There is an extravagance and intimacy in today’s gospel reading that sometimes makes us uncomfortable as Lutherans. Why the costly perfume poured on Jesus’ feet? Seems wasteful. But then we also don’t want to be taking sides with Judas Iscariot. The gospel text adds a parenthetical remark reminding us he’s the bad guy. After all Jesus is okay with Mary anointing his feet with perfume. And also it’s an intimate moment for Mary to be wiping Jesus’ feet with her hair. We might wonder whether Jesus took the healthy boundaries course the BC Synod offers to rostered leaders and seminarians. There seems to be a lot going on here. Also it’s important to note which Mary we are talking about. This is Mary of Mary and Martha fame, one of the sisters of Lazarus. There are a lot of Marys in the Bible, so good to know this isn’t Mary Magdalene and it’s not Mary, Jesus’ mother. This Mary is a close friend of Jesus.
Commentator Brian Peterson offers some context for this extravagant and scandal of Mary wiping Jesus’ feet with her hair and perfume. Peterson notes that the perfume is worth that of an average annual salary. So more than anything you’ll find in Shoppers Drugmart. If we take two steps back in the Gospel of John, we’ll remember that Jesus had just resurrected Lazarus. Mary’s brother who had been dead for several days, was brought back to life. That is a truly remarkable, life changing event. Now Mary is giving thanks and recognizes Jesus is the Messiah.
Mary is also anointing Jesus’ feet before he enters Jerusalem, which we’ll be lifting up next week on Palm/Passion Sunday. She is preparing Jesus for his own journey toward death on the cross, even if she’s not fully aware of this significance. Mary’s act is one of spontaneously following Jesus, the mark of a disciple. Rather than hesitating she acts. She gives thanks to Jesus in this extravagant and intimate way. She serves as an example to us as disciples about the spontaneity of faith. God gives her grace, resurrecting her brother, and she immediately gives thanks offering a costly gift.
After Judas criticizes the wastefulness of this expensive gift, Jesus says, “you’ll always have the poor with you.” We should note Jesus is not being dismissive of the poor here. He’s calling out Judas for hypocrisy. Mary’s gift doesn’t stop Judas from caring for the poor. And Judas was known as someone who was taking money from the common purse. Jesus was sceptical that Judas would be using extra money to help the poor. When we think about our own situation we can also keep in mind that we are not Jesus. No one is anointing our feet with costly perfume or we would have another problem on our hands. So we don’t need to project our anxiety about this story in John onto other things. And we do invest in beauty giving thanks to God today. When we consider our care for the church building, for valuing worship and making it central to Christian community, to worship arts, music, and liturgy. These are all ways we reflect divine beauty into our shared lives together for the glory of God.
I remember meeting a man in Virginia who was newer to the Lutheran church where I was serving. He grew up in a stricter Lutheran denomination and he wondered whether liturgical worship was too extravagant. He wondered why on Sunday morning we didn’t simply go out and do service in the community and perhaps say some short prayers beforehand. To his credit he did want to give the money to the poor and people in need. I remember not having a good answer at the ready, since no one had proposed this to me before. All I could think about was asking, isn’t it self-evident that having a communal worship life is beautiful and worthwhile? To him it was like watching costly perfume poured on Jesus’ feet – needlessly wasteful. He ended up getting a job transfer not long after and he found a Lutheran church that was closer to the church in which he was raised. Nevertheless he made me reflect upon the priorities of church and Christian community and the things we value. The way we celebrate faith often reflects the ways we see God’s love in our midst.
Right now I want to give you time now to reflect upon the question: Where do you see the lavishness of God’s love in today’s gospel reading? And I’ll add a twist: Where do you see the lavishness of God’s love in your life? Let’s break into small groups for five minutes.
