Sunday in Lent.
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 51:1-12
Hebrews 5:5-10
John 12:20-33
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
Next week we celebrate Palm Sunday. So this is the time of year when we break out the DVD’s of “The Passion of the Christ,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” and “Godspell.” Marie agrees with this statement so strongly that she is singing “Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord” to herself right now. That’s fine with me; any of you who wish to sing along with her are welcome to go right ahead. Of the three, “Godspell” is my favorite film of the Passion genre. In their own way, each of these movies is a recreation of the final day of life of Jesus on earth. Well, let’s just say it’s the first-last day. We’ll get to that in a couple of weeks.
The scene in our gospel reading comes immediately after the events we will celebrate next week, Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Jesus came to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. This isn’t the first celebration of the Passover in John’s gospel. John 2 contains the earliest account of Jesus at the Passover festival. John 5 has Jesus coming to Jerusalem for a festival, but it could have been First Fruits or Tabernacles or Passover. Jesus made other trips for other festivals during his life too.
The point here is that Jesus knew his way around the temple and since he would teach while he was there, the temple knew him too. But this time, something different is going on, there is a charge in the air like before a storm. There is a feeling that something new is about to happen, and it begins with the arrival of some Greeks. The Greeks who had come to see the festival were also there to see Jesus. So they sought Philip and Andrew, the Apostles with Greek names, to make the introduction.
What’s so important about the arrival of the Greeks? The Greeks were travelers, not just tourists. The cosmopolitan Greeks would come, learn, and take the cultures they encounter with them. This is how the most important transcripts of the New Testament came to be written in Greek. According to a reference on Greece, “Not only is the New Testament a Greek book, but all Christian literature down to the early third century, even in Rome and the West, and to this day in the East, is in Greek.”[1]
Greek was the language of art and culture. This is how so many of the works of Ancient Greece have survived when so many works of other cultures have been lost to antiquity. The Greeks were the travelers and philosophers of the day, constantly moving from place to place drinking in the culture of the world.
So when Jesus gets the news that the Greeks had arrived from Philip and Andrew, Jesus knew that his time, his hour, had come. Where in every prior instance in the gospel Jesus had kept the “messianic secret,” now there was no need. His time had come; he is to be lifted up.
Jesus told everyone who was around him “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” He used a story with an agricultural base to show them explosive growth. He told them when a single seed dies in the proper way and time it produces much fruit. He lets them know this death is necessary.
He tells them that people who love their life will lose it and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Such a twisted statement would be confusing but it is ultimately comforting. It is joyful when we realize what is gained by eternal life; a life of plenty to be lived today, life where those who serve the Lord will be honored by the Father.
Then Jesus tells us a story that doesn’t seem quite right coming from the mouth of the Son of Man, his soul is troubled. Yes, the Lord our Savior is disturbed by what he knows is to come. God Incarnate is in personal turmoil over what will follow oh so soon. But he knows that it is for this reason that he has come to this very hour.
Jesus knows his own story. Jesus knows what is to come and what is to follow. He knows of the pain and the mocking and the torture and the death. He knows what is to come, what is to follow. He knows he will be betrayed by one of his followers, his Apostle Judas Iscariot.
It is this scene the betrayal that I find the most touching in “Godspell.” Jesus has just finished teaching his disciples the final lessons. There is a sense of hurry. Jesus is rushed, but not panicked. Then Judas arrives with the garrison. Judas comes to give the kiss that will separate Jesus from everyone else.
When Judas stands before the messiah, he cannot do it. He cannot betray Jesus with a holy kiss. Jesus stands before Judas and says, “Do what you have come to do.” Judas balks. Maybe Judas is even reconsidering the whole plan; maybe he can’t betray Jesus after all. Jesus says “Do what you have come to do.” Judas is frozen. So Jesus suddenly and quickly leans in and kisses Judas… and smiles. Then the chaos of the arrest begins.
Jesus knows his story. He knows what has to happen. He knows his destiny and he both dreads and embraces it. To me, this is the glory of the scene from “Godspell.” Jesus knows what has to happen and when the scene’s other principal cannot bring himself to do it, Jesus does. Jesus knows his own story so well that when others don’t follow the script, Jesus takes over and ensures that what must happen happens.
There are very few movie scenes that make me cry, but that one does it every time.
Jesus came to glorify the Father and the Father glorifies the Son. This is affirmed by the voice of God who says for all with ears to hear “I have glorified my name and I will glorify it again.” Jesus tells the people what they heard was for their sake, not his own. Jesus doesn’t need to hear the story, he knows it well enough. We need to know the story. We need the affirmation of the Word of God, so we hear it for our sake. We hear it to affirm the story of faith in the world.
We have our stories too. Take a moment out of this busy day and ask God to remind you of an important story in your life with God. Let me share this example from the beginning of my life in this part of the body of Christ.
Four years ago in Conway, Arkansas, I was examined by the Committee on Preparation for Ministry at a meeting of the Presbytery. I had preached a sermon. I was questioned by the committee. When it was finished, as is the tradition in this Presbytery, I left the sanctuary as the Presbytery discussed the issue. When it was over, Marie and I reentered the assembly to applause and rejoicing. The moderator then asked members of the Berryville congregation to stand and be recognized. Wayne and Janet were there standing, so was Shelly. Carolyn was with her.
I smiled with the love of God coursing in my very being. It was a glorious moment. I went over to the corner of the sanctuary where Shelly and Carolyn were. Carolyn was beginning to tire, it had been a long day, and she and Shelly were getting ready to return home.
I leaned over and hugged Carolyn. She said, “I love you.” And I said “I love you too.” By the grace and love of God, at that moment, I became her pastor. At that moment I began to love her as a pastor loves every member of the church, with the love God calls all of us to share with one another. In that moment, I went from being a candidate for ministry to being a minister, her minister. It was a wonderful moment, and it came only by the love and grace of God.
Jesus had a story to tell and an audience to take it with them. And when they left Palestine, after the Passover, after the crucifixion, after the resurrection; the Greeks would take word of Jesus with them.
We too have stories to tell, stories of how the Lord has lifted our lives. Take a moment here and now, and consider the question. Ask God to remind you of an important story in your life with God. Our lives in God are filled with wonderful stories, stories of peace, mercy, and joy; stories of power and might, stories of sorrow and redemption. Be reminded of these stories and do yourself a favor, share them at lunch today. Share the stories of God as you break bread. Then you will taste and see that the Lord is good.
Take a couple of minutes to contemplate your story.
Amen
[1] The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, “Greece,” part 9, Age of Hellenism.
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 51:1-12
Hebrews 5:5-10
John 12:20-33
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
Next week we celebrate Palm Sunday. So this is the time of year when we break out the DVD’s of “The Passion of the Christ,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” and “Godspell.” Marie agrees with this statement so strongly that she is singing “Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord” to herself right now. That’s fine with me; any of you who wish to sing along with her are welcome to go right ahead. Of the three, “Godspell” is my favorite film of the Passion genre. In their own way, each of these movies is a recreation of the final day of life of Jesus on earth. Well, let’s just say it’s the first-last day. We’ll get to that in a couple of weeks.
The scene in our gospel reading comes immediately after the events we will celebrate next week, Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Jesus came to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. This isn’t the first celebration of the Passover in John’s gospel. John 2 contains the earliest account of Jesus at the Passover festival. John 5 has Jesus coming to Jerusalem for a festival, but it could have been First Fruits or Tabernacles or Passover. Jesus made other trips for other festivals during his life too.
The point here is that Jesus knew his way around the temple and since he would teach while he was there, the temple knew him too. But this time, something different is going on, there is a charge in the air like before a storm. There is a feeling that something new is about to happen, and it begins with the arrival of some Greeks. The Greeks who had come to see the festival were also there to see Jesus. So they sought Philip and Andrew, the Apostles with Greek names, to make the introduction.
What’s so important about the arrival of the Greeks? The Greeks were travelers, not just tourists. The cosmopolitan Greeks would come, learn, and take the cultures they encounter with them. This is how the most important transcripts of the New Testament came to be written in Greek. According to a reference on Greece, “Not only is the New Testament a Greek book, but all Christian literature down to the early third century, even in Rome and the West, and to this day in the East, is in Greek.”[1]
Greek was the language of art and culture. This is how so many of the works of Ancient Greece have survived when so many works of other cultures have been lost to antiquity. The Greeks were the travelers and philosophers of the day, constantly moving from place to place drinking in the culture of the world.
So when Jesus gets the news that the Greeks had arrived from Philip and Andrew, Jesus knew that his time, his hour, had come. Where in every prior instance in the gospel Jesus had kept the “messianic secret,” now there was no need. His time had come; he is to be lifted up.
Jesus told everyone who was around him “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” He used a story with an agricultural base to show them explosive growth. He told them when a single seed dies in the proper way and time it produces much fruit. He lets them know this death is necessary.
He tells them that people who love their life will lose it and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Such a twisted statement would be confusing but it is ultimately comforting. It is joyful when we realize what is gained by eternal life; a life of plenty to be lived today, life where those who serve the Lord will be honored by the Father.
Then Jesus tells us a story that doesn’t seem quite right coming from the mouth of the Son of Man, his soul is troubled. Yes, the Lord our Savior is disturbed by what he knows is to come. God Incarnate is in personal turmoil over what will follow oh so soon. But he knows that it is for this reason that he has come to this very hour.
Jesus knows his own story. Jesus knows what is to come and what is to follow. He knows of the pain and the mocking and the torture and the death. He knows what is to come, what is to follow. He knows he will be betrayed by one of his followers, his Apostle Judas Iscariot.
It is this scene the betrayal that I find the most touching in “Godspell.” Jesus has just finished teaching his disciples the final lessons. There is a sense of hurry. Jesus is rushed, but not panicked. Then Judas arrives with the garrison. Judas comes to give the kiss that will separate Jesus from everyone else.
When Judas stands before the messiah, he cannot do it. He cannot betray Jesus with a holy kiss. Jesus stands before Judas and says, “Do what you have come to do.” Judas balks. Maybe Judas is even reconsidering the whole plan; maybe he can’t betray Jesus after all. Jesus says “Do what you have come to do.” Judas is frozen. So Jesus suddenly and quickly leans in and kisses Judas… and smiles. Then the chaos of the arrest begins.
Jesus knows his story. He knows what has to happen. He knows his destiny and he both dreads and embraces it. To me, this is the glory of the scene from “Godspell.” Jesus knows what has to happen and when the scene’s other principal cannot bring himself to do it, Jesus does. Jesus knows his own story so well that when others don’t follow the script, Jesus takes over and ensures that what must happen happens.
There are very few movie scenes that make me cry, but that one does it every time.
Jesus came to glorify the Father and the Father glorifies the Son. This is affirmed by the voice of God who says for all with ears to hear “I have glorified my name and I will glorify it again.” Jesus tells the people what they heard was for their sake, not his own. Jesus doesn’t need to hear the story, he knows it well enough. We need to know the story. We need the affirmation of the Word of God, so we hear it for our sake. We hear it to affirm the story of faith in the world.
We have our stories too. Take a moment out of this busy day and ask God to remind you of an important story in your life with God. Let me share this example from the beginning of my life in this part of the body of Christ.
Four years ago in Conway, Arkansas, I was examined by the Committee on Preparation for Ministry at a meeting of the Presbytery. I had preached a sermon. I was questioned by the committee. When it was finished, as is the tradition in this Presbytery, I left the sanctuary as the Presbytery discussed the issue. When it was over, Marie and I reentered the assembly to applause and rejoicing. The moderator then asked members of the Berryville congregation to stand and be recognized. Wayne and Janet were there standing, so was Shelly. Carolyn was with her.
I smiled with the love of God coursing in my very being. It was a glorious moment. I went over to the corner of the sanctuary where Shelly and Carolyn were. Carolyn was beginning to tire, it had been a long day, and she and Shelly were getting ready to return home.
I leaned over and hugged Carolyn. She said, “I love you.” And I said “I love you too.” By the grace and love of God, at that moment, I became her pastor. At that moment I began to love her as a pastor loves every member of the church, with the love God calls all of us to share with one another. In that moment, I went from being a candidate for ministry to being a minister, her minister. It was a wonderful moment, and it came only by the love and grace of God.
Jesus had a story to tell and an audience to take it with them. And when they left Palestine, after the Passover, after the crucifixion, after the resurrection; the Greeks would take word of Jesus with them.
We too have stories to tell, stories of how the Lord has lifted our lives. Take a moment here and now, and consider the question. Ask God to remind you of an important story in your life with God. Our lives in God are filled with wonderful stories, stories of peace, mercy, and joy; stories of power and might, stories of sorrow and redemption. Be reminded of these stories and do yourself a favor, share them at lunch today. Share the stories of God as you break bread. Then you will taste and see that the Lord is good.
Take a couple of minutes to contemplate your story.
Amen
[1] The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, “Greece,” part 9, Age of Hellenism.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
The House Was Filled
This sermon was delivered at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on the Fifth Sunday in Lent of Year C, March 25, 2007
Isaiah 43:16-21
Psalm 126
Philippians 3:4b-14
John 12:1-8
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
One of the traditions of the ancient church is the burning of incense. Often when people talk about high church traditions, they use the phrase “smells and bells.” Well, those of us who worship in reformation tradition churches aren’t very well connected to the “smells and bells,” and this isn’t all bad. One of the points of the reformation was that the meanings of the liturgy were lost to the people because only the priests participated in them. In the middle ages, the most significant parts of worship became more of a spectator sport than a participation event.
It’s the difference between watching Monday Night Football on ESPN and playing in a Saturday afternoon pick-up game. Both help give exposure to the mysteries of what’s going on in the sport, but only in participating do the work and the mystery come together into something to truly sink our teeth into. This is why we welcome everyone to come to the font. This is why we welcome everyone to come to the table. This is why we welcome everyone to participate in the work and worship of the congregation.
But in losing the “smells and bells,” we lose a connection to thousands of years of worship tradition. There is an old Anglo-Saxon blessing of incense goes like this:
“May my song rise like incense in thy presence. And for us may it be a perfume of consolation, of goodness, and grace, so that these fumes will drive out every phantom from the mind and body, leaving us, as the Apostle Paul phrased it, smelling sweetly of God. May all the attacks of demons fly from this incense like dust before the wind, like smoke before dancing flames.”[1]
The burning of incense is a way of offering, literally raising, prayer and praise. The burnt offerings of the Old Testament were offered for a variety of reasons, all having to do with the worship of the Lord. In the smoke and scent, the worship of the people was lifted on high. It focused the people on the work at hand, worship of the Lord. But there were other scented offerings made in ancient Israel, and this aromatic anointing is what we hear about today in our gospel reading.
Jesus has come to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, where he was served dinner. Some translations lift this up as a special banquet, sort of welcoming the conquering heroes: Lazarus and Jesus, the one who returned from the dead and the one who brought him back. As for me, I prefer the plainer translations, just a supper instead of a banquet. I prefer to think of this as a quiet dinner at home, albeit a quiet dinner with an obsessive-compulsive workaholic hostess, her emotionally theatrical sister,[2] their brother who was recently so dead that he smelled, the Lord our God, and at least one of his closest friends. You know, since this was Judas maybe I should have used finger quotes, you know, “closest friends.” Yeah, some quiet dinner with the old gang.
Suddenly, Mary comes out with a pound of costly perfume made from pure nard worth three-hundred denarii. To get an indication about how much this cost, the average worker earned one denarius a day with a six day work week. Three hundred denarii would take fifty weeks, nearly one full year to earn. Closer to home, the median household income in Carroll County, Arkansas is around $30,000.00.[3] So imagine going to Dillard’s and paying $30,000.00 for about a pint of perfume. Then imagine using it to wash someone’s feet.
Either Lazarus was loaded, or Mary took this foot washing very seriously.
There is no indication that Lazarus was so rich.
After this most generous act, in the words of the gospel, the house was filled with the aroma of the perfume.
Mary took this valuable offering, this gift of great value, and used it to perform a menial chore. She used it to carry out the duty of a slave;[4] she washed the feet of Jesus. Her extravagance is shown in this ordinary action, an action which gives us a preview of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. But I shouldn’t change the subject. We’ll hear about that on Maundy Thursday when we read John 13.
Of course, Judas is livid. After all, the extravagance of this gift could be better suited to feed the poor, or to line his pockets after he lifts a coin or two out of their common purse. Now, the theft angle not withstanding, isn’t Judas right? Couldn’t the money have been better used to feed the poor? We talk about mission and evangelism all of the time. We talk about getting funds for school supplies for kids whose families can’t afford them on their own. We talk about collecting for the hungry locally, nationally, and internationally. We do more than just talk, we act. We do something about it. So if it seems like Judas has a point, well, it’s because from our point of view he does.
But Jesus turns the tables with the often quoted eighth verse, “You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” This has always bothered me. It seems so callous, and that’s not Jesus’ character.
Something that is missing in the translation is that this is a paraphrase from Deuteronomy 15:11, “Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.’” Jewish commentaries prioritized acts of compassion, how we open our hand to the poor and needy neighbor, praising the care of the dead above almsgiving.[5] Jesus alludes to this when he says, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial.” This isn’t a frivolous use of a costly perfume, Mary is taking care of her poor and needy neighbor as Deuteronomy command. So in a way, Jesus is not being callous toward the plight of the poor, he may be reminding listeners, Judas in particular, that caring for the dead should be emphasized over giving to the poor. Get your priorities straight, dear Judas.
But there is something wrong with this logic. Burial anointing begins with the head, not with the feet. The gospels of Mark and Luke get this detail right when Mary breaks open the jar of nard anointing the head of the Lord.
John makes this a little more complicated as Mary anoints his feet. But there may be two things at play here. The first is that Mary is anointing Jesus in preparation of his death. Certainly Jesus and seemingly Mary know that the hour of Jesus’ death is on the horizon. In anointing him, she acts in love as a faithful disciple of the Lord[6] preparing him for the tomb. Something Judas will fail to do so soon. This is noted in the text, Jesus says it plainly in verse seven. But there is another possible facet to this anointing to explore.
The washing of the feet is not how one is prepared for the tomb. It is a sign of courtesy and hospitality, but in Mary’s hands it becomes more. In washing Jesus’ feet, she anoints him to perform his royal work. As the scent of the perfume filled the house, it wasn’t being filled with the aroma of impending death; it was being filled with the smells of new life, a new life in the anointed Christ.
The house was filled with the aroma of service. The house was filled with the aroma of extravagant giving. This new aroma was even able to cover the smell of Judas’ comment. Yes, Mary has anointed Jesus in preparation of his death, but she has also anointed him in preparation of his life, his work, and his coming passion. Her action fills the house with the aroma of love and devotion, not hypocrisy or mourning.
I have filled this house of worship with an aroma of incense this morning. I have done this to add another element of sensory stimulation to our worship. I have done this to add another medium of lifting our worship. In the words of the Anglo-Saxons, “May our song rise like incense in thy presence.” We need to be like Mary, filling the house with the aroma of life in Christ, not with preparation for death. We need to anoint one another, setting aside one another, preparing one another for the work of the kingdom here on earth. Yes, often we will be called to perform extravagant actions doing menial chores, just like Mary. And like Mary, we are to do this in gracious loving service to the Lord and one another.
May our joyful work and our worship fill this house of God, the houses we dwell, and the world we serve like the nard Mary uses to anoint Jesus and the incense we burn leaving us, as the Apostle Paul phrased it, smelling sweetly of God.
[1] From The Oxford Book of Prayer, edited by Appleton, George. New York: Oxford University Press found in; Archdiocese of Chicago, A Lent Sourcebook, The Forty Days, edited by Baker, J. Robert, et. al. Chicago: Liturgical Training Publications, 1990, page 147.
[2] “Mary” entry #3, Blair, E. P., Entry editor. The Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible. Buttrick, George Arthur, Editor. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 21st Edition, 1962.
[3] http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/saipe/saipe.cgi, for Carroll County, Arkansas, accessed March 24, 2007.
[4] Ibid, The Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible. “Foot Washing” entry, Shepherd, Jr., M. H., Entry editor.
[5] Mays, James Luther, General Editor, Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Sloyan, Gerard, John. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988, page 153.
[6] Notes on John 12:7-8, The New Interpreter’s Study Bible New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha, Harrelson, Walter H., General Editor. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003.
Isaiah 43:16-21
Psalm 126
Philippians 3:4b-14
John 12:1-8
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
One of the traditions of the ancient church is the burning of incense. Often when people talk about high church traditions, they use the phrase “smells and bells.” Well, those of us who worship in reformation tradition churches aren’t very well connected to the “smells and bells,” and this isn’t all bad. One of the points of the reformation was that the meanings of the liturgy were lost to the people because only the priests participated in them. In the middle ages, the most significant parts of worship became more of a spectator sport than a participation event.
It’s the difference between watching Monday Night Football on ESPN and playing in a Saturday afternoon pick-up game. Both help give exposure to the mysteries of what’s going on in the sport, but only in participating do the work and the mystery come together into something to truly sink our teeth into. This is why we welcome everyone to come to the font. This is why we welcome everyone to come to the table. This is why we welcome everyone to participate in the work and worship of the congregation.
But in losing the “smells and bells,” we lose a connection to thousands of years of worship tradition. There is an old Anglo-Saxon blessing of incense goes like this:
“May my song rise like incense in thy presence. And for us may it be a perfume of consolation, of goodness, and grace, so that these fumes will drive out every phantom from the mind and body, leaving us, as the Apostle Paul phrased it, smelling sweetly of God. May all the attacks of demons fly from this incense like dust before the wind, like smoke before dancing flames.”[1]
The burning of incense is a way of offering, literally raising, prayer and praise. The burnt offerings of the Old Testament were offered for a variety of reasons, all having to do with the worship of the Lord. In the smoke and scent, the worship of the people was lifted on high. It focused the people on the work at hand, worship of the Lord. But there were other scented offerings made in ancient Israel, and this aromatic anointing is what we hear about today in our gospel reading.
Jesus has come to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, where he was served dinner. Some translations lift this up as a special banquet, sort of welcoming the conquering heroes: Lazarus and Jesus, the one who returned from the dead and the one who brought him back. As for me, I prefer the plainer translations, just a supper instead of a banquet. I prefer to think of this as a quiet dinner at home, albeit a quiet dinner with an obsessive-compulsive workaholic hostess, her emotionally theatrical sister,[2] their brother who was recently so dead that he smelled, the Lord our God, and at least one of his closest friends. You know, since this was Judas maybe I should have used finger quotes, you know, “closest friends.” Yeah, some quiet dinner with the old gang.
Suddenly, Mary comes out with a pound of costly perfume made from pure nard worth three-hundred denarii. To get an indication about how much this cost, the average worker earned one denarius a day with a six day work week. Three hundred denarii would take fifty weeks, nearly one full year to earn. Closer to home, the median household income in Carroll County, Arkansas is around $30,000.00.[3] So imagine going to Dillard’s and paying $30,000.00 for about a pint of perfume. Then imagine using it to wash someone’s feet.
Either Lazarus was loaded, or Mary took this foot washing very seriously.
There is no indication that Lazarus was so rich.
After this most generous act, in the words of the gospel, the house was filled with the aroma of the perfume.
Mary took this valuable offering, this gift of great value, and used it to perform a menial chore. She used it to carry out the duty of a slave;[4] she washed the feet of Jesus. Her extravagance is shown in this ordinary action, an action which gives us a preview of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. But I shouldn’t change the subject. We’ll hear about that on Maundy Thursday when we read John 13.
Of course, Judas is livid. After all, the extravagance of this gift could be better suited to feed the poor, or to line his pockets after he lifts a coin or two out of their common purse. Now, the theft angle not withstanding, isn’t Judas right? Couldn’t the money have been better used to feed the poor? We talk about mission and evangelism all of the time. We talk about getting funds for school supplies for kids whose families can’t afford them on their own. We talk about collecting for the hungry locally, nationally, and internationally. We do more than just talk, we act. We do something about it. So if it seems like Judas has a point, well, it’s because from our point of view he does.
But Jesus turns the tables with the often quoted eighth verse, “You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” This has always bothered me. It seems so callous, and that’s not Jesus’ character.
Something that is missing in the translation is that this is a paraphrase from Deuteronomy 15:11, “Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.’” Jewish commentaries prioritized acts of compassion, how we open our hand to the poor and needy neighbor, praising the care of the dead above almsgiving.[5] Jesus alludes to this when he says, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial.” This isn’t a frivolous use of a costly perfume, Mary is taking care of her poor and needy neighbor as Deuteronomy command. So in a way, Jesus is not being callous toward the plight of the poor, he may be reminding listeners, Judas in particular, that caring for the dead should be emphasized over giving to the poor. Get your priorities straight, dear Judas.
But there is something wrong with this logic. Burial anointing begins with the head, not with the feet. The gospels of Mark and Luke get this detail right when Mary breaks open the jar of nard anointing the head of the Lord.
John makes this a little more complicated as Mary anoints his feet. But there may be two things at play here. The first is that Mary is anointing Jesus in preparation of his death. Certainly Jesus and seemingly Mary know that the hour of Jesus’ death is on the horizon. In anointing him, she acts in love as a faithful disciple of the Lord[6] preparing him for the tomb. Something Judas will fail to do so soon. This is noted in the text, Jesus says it plainly in verse seven. But there is another possible facet to this anointing to explore.
The washing of the feet is not how one is prepared for the tomb. It is a sign of courtesy and hospitality, but in Mary’s hands it becomes more. In washing Jesus’ feet, she anoints him to perform his royal work. As the scent of the perfume filled the house, it wasn’t being filled with the aroma of impending death; it was being filled with the smells of new life, a new life in the anointed Christ.
The house was filled with the aroma of service. The house was filled with the aroma of extravagant giving. This new aroma was even able to cover the smell of Judas’ comment. Yes, Mary has anointed Jesus in preparation of his death, but she has also anointed him in preparation of his life, his work, and his coming passion. Her action fills the house with the aroma of love and devotion, not hypocrisy or mourning.
I have filled this house of worship with an aroma of incense this morning. I have done this to add another element of sensory stimulation to our worship. I have done this to add another medium of lifting our worship. In the words of the Anglo-Saxons, “May our song rise like incense in thy presence.” We need to be like Mary, filling the house with the aroma of life in Christ, not with preparation for death. We need to anoint one another, setting aside one another, preparing one another for the work of the kingdom here on earth. Yes, often we will be called to perform extravagant actions doing menial chores, just like Mary. And like Mary, we are to do this in gracious loving service to the Lord and one another.
May our joyful work and our worship fill this house of God, the houses we dwell, and the world we serve like the nard Mary uses to anoint Jesus and the incense we burn leaving us, as the Apostle Paul phrased it, smelling sweetly of God.
[1] From The Oxford Book of Prayer, edited by Appleton, George. New York: Oxford University Press found in; Archdiocese of Chicago, A Lent Sourcebook, The Forty Days, edited by Baker, J. Robert, et. al. Chicago: Liturgical Training Publications, 1990, page 147.
[2] “Mary” entry #3, Blair, E. P., Entry editor. The Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible. Buttrick, George Arthur, Editor. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 21st Edition, 1962.
[3] http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/saipe/saipe.cgi, for Carroll County, Arkansas, accessed March 24, 2007.
[4] Ibid, The Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible. “Foot Washing” entry, Shepherd, Jr., M. H., Entry editor.
[5] Mays, James Luther, General Editor, Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Sloyan, Gerard, John. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988, page 153.
[6] Notes on John 12:7-8, The New Interpreter’s Study Bible New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha, Harrelson, Walter H., General Editor. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003.
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