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Fifth Sunday in
Lent
March 21,
2010 The Rev. William Van Oss, Rector
Readings
“Love that’s freely given,
wants to freely be received. All the love you’re poured on us can hardly
be believed.
And all that we can offer you in thanks. All that we can offer you is
thanks.”
Jesus had come to
Bethany to raise his friend Lazarus from the dead. Martha and Mary are
grateful beyond words, they have their brother back. To celebrate they
put on a big meal for Jesus, a way to say “thank you”, a way to spend
time together as a family.
It is safe to assume that emotions are running high. Martha, Mary and
Lazarus are certainly grateful to Jesus, but they are also frightened.
Jesus’ friends knew he was in danger, they knew the authorities were out
to “get” Jesus, and Bethany is near Jerusalem, the seat of power for
those with authority, and so we can imagine it was an emotionally
charged evening, when Jesus sat down at the table with his friends. It
is just one week before his death. And Mary, likely acting mostly on
impulse in the emotionally charged environment, performs an act of
extravagance. She pours a pound of perfume that cost an entire year’s
wages on Jesus’ feet, and she wipes them with her hair. An act of
hospitality, to wash a guest’s feet when they entered your home; an act
of gratitude, for restoring her brother to life, for being their friend.
It was an act of foreshadowing and grief, anticipating the anointing
that was a preparation for burial, anticipating Jesus’ death. Mary
followed her heart. Her love for Jesus caused exuberance that led to
excess. This was not a national, carefully thought-out decision that
comes after intense deliberation, putting the pencil to the paper and
figuring out the “bottom line” as Judas does.
This is a passionate outpouring of devotion and love, this is a
spontaneous response in thanksgiving for a gift received and a
relationship Mary valued beyond all others. Nothing but the best could
show how much she appreciated and loved Jesus. And Judas, the one who
was more “rational” and hard-hearted, finds fault in Mary’s bold and
fearless act. It makes me think of a prom I went to when I was in
college. Like most college students, I had no money, and I was
accumulating debt, but I really liked this girl and so this was going to
be a night of nothing but the very best. I rented a tux, bought her
expensive flowers, and took her to the finest restaurant in Minneapolis,
I don’t remember exactly how much I spent, but I’m certain it was
hundreds of dollars, in the early 1980’s, but I didn’t care, I was in
love, I wasn’t making rational decisions.
And while there’s no evidence to suggest Mary’s love was of the
“romantic” variety, Dan Brown not withstanding, Mary’s love was
impulsive and extravagant, she believed Jesus deserved nothing but the
best and she showed it. Mary poured out the whole bottle without regret
because she knew that her act of love was tiny compared to the magnitude
of God’s love manifest in Jesus. She responds extravagantly to
acknowledge the extravagant love of God made flesh in Jesus Christ. .
Love that’s freely given, wants to freely be received. All the love
you’re poured on us can hardly be believed. And all that we can offer
you in thanks and our very best. She chose to give her all and to give
her best to God, holding nothing back.
And we are called to do the same, to give our all, to give out best to
God. Here at church, I always marvel at how the Altar Guild works
tirelessly to make sure everything is clean and orderly and in place;
how lectors practice reading so they convey the Word of God well; how
choirs and music people practice and rehearse their singing and playing;
Jackie practices for hours each week, she’d be good with just a little
practice, but she wants to do her best; ushers greet people sincerely
and warmly; deacons are attentive to proclaiming the Gospel and to the
smallest details of liturgy; acolytes serve reverently and well. We
strive to give God our very best, in our worship. And hopefully all who
gather are inspired to give their very best, listening attentively &
openly; singing with enthusiasm; praying prayers, especially the Lord’s
Prayer, thoughtfully and sincerely; offering the sign of peace with
being at peace in mind; praying the confession mindful of our need for
forgiveness and God’s mercy; giving generously in the offertory; and
receiving communion with a mind and heart open to being transformed.
Like Mary, who was worshipping Jesus in pouring out her perfume, we give
our very best in our worship, grateful for a beautiful building gifted
to us by our ancestors and a beautiful liturgy crafted by people of
faith over the course of 2000 years. Think of someone like Johann
Sebastian Bach, whose 325th birthday we celebrate today; think of the
music, the hymn, think how he gave his talents to God, how he gave his
best and how we continue to be inspired by it hundreds of years later.
We give our very best because God deserves out very best.
And as we are shaped and formed, and dare I say it, changed, over years
of giving ourselves to God here in church, so we are able to give out
best out in the world. We are able to be our very best selves,
compassionate, forgiving, patient, kind, and generous, because we have
given the very best we have to offer here, we are inspired to be our
best out there. And we do so not to win God’s favor, or earn God’s
blessing, or to get to heaven. We give our very best to God because,
like Mary, we know that even our very best efforts, out very best
attempts at love, are but a trifle compared to the magnitude of God’s
love freely showered upon us.
“Love that’s freely
given, wants to freely be received. All the love you’re poured on us can
hardly be believed.
And all that we can offer you in thanks. All that we can offer you is
thanks.”