WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO DO?
a sermon based on John 12:1-8
by Rev. Rick Thompson

     Jesus is at dinner in Bethany, a suburb of Jerusalem, with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.

     We’ve met them in the previous chapter.  You probably know the story: Jesus is their friend.  Lazarus is very sick.  Mary and Martha, his sisters, know that Jesus is in the area, and they send for him.  Jesus arrives after Lazarus has died.  The women, and Jesus himself, are overcome by grief.  But Jesus refuses to be stopped, even by death.  He leads a procession to the tomb of Lazarus, and there he raises his friend back to life.  And many were amazed and overcome with joy!

     Many, but not all. 

     Some people, you see, are troubled when life gets too abundant! Some people are troubled when death loses its power!  Some people are troubled by a prophet and miracle-worker whose words and actions say, “This world is going to be turned upside-down!” 

     And it’s always the powerful—the ones who have the most to lose—who are threatened.

     That’s what happened when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead: the powerful ones in the Jewish community, the religious leaders recognized by Rome, were threatened.  They feared Jesus and his followers would start a popular uprising, and the Romans would clamp down, and they would be the ones who would lose.  So, they made a decision: Jesus would have to die! Jesus would have to die so the whole Jewish nation wouldn’t be destroyed.

     In fact, if we read beyond the story of the dinner, we discover that they decide Lazarus must die also!

     Some people are troubled when life breaks out and gets too abundant!  And that was definitely happening in and around Jesus!

     Now, Mary is not among the troubled.  Instead, she is grateful.  She is grateful that Jesus has given life back to her brother.  So, during the course of the meal, she shows her gratitude by pouring precious perfume on his feet, and wiping Jesus’ feet with her hair.  (She breaks several social rules in doing this, by the way.)  She’s spent 300 denarii on this perfume—almost a year’s wages for the average laborer then.  Can you imagine someone working a minimum wage job giving a whole year’s earnings to Jesus?

     In gratitude for what Jesus has done for her, Mary gives Jesus the best she had to give.  What else was there for her to do? 

     Could we even call it in act of worship—selfless, heartfelt, grateful response to the great gift Jesus had given her?

     Jesus accepts her gift.  And he explains that Mary has anointed him for his burial. 

     Jesus knows what’s coming.  He knows he’s doomed.  He knows he’s about to die.  He knows that too much life on the loose—the life he has come to bring, the abundant life from God—is just too threatening to the powers that be!  He knows that he must die.  But Jesus hasn’t come to avoid death.  He’s come to battle death—and destroy it!

    So Jesus blesses Mary’s act of worship, her anointing him for his burial.

    Soon the church will follow our Lord as he goes to his death and burial—and is raised to new life.  He defeats death once and for all, destroying death’s power for all eternity, destroying its power over us.  Soon we will recall the story of how Jesus released God’s abundant life into the world, and changed the world forever!  We’ll recall his washing the disciples feet, and sharing the meal of remembrance.  We’ll recall him going, willingly, to his excruciating suffering and death.  And we’ll remember that his death was really a victory, as we once more sing our exuberant, “Alleluias!”

     During Holy Week, and on Easter Sunday—as we do every week—we will give God our best in worship.  What else is there for us to do?

     Now, perhaps you have noticed that I’ve left one piece of the dinner story unattended.  Let me get to that now—and let’s see if it also has something to do with giving our best to and for Jesus.

     You might have noticed that Judas was also at that meal in Bethany.  Why was Judas there? We aren’t told why.  We’re only told about his attitude—and that’s a real matter of concern. 

     Judas thinks Mary has wasted her money, has been terribly extravagant in lavishing attention and expensive ointment on Jesus.  “She should have given the money to the poor!” Judas complains.  (Of course, John wants us to know that Judas was more concerned about lining his own pockets than caring for the poor.)  And, in response, Jesus says, “You always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.”

     Now, some in the history of the church have sadly and terribly misinterpreted that statement.  Some say Jesus is releasing the Church from responsibility for the poor.  Nothing could be further from the truth!  How can we say that about one who stands in the tradition of the Suffering Servant, who speaks and stands up for the poor and oppressed, those who have no voice, and even takes their suffering upon himself?  How can we say that Jesus had no concern for the poor when he spent a great deal of his ministry with the poor and those cast out from polite society, empowering them and lifting them up?

     No, Jesus isn’t excusing us from ministry with the poor.  But he is saying it all begins with giving our best to him.  That’s our primary purpose.  And, in fact, we could even say that caring for the poor is one of the chief ways in which the Church gives our best to our Lord.

      So, it seems, that was quite a dinner they had in Bethany that evening!

     Jesus had given his best for Mary in raising her brother from the dead.  So, she gave him the best she had in return.

     And, from there, Jesus went on to give his best—his life!—for the world, for you, and for me.

     Life has erupted into the world in Jesus.  We remember that, especially, in this holy season.

     So, we worship.  And so, we serve.  What else can we do?