5th Sunday in Lent
John 12:1-8
"Mary’s Extravagant Love"
12:1 ¶ Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
2 There they made him a supper; Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at table with him.
3 Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.
4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was to betray him), said,
5 "Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?"
6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box he used to take what was put into it.
7 Jesus said, "Let her alone, let her keep it for the day of my burial.
8 The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me."RSV
Grace and Peace to You from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen
A true story that speaks about Mary’s extravagant love for Jesus.
A nine-year-old boy who lived in a rural town in Tennessee. His house was in a poor area of the community. A church had a bus ministry that came knocking on his door one Saturday afternoon. The kid came to answer the door and greeted the bus pastor. The bus pastor asked if his parents were home and the small boy told him that his parents take off every weekend and leave him at home to take care of his little brother. The bus pastor couldn’t believe what the kid said and asked him to repeat it. The youngster gave the same answer and the bus pastor asked to come in and talk with him. They went into the living room and sat down on an old couch with the foam and springs exposed.
The bus pastor asked the kid, "Where do you go to church?"
The young boy surprised the visitor by replying, "I’ve never been to church in my whole life." The bus pastor thought to himself about the fact that his church was less than three miles from the child’s house. "Are you sure you have never been to church?"
He asked again. "I sure haven’t", came his answer. Then the bus pastor said, "Well, son, more important than going to church, have you ever heard the greatest love story ever told?" and then he proceeded to share the Gospel with this little nine year old boy.
The young lad’s heart began to be tenderized and at the end of the bus pastor’s story the bus pastor asked if the boy wanted to receive this free gift from God. The youngster exclaimed, "You bet! The kid and the bus pastor got on their knees and the lad invited Jesus into his little heart and received the free gift of salvation.
They both stood up and the bus pastor asked if he could pick the kid up for church the next morning. "Sure," the nine old replied. The bus pastor got to the house early the next morning and found the lights off. He let himself in and snaked his way through the house and found the little boy asleep in his bed. He woke up the little boy and his brother and helped get them dressed. They got on the bus and ate a donut for breakfast on their way to church. Keep in mind that this boy had never been to church before. The church was a real big one. The little kid just sat there, clueless of what was going on. A few minutes into the service these tall unhappy guys walked down to the front and picked up some wooden plates. One of the men prayed and the kid with utter fascination watched them walk up and down the aisles. He still didn’t know what was going on. All of a sudden like a bolt of lightning it hit the kid what was taking place. These people must be giving money to Jesus. He then reflected on the free gift of life that he had received just twenty-four hours earlier. He immediately searched his pockets, front and back, and couldn’t find a thing to give Jesus. By this time the offering plate was being passed down his aisle and with a broken heart he just grabbed the plate and held on to it. He finally let go and watched it pass on down the aisle. He turned around to see it passed down the aisle behind him. And then his eyes remained glued on the plate as it was passed back and forth, back and forth all the way to the rear of the sanctuary. Then he had an idea. This little nine-year-old boy, in front of God and everybody, got up out of his seat. He walked about eight rows back, grabbed the usher by the coat and asked to hold the plate one more time. Then he did the most astounding thing I have ever heard of. He took the plate, sat it on the carpeted church floor and stepped into the center of it.
As he stood there, he lifted his little head up and said, "Jesus, I don’t have anything to give you today, but just me. I give you me!"1
This boy gave to Jesus extravagant love, he gave himself. Mary in our gospel lesson gives of herself as she anoints Jesus’ feet with this fragrant oil.
Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem for the Passover and stops in Bethany to visit with his friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. It was six days before the Passover and therefore six days till the passion of Jesus starts.
Mary, Martha and of course Lazarus were well acquainted with Jesus as he had raised Lazarus from the dead. He stopped in for dinner, or supper and a brief visit while he continued his journey to Jerusalem.
Martha was doing the serving, as we know she always did quite well. Martha did not sit at the feet of Jesus, but she always went about her tasks and I would guess with love, joy and a willingness to serve. Notice Jesus did not condemn her for her service, but allowed her to cook and serve. Serving others is honorable.
A story about the late speaker of the House Sam Rayburn and his serving others
The teenage daughter of a friend of his died suddenly one night. Early the next morning the man heard a knock on his door, and, when he opened it, there was Mr, Rayburn standing outside.
The Speaker said, "I just came by to see what I could do to help."
The father replied in his deep grief, "I don’t think there is anything you can do, Mr. Speaker. We are making all the arrangements."
"Well," Mr. Rayburn said, "have you had your coffee this morning?"
The man replied that they had not taken time for breakfast. So Mr. Rayburn said that he could at least make coffee for them. While he was working in the kitchen, the man came in and said, "Mr. Speaker, I thought you were supposed to be having breakfast at the White House this morning."
"Well I was," Mr. Rayburn said, "but I called the President and told him I had a friend who was in trouble, and I couldn’t come."2
The speaker of the house made coffee as a way of serving. It was not beneath him to serve.
Our story of Mary, Martha and Lazarus continues.
Lazarus was sitting at the table with Jesus and then something quite unexpected happened.
As the text says:"3 Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment."RSV
Why did she do this? And as we see later on in the text, this anointing was usually done for a funeral. As Jesus said, "Let her alone, let her keep it for the day of my burial."
Did Mary know something that everyone else didn’t? Or was she just showing her gratitude to Jesus for raising her brother? Or was she expressing the love in her heart she had for Jesus?
I think this act of Mary’s was an act of love. An act of love toward Jesus because she sensed he was indeed someone who was truly special. And as the events unfold in the next days, we see this anointing was a fore shadowing of what was to come. Jesus was not anointed after His death, so this anointing was something planned ahead of time. Mary probably did not know it, but Jesus did.
Jesus knew his time was coming. He knew the cross was just down the road, so that is why he allowed Mary to anoint him. In some way, this anointing was something that Jesus needed. He needed to be anointed.
Mary had to express her love for Jesus and this was the best way she could. Yes, it was extravagant, yes it was costly, but it was her expression of love for Jesus. And as we see in verse 7 she did not use it all, but some was saved!!
Are we extravagant with our love for Jesus? Or do we hold back? How do we express our love for Jesus? We can’t anoint Him as Mary did. But we can worship him and we can serve him by serving others.
Mary’s extravagant gift filled the house with a wonderful smell. You know how it is when you make home made bread and the whole house is filled with the aroma. Mary’s act was just like that. It filled the whole house with her love.
And Jesus wants us to do the same thing today. He wants us to fill our world with the aroma of love.
Jesus wants us to be hospitable to others. He wants us to welcome people into our world and treat them as guest as Mary did. She treated Jesus as a very special guest in her home as she annointed him with oil as an act of worship. He wants our world to be filled with the aroma of hospitality.
Loving other might be difficult but as seen in the follow, what other choice do we have?
"We become vulnerable when we love people and go out of our way to help them."
That’s what the wealthy industrialist Charles Schwab declared after going to court and winning a nuisance suit at age 70.
Given permission by the judge to speak to the audience, he made the following statement: "I’d like to say here in a court of law, and
speaking as an old man, that nine-tenths of my troubles are traceable to my being kind to others. Look, you young people, if you want to steer away from trouble, be hard-boiled. Be quick with a good loud no to anyone and everyone. If you follow this rule, you will seldom be bothered as you tread life’s pathway.
Except you’ll have no friends, you’ll be lonely, and you won’t have any fun!" Schwab had made his point -- love may bring heartache, but it’s worth it! 3
Love my bring heartace, but it’s worth it. It is worth it to have freinds. It is worth it because Jesus commands us to love, to fill our world with the aroma of hospitatlity.
Love may bring heartache, but it’s worth it!
Amen
Written by Pastor Tim Zingale March19, 2007
1 From a sermon Michael Hensley found at www.sermoncentral.com
2 SOURCE: Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes, Robert J. Morgan Contributed by: SermonCentral
3 Contributed by: Davon Huss from SermonCentral Newsletter
