Extravagant Faithfulness April 1, 2010 Maundy Thursday John 12:1-8 Douglas T. King, The Brick Presbyterian Church in the City of New York Well, it would not be a Maundy Thursday sermon without a little confession, so here is mine: I hijacked the lectionary. It was sitting out there for the taking and I just brazenly hijacked it. The lectionary is the schedule of assigned scripture readings for each Sunday and Holy Day of the Christian year. The text Debbie just read about Mary, the sister of Lazarus, was scheduled to be used on the fifth Sunday in Lent but I preached on the lectionary Psalm that Sunday, and put this in my back pocket for tonight. The lectionary reading that is quite often used on Maundy Thursday is the story of Jesus washing the disciples feet as oft-clueless Peter grapples to make sense of what is going on. It is a fine and illuminating story but Peter is less than inspiring as a model for discipleship. In these precious few moments we have under the shadow of the cross, I would prefer to give some thought to Mary s example of discipleship. Mary s act is extravagant to the point of absurdity. The pound of perfume she used was worth a year s wages. And there she is, on her knees, rubbing it into Jesus feet, as one was instructed to prepare a body for burial, wiping them with her undone hair, as a woman who would mourn her dead husband. Mary is making - 1 -
a spectacle of herself. Her act is unbidden; there is no request by Jesus that this occur. Her act is extraneous: it feeds no one, it clothes no one. I suppose perfumed feet are not a bad thing, but I cannot imagine how it makes a top ten list of any sort of priorities of need. Judas is not incorrect in questioning whether these resources could have been used in a more practical manner. The problem with Judas question, the problem with us seeking an accounting of the resources, is that we do not realize what time it is. What Mary can see that Judas and the rest of us are likely to miss, is exactly what time it is. They are a scant, six days from Passover when the death of the first-born sons of Egypt is remembered. Mary s brother, Lazarus, is eating at the table, recently brought back from the dead by Jesus. Caiaphas, the high priest, is calling for Jesus to be executed to appease the Roman authorities. Imagine the conversation between Lazarus and Jesus, one freshly removed from the tomb and one on a short course to the tomb. Death surrounds them around that dinner table. Mary recognizes that their time together is precious and oh-so-limited. It is a time of impending death. She feels what many of us have felt at the deathbed of a loved one. The price of a pound of perfume as a demonstration of her love and commitment to Jesus? With time so short and death galloping on the way, why not ten pounds? If it can overpower the stench of death, if even for a moment, why not one hundred pounds of perfume demonstrating the scent of devotion she has for this extraordinary man? - 2 -
When Jesus reprimands Judas he is trying to explain exactly what time it is. Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me. This is not a callous statement ignoring the needs of the poor. Jesus is actually quoting from a Deuteronomistic text which continues to say Therefore I command you, you shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and the poor in the land. The exigencies of those in need must always receive our attention. But on this night, with the time so short and death so near, we have, perhaps, three choices in how we respond to the situation. The first is denial; we can pretend death is not on the way. We can count our pennies and not dole out too much perfume, or devotion, or love, as if to pace ourselves for many years to come. Second, recognizing that death is so close at hand, we could pull back; we could withdraw from Jesus in order to protect ourselves from the pain to come. Or, third, we can jump all the way into the deep end of the pool headfirst. We can get right down on the floor with a whole pound of perfume and start rubbing Jesus feet. We can get our hair in there and shower him with loving devotion, making a fool of ourselves in front of everybody at the dinner party. My advice? Be like Mary. Jump into the deep end of the pool and offer all of the love and devotion you can muster. Don t be like Peter during the footwashing episode, when at first he does not even want to let Jesus wash his feet because of some silly sense of decorum. While Peter is bumbling around seeking to stop Jesus from demonstrating his love, Mary needs no prompting in the ways of - 3 -
love and devotion and discipleship. She recognizes that in the extraordinary circumstances of these waning moments before Jesus death, an extravagant demonstration of faithfulness is the only right course of action. The only appropriate thing to do in such a time is the inappropriate thing. I often wonder if Jesus got the idea to wash his disciples feet this night from the example that the extravagant Mary had recently offered to him. As we prepare to follow Jesus story all the way to the cross this night, let us learn from Mary and her extravagant generosity toward the Lord. Mary embodies the impulse we have that overwhelms us with a desire to express a devotion that is beyond limits. It is the impulse that leads to the construction of soaring cathedrals and magnificent sanctuaries; God does not really need fancy buildings. It is the impulse that leads to remarkable works of art, like the ceiling of the Sistine chapel; God does not necessarily need pretty pictures. It is the impulse that leads to sublime and heartbreakingly rich music; God does not depend upon pretty melodies. Mary and her extravagant actions are the embodiment of worship. Mary is worshiping Jesus with her entire being, with her heart and her mind and her soul, with her whole body she is offering devotion and fealty to him in whatever way she can. Mary is not hedging her bets to see how things work out for Jesus. Mary is not pondering the metaphysical implications of whether Jesus is actually the Son of God or not. She is no spectator to the drama unfolding before her. - 4 -
One of the vital things that Mary s example teaches us is that worship is not a spectator sport. If you come to a service merely to evaluate whether you like the sermon, that is not worshiping God. If you come to a service merely to enjoy the music, that is not worshiping God. If you come to a service to be a spectator, that is not worshiping God. Kierkegaard tells us that worship is indeed a performance but he teaches us that the performance is not of a few worship leaders in the chancel performing for the congregation; rather, it is everyone in the sanctuary performing for God. Worship is about joining the drama, about leaving behind, if even for a few moments, the many boundaries and reservations which reign us in from giving all that we are, over to God. From a practical perspective, the entire enterprise can be seen as superfluous and silly. There are far more productive ways we could be spending our time together. But we do not gather together in this sanctuary for practical purposes. We may come to listen to beautiful music but that, in itself, is not worship. We may come hoping to learn something in a sermon, but that is not worship. We may come to watch the spectacle, but that is not worship. Every time we gather in this room, we come to offer our love and devotion to our God. Granted: we do not always get there. Sometimes we are in this room together and we cannot stop thinking about some frustrating detail at work, or the child behind us is kicking the pew and we just wish we had an aspirin to take for the headache that is on the way. But the real reason we are together in this room, whether we always realize it or - 5 -
not, is to get down on our knees and let down our hair and extravagantly and impractically express our love and devotion to our God. On this night, as we are fed at the table and hear the narrative of Jesus journey to the cross, let it be more than beautiful music, more than a sermon that may or may not teach us something, more than a spectacle to watch. Let us jump in head first, extravagantly offering ourselves to God in devotion and faithfulness. Let us recognize the existential reality that time is always short and the days a precious few. In whatever way we can, let us offer all that we are. This is the time to worship God. Thanks be to God. Amen. - 6 -