Holy Monday 2021

 

Holy Monday 2021

John 12:1-11

12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint[a] of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.[b]” 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

7 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you,[c] but you will not always have me.”

9 Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11 for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believed."

"Marked by Anointing"

Mark says the perfume was "spikenard", John says "pure nard" and some scholars estimate this to be about $3000 in today’s currency. What an extravagant picture of love! Judas thinks this is a waste of $3000. That money could have been used for our mission projects. It could have been given to the poor. Today Judas would have wanted to stick that in the building fund!

 Instead, Mary….well, she wasted it.

The irony is that in a few days Judas will betray Jesus for 30 piece of sliver, about $600.

Judas kept the money bag. Mary broke the bottle.

Judas tried to hold it all. Mary gave it all away.

Probably the most valuable physical thing that she owned. She used it to worship Jesus.

I know that our most valuable possession probably is something different. I don’t know that any of us have a $3000 bottle of perfume lying around the house. But there is something that is that precious to us.

In Matthew 19 Jesus addresses this with a man who has many expensive possessions, and here Jesus does tell this man to sell it all and give it all to the poor, but he can’t do it. He doesn’t really own his stuff, his stuff owns him.

God doesn’t need our most expensive possessions, He just wants to make sure that our most expensive possessions don’t own us.

This Lent we have talked about being marked by the holy, different marks that we have as Christians. And tonight I want you to picture being marked by an anointing.

That is what Mary did, she anointed Jesus with this oil.

In fact, Jesus says that this was saved for this purpose, to anoint him for his burial.

Anointing a body with oil was an important part of the funeral process in the 1^st century. The oil helped preserve and clean the body before it was wrapped in burial cloths. If you remember, this didn’t get done to Jesus’ body when he was taken from the cross on Friday, because it was Passover and it was a hasty process to get the body into the tomb, which is why Mary Magdalene comes on Sunday morning with oils and spices to prepare the body, but the body is not there—we’ll talk about that story on Sunday morning!

But on this night, probably not all the disciples completely understand what is going to happen in a few days. Even though Jesus has talked to them several times about his dying and on the 3^rd day he would be raised from the dead, they didn’t want to hear it then, and they don’t see that happening now. 

And I get that, I think that’s human nature. When my mom would talk about her death I would often steer the conversation in a different direction, because I wasn’t ready.

On Palm Sunday we talked about a donkey that perhaps could see more clearly than the disciples that day, and I think that on this night it was Mary who understood what this week was all about.

Martha is serving the food, that’s her gift. It frustrated her at times, especially when her baby sister didn’t help, but not tonight. Tonight she serves. Her brother Lazarus is at the table beside Jesus, the one Jesus raised from the dead after 4 days. And Mary is serving in her own way, giving what she has to give, and using her unbraided hair to wipe Jesus feet with this oil. 

Anointing was not only used for burials, it was also used at coronations. When a king was crowned, oil would be poured on his head, and not just a little trinkle, the goal was that the oil would run all the way down the beard and cover the king. Probably it would drop onto his feet as well, which may have been what Mary did here, covering Jesus in an anointing of oil.

Recognizing his kingship but also as Jesus said, symbolic of his death.

On Thursday night we will break open some oil for an anointing as part of our Maundy Thursday service.

But for tonight I want you to see that it wasn’t just the oil that was poured out, it was Mary herself. It was not just the oil that was the offering, it was Mary offering herself to Jesus.

“And the house was filled with that fragrance”—I think John means literally the fragrance of the oil filled the house, but also I think the fragrance of her praise filled the house, the fragrance of her offering filled the house, the fragrance of her devotion filled the house, the fragrance of her love filled the house.

 

All because she poured it out.

When Paul wrote his 2^nd letter to Timothy, toward the end of his life, he said that his life was poured out like a drink offering to God.

And that image brings us to the Communion Table tonight. It wasn’t just Paul pouring out himself, or Mary pouring out perfume, it was Jesus blood poured out for the forgiveness of our sins that is the greatest outpouring of love of all time.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.