"Surrender"
John 12:1-8
Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them* with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii* and the money given to the poor?’ 6(He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone. She bought it* so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.’
Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them* with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii* and the money given to the poor?’ 6(He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone. She bought it* so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.’
I think it is fair to say that we have all at some time in our lives received a gift that made us just sit back and go “huh”?
You know, the kind of gift that someone gives you and you can’t even figure out what it is, never mind what it does, or even better why the gift-giver decided this was something that you needed!
When I started at my first church, I was fresh out of seminary and living in a house by myself for the first time in my life.
To welcome me, the Women’s Fellowship at the church hosted a welcome party and encouraged the members to bring gifts to welcome the new minister.
We had a delightful evening laughing and getting to know each other. I received many presents—all kinds of things for my new house.
As we were cleaning up and getting ready to leave, someone found these two HUGE garbage bags with a note on them.
As we read the note, we learned that the two bags were also gifts for me from one of the more eccentric members of the church, a woman named Helen.
At first everyone was a bit surprised because Helen did not get involved with the activities of the Women’s Fellowship very often, but no one was a bit surprised by Helen’s unorthodox way of wrapping her presents to me.
Inside those two big black trash bags were all kinds of items wrapped in toilet paper and paper towels.
I unwrapped them one by one to find quite an assortment of things. There were several cans of fruits and vegetables, all kinds of over the counter medicines, a crystal bowl, one spoon that was obviously part of a set, two bed pans, pictures, newspaper clippings, and all kinds of other little trinkets.
I had not yet met Helen when I opened these gifts, and the contents left me a bit baffled. Why in the world would someone give their new pastor a bedpan?
Over the next 4 years as I ministered with and to that church, I came to know Helen. She was 90 at the time we met, and perhaps the most eccentric person I have ever met.
She is also one of my favorite people that I will always hold dear in my heart.
As we came to know each other, I learned that Helen lived in the home where she was born on the family farm. It was in this home that she and her family had struggled through the depression.
She told me about how she and her two siblings took turns eating every third day and how she swore she would never be without food again. She had shelves lined with canned food, and then I understood her gift of peas and corn to me.
I think the reason Helen and I got along so well was our mutual love of dessert. We often ate lunch together, always ordering dessert first, just in case we filled up and didn’t have any room left.
Her gift of the dish and spoon were given with the idea that everyone needs to have a special dish from which to eat their ice cream.
Helen was a nurse with the army for years, and even after her retirement volunteered as a health care advocate for veterans.
Helen was never married or had children, after she returned home from the Army; she lived alone in the family home for many years. She told me of the nights that her chronic asthma acted up, and how she would lay in bed sure that it was the night she was going to die. She often told me that the worst time to live alone is when you’re sick, especially at night.
Her medicine cabinet was always stocked with every kind of over the counter medication you can imagine, just so that she would not have to go out when she was sick.
Now I understood her gift of medicines, bandages, and maybe even the bedpan.
Sometimes, in order to understand the gift, we need to first understand the giver.
So it is with our Scripture lesson this morning.
Our Scripture lesson this morning tells the story of a gift of truly extravagant giving.
But before we understand the gift, we need to understand a bit more about the giver.
The passage this morning tells the story of Jesus’ visit to his friends Lazarus, Martha and Mary.
We have met these friends before; Lazarus is the same man whom Jesus brought back from death after his sisters had sent for Jesus.
Mary and Martha are the same two sisters who argued over whether it was more important to serve and feed Jesus or to sit at his feet and learn.
Now, here Jesus is in their home again. They eat dinner together, then after dinner, Mary takes an expensive perfumed ointment, one that is said to have been worth a year’s wages and rubs it on Jesus’ feet.
After rubbing this ointment on Jesus feet, she takes her long hair and dries his feet.
Of course, her actions catch the attention of the disciples who aren’t quite sure what to think.
Here is this woman just dumping out this expensive perfume on the feet of Jesus.
To understand the importance of the gift, let’s look at some of the other stories we know about Mary.
This is the same woman who instead of helping her sister, Martha serve their guests, she acted against society’s norms and expectations to sit at Jesus feet and learn.
This was highly unusual, as a woman, Mary’s presence was expected to be one of quiet service rather than active participant in the learning.
On another occasion, Jesus has been asked to come to Mary and Martha’s home because their brother, Lazarus is very ill; but before Jesus arrives, Lazarus succumbs to his illness
Martha rushes out to find Jesus, but Mary stays at home, waiting until Jesus arrives. When he does arrive, Mary greets him and falls to the ground weeping.
In all these stories, we see that Mary is a woman who lives fully and takes advantages of the opportunity’s life offers her.
She recognizes that Jesus has something different and special to teach, and so she seizes the opportunity to sit at his feet and learn, ignoring her sister’s annoyed glances and the men’s clucking tongues.
When her brother dies, Mary stays present in that moment, giving herself the opportunity to grieve and weep, not knowing that Jesus will bring Lazarus back to life.
And then in our story this morning, Mary sees the opportunity to give her friend something meaningful and important; so she does.
But we have to make sure that we understand not only is Mary’s gift one of extreme monetary value; it is one of personal value as well.
Just imagine if you will the scene. A room full of people—Martha, Mary, Lazarus, Jesus and his disciples, and Mary flings herself down on the floor, rubbing Jesus feet with this expensive nard.
Then even more scandalous, she lets down her hair and caresses his feet with it.
Mary is making a scene. She is once again going against every social norm in order to live out her devotion to Christ.
Mary was not concerned with what others thought, or about how people thought she should act. She was concerned with learning from Christ; she was concerned about living in the moment and giving a gift that she felt so moved to give.
She was concerned about acting on the devotion she felt for Jesus Christ.
As we come to understand the giver, we start to understand the gift.
But Judas had a different understanding of Mary’s gift. He saw her extravagance as wasteful and chastises her for “wasting” the perfume when it could have been sold and profit given to the poor.
It is tempting to agree with Judas, isn’t it? We all know that Jesus was all about helping others and giving to the “least of these”. So, doesn’t it make sense that the perfume would have been better used to help those people?
The problem is that Judas just talks about doing something while Mary acts.
As we look at this passage, we must start to ask, do I act more like Mary or like Judas?
It is really a question of whether or not we surrender. Do we surrender everything we have, everything we are, everything we do to Christ?
Do I talk about doing good things, talk about giving but never actually do anything?
Or do I tap into Christ’s presence in my life and respond with lavish generosity?
Sharron R. Blezard writes: “do we really give God our very best, or do we give God the leftovers of our lives? Are we truly willing to trust God with all that we have and every fiber of our being, or do we hold back and play it safe out of fear or selfishness? This week’s odd gospel story invites us to consider what it means to be a faithful disciples and steward of God’s gifts.”[1]
As we journey through this Lenten season, it is m y prayer that we all experience Christ in our lives in ways that move us to respond with lavish generosity to those around us and I pray that we will act like Mary rather than talk like Judas. The question I leave you with this morning is: “Do you surrender?”
[1] http://www.stewardshipoflife.org/2013/03/lavish/
You know, the kind of gift that someone gives you and you can’t even figure out what it is, never mind what it does, or even better why the gift-giver decided this was something that you needed!
When I started at my first church, I was fresh out of seminary and living in a house by myself for the first time in my life.
To welcome me, the Women’s Fellowship at the church hosted a welcome party and encouraged the members to bring gifts to welcome the new minister.
We had a delightful evening laughing and getting to know each other. I received many presents—all kinds of things for my new house.
As we were cleaning up and getting ready to leave, someone found these two HUGE garbage bags with a note on them.
As we read the note, we learned that the two bags were also gifts for me from one of the more eccentric members of the church, a woman named Helen.
At first everyone was a bit surprised because Helen did not get involved with the activities of the Women’s Fellowship very often, but no one was a bit surprised by Helen’s unorthodox way of wrapping her presents to me.
Inside those two big black trash bags were all kinds of items wrapped in toilet paper and paper towels.
I unwrapped them one by one to find quite an assortment of things. There were several cans of fruits and vegetables, all kinds of over the counter medicines, a crystal bowl, one spoon that was obviously part of a set, two bed pans, pictures, newspaper clippings, and all kinds of other little trinkets.
I had not yet met Helen when I opened these gifts, and the contents left me a bit baffled. Why in the world would someone give their new pastor a bedpan?
Over the next 4 years as I ministered with and to that church, I came to know Helen. She was 90 at the time we met, and perhaps the most eccentric person I have ever met.
She is also one of my favorite people that I will always hold dear in my heart.
As we came to know each other, I learned that Helen lived in the home where she was born on the family farm. It was in this home that she and her family had struggled through the depression.
She told me about how she and her two siblings took turns eating every third day and how she swore she would never be without food again. She had shelves lined with canned food, and then I understood her gift of peas and corn to me.
I think the reason Helen and I got along so well was our mutual love of dessert. We often ate lunch together, always ordering dessert first, just in case we filled up and didn’t have any room left.
Her gift of the dish and spoon were given with the idea that everyone needs to have a special dish from which to eat their ice cream.
Helen was a nurse with the army for years, and even after her retirement volunteered as a health care advocate for veterans.
Helen was never married or had children, after she returned home from the Army; she lived alone in the family home for many years. She told me of the nights that her chronic asthma acted up, and how she would lay in bed sure that it was the night she was going to die. She often told me that the worst time to live alone is when you’re sick, especially at night.
Her medicine cabinet was always stocked with every kind of over the counter medication you can imagine, just so that she would not have to go out when she was sick.
Now I understood her gift of medicines, bandages, and maybe even the bedpan.
Sometimes, in order to understand the gift, we need to first understand the giver.
So it is with our Scripture lesson this morning.
Our Scripture lesson this morning tells the story of a gift of truly extravagant giving.
But before we understand the gift, we need to understand a bit more about the giver.
The passage this morning tells the story of Jesus’ visit to his friends Lazarus, Martha and Mary.
We have met these friends before; Lazarus is the same man whom Jesus brought back from death after his sisters had sent for Jesus.
Mary and Martha are the same two sisters who argued over whether it was more important to serve and feed Jesus or to sit at his feet and learn.
Now, here Jesus is in their home again. They eat dinner together, then after dinner, Mary takes an expensive perfumed ointment, one that is said to have been worth a year’s wages and rubs it on Jesus’ feet.
After rubbing this ointment on Jesus feet, she takes her long hair and dries his feet.
Of course, her actions catch the attention of the disciples who aren’t quite sure what to think.
Here is this woman just dumping out this expensive perfume on the feet of Jesus.
To understand the importance of the gift, let’s look at some of the other stories we know about Mary.
This is the same woman who instead of helping her sister, Martha serve their guests, she acted against society’s norms and expectations to sit at Jesus feet and learn.
This was highly unusual, as a woman, Mary’s presence was expected to be one of quiet service rather than active participant in the learning.
On another occasion, Jesus has been asked to come to Mary and Martha’s home because their brother, Lazarus is very ill; but before Jesus arrives, Lazarus succumbs to his illness
Martha rushes out to find Jesus, but Mary stays at home, waiting until Jesus arrives. When he does arrive, Mary greets him and falls to the ground weeping.
In all these stories, we see that Mary is a woman who lives fully and takes advantages of the opportunity’s life offers her.
She recognizes that Jesus has something different and special to teach, and so she seizes the opportunity to sit at his feet and learn, ignoring her sister’s annoyed glances and the men’s clucking tongues.
When her brother dies, Mary stays present in that moment, giving herself the opportunity to grieve and weep, not knowing that Jesus will bring Lazarus back to life.
And then in our story this morning, Mary sees the opportunity to give her friend something meaningful and important; so she does.
But we have to make sure that we understand not only is Mary’s gift one of extreme monetary value; it is one of personal value as well.
Just imagine if you will the scene. A room full of people—Martha, Mary, Lazarus, Jesus and his disciples, and Mary flings herself down on the floor, rubbing Jesus feet with this expensive nard.
Then even more scandalous, she lets down her hair and caresses his feet with it.
Mary is making a scene. She is once again going against every social norm in order to live out her devotion to Christ.
Mary was not concerned with what others thought, or about how people thought she should act. She was concerned with learning from Christ; she was concerned about living in the moment and giving a gift that she felt so moved to give.
She was concerned about acting on the devotion she felt for Jesus Christ.
As we come to understand the giver, we start to understand the gift.
But Judas had a different understanding of Mary’s gift. He saw her extravagance as wasteful and chastises her for “wasting” the perfume when it could have been sold and profit given to the poor.
It is tempting to agree with Judas, isn’t it? We all know that Jesus was all about helping others and giving to the “least of these”. So, doesn’t it make sense that the perfume would have been better used to help those people?
The problem is that Judas just talks about doing something while Mary acts.
As we look at this passage, we must start to ask, do I act more like Mary or like Judas?
It is really a question of whether or not we surrender. Do we surrender everything we have, everything we are, everything we do to Christ?
Do I talk about doing good things, talk about giving but never actually do anything?
Or do I tap into Christ’s presence in my life and respond with lavish generosity?
Sharron R. Blezard writes: “do we really give God our very best, or do we give God the leftovers of our lives? Are we truly willing to trust God with all that we have and every fiber of our being, or do we hold back and play it safe out of fear or selfishness? This week’s odd gospel story invites us to consider what it means to be a faithful disciples and steward of God’s gifts.”[1]
As we journey through this Lenten season, it is m y prayer that we all experience Christ in our lives in ways that move us to respond with lavish generosity to those around us and I pray that we will act like Mary rather than talk like Judas. The question I leave you with this morning is: “Do you surrender?”
[1] http://www.stewardshipoflife.org/2013/03/lavish/