April 3, 2022
Sermon by the Rev. Bernadette Hartsough
Today I want you to enter into the gospel of John. I have taken the liberty of paraphrasing and adding a few details based on scripture. Please relax, close your eyes if you want, and enter into the gospel of John.
Jesus had a heavy heart. Many of his fellow Jews were following him. They believed jesus because he raised Lazarus. But he knew he was being watched. temple authorities were not happy with him. Many people were looking to jesus for him to lead the Jewish people. They had deserted the authority of the temple authorities and the temple authorities were not happy. They blamed jesus. jesus knew it wasn’t safe to be in public anymore. The Passover was only six days away and many Jews from other areas were in the area.
Jesus needed to be with his close friends. He needed to be with those who understood him. He started to walk towards to Bethany. As he got closer, he remembered the sadness in martha and mary’s eyes when Lazarus had died. Then he remembered their joy when he brought Lazarus back to life.
Jesus loved their home. He was always welcome. Jesus missed his friends in Bethany. They were his family now. They understood him. In Bethany, he could relax, rest, have a good meal and good conversation with those he loved.
Jesus could smell the food cooking before he approached the house. He was famished. Jesus came to the door where Lazarus was looking at all the travelers headed to Jerusalem. Lazarus saw Jesus and ran to embrace him. Lazarus took Jesus inside and invited him to sit and eat. Many of Jesus’s closest friends were there including Judas. Judas managed the donations given to Jesus and the disciples. The donations allowed them to travel and spread the good news about God. Judas was always looking to find ways to use some of the money for himself.
The meal was starting. Martha served. There were plates with roasted meat, flat bread, figs, olives, and dips. Jesus blessed the food, including the bread and the wine. The bread, wine, and food were passed around the table. Everyone was eating except Mary.
Mary appeared without saying a word. She knelt at Jesus’s feet. She held his feet into her hands. She massaged the dirt off of them with water. Then she opened up the anointing oil used for burials. The smell of the perfume filled the house. She gently rubbed the oil into his feet. She took the ends of her long brown hair into her hands to wipe his feet. Mary’s hair was filled with the mixture of burial oil and the scent of Jesus.
Mary kissed Jesus’s feet. Jesus’s eyes were filled with tears. The smell of the perfumed oil was strong. It was so strong that you could no longer smell the food. Everyone stared at Mary wondering why she anointed Jesus now and with the burial oil? There is no dead in the house now. When Lazarus died the house smelled of death but that was some time ago. Back then the house needed perfume to mask the smell of death. Tonight, the house smelled of food and friends.
Judas stood up. He looked at Mary. “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” Mary said nothing. She laid her head on Jesus’s feet.
Jesus looked at Mary and smiled. Jesus responded to Judas. “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.”
Lazarus heard a commotion outside. He opened the door just wide enough to see. He saw the temple authorities questioning the people of Bethany. Lazarus told Jesus and the disciples to leave quickly. Lazarus left with them.
Jesus thought about what Mary had done. All of those times that he taught them about being a disciple, she got it. She understood that it is about giving of yourself in service to others. It is about giving others what they need not necessarily what you want to give. Being a disciple means giving up what you have and sharing it. Mary was letting go of Jesus. She knew it wouldn’t be long before the authorities arrested him. The authorities turned on him when Jesus raised her brother Lazarus from the dead. That’s when the crowds started, and people knew that Jesus was different.
Jesus took the love of Martha Mary and Lazarus with him to Jerusalem. He took this memory with him as he was arrested. He remembered Mary’s touch when he was beaten and stripped. He remembered Martha’s food when he lay on the cross hungry and thirsty. He remembered the friendship of Lazarus when he felt alone on the cross.
Mary Martha and Lazarus remembered Jesus. They told the stories after he had ascended. They told of Jesus’s love and sacrifice. They taught people how to pray in the name of Jesus.
Mary gave us the lesson of discipleship. Discipleship is about following Jesus. It is about praying to Jesus. It’s about giving of ourselves like Jesus gave of himself. We do this by ministering to others to create loving memories that can be carried inside of us. These memories we carry with us, to strength us and give us hope when we feel weak and deserted. The memories of others ministering to us teach us how to share ourselves and to be followers of Jesus.