Sermon for Sunday April 3 2020 - Fear, Love and Understanding
GOSPEL: John 12:1-8
The holy gospel according to John.
Glory to you, O Lord.
1Six 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.”
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
Maybe you’ve noticed that people are on edge these days.
After 2 years of pandemic,
I’m finding people are easily agitated and irritable.
Like the aroma of perfume in the air
I’ve felt an aura of anger across this province.
People - myself included - are quick to judge and to complain.
I find myself making quick judgments and getting angry
when I see a big truck with a Canadian flag attached.
If you happened to find yourself
in the belt-line these past weeks,
you’d hear the complaints and the anger
as people protest pandemic restrictions,
and you’d hear the anger of people
with their counter protests.
Not long ago you could hear anger
in protester’s voices outside the Foothills hospital:
angry at precautions, mandates, and the COVID hoax
and then inside that hospital
you’d hear anger from the nurses and care staff
who had been working so hard
to care for the sick and to keep people safe.
I was watching the Oscars last Sunday,
and boy was Will Smith angry!
I made the mistake of going on social media last week,
and people are quick to judge,
people are angry with him,
and quick to try and get another laugh at their expense.
If you missed the episode at the Oscars,
Will Smith and his wife, Jada,
who had been the punch-line of jokes for some time
found themselves again the punch line
of a Chris Rock joke,
Will Smith had enough,
and Chris Rock found himself being the punch line.
It was a slap, not a punch,
but wow are folks quick to judge the three of them,
and the internet is sure angry with Will Smith.
So much anger.
So much judgment.
So much complaining.
I hear anger from Judas in today’s Gospel reading;
giving Mary a hard time
for her expression of love and devotion to Jesus.
Mary, the sister of Lazarus, anoints Jesus’s feet
with a pound of costly perfume of pure nard,
an extravagant amount worth one year’s wages;
300 denarii,
or in today’s terms,
about $60,000.
That’s a lot of denarii,
But this is also Jesus of Nazareth we are talking about.
This is the One who raised Lazarus from the dead,
who fed 5000 plus,
who turned water into wine.
Mary has a unique understanding of who Jesus is.
This is Jesus’ anointing
as the King who will enter Jerusalem
in a grand parade
to the crowds shouting Hosanna!
It is also a preparation for Jesus’ burial;
Mary seems to know what awaits Jesus in Jerusalem.
In the simplest sense,
this is an intimate act of love from Mary to her Rabbi,
her Healer,
her Lord,
her God.
And Judas gets angry and complains;
Judas mansplains to Mary
what that costly perfume should have been used for.
It makes me angry:
hearing people get angry and complain
over the way someone else is trying to show love.
I find it hard to understand that kind of anger.
Although John’s gospel isn’t kind to Judas here,
maybe we need some understanding of his motives.
Judas kept the common purse for the group,
he was the treasurer,
the accountant,
in charge of the money.
It was likely that Judas would be responsible
for giving some of that money away to the poor
that the disciples might meet on their travels.
This was Judas’ ministry.
Even with mixed motives,
Mary’s extravagant and expensive
display of love for Jesus
challenged Judas’ identity.
It reminds me of some anger I heard a few years ago.
There were 5 congregations in the Edmonton area
that came together to sponsor a refugee family.
We called our group - Welcoming the Stranger.
These were smaller congregations,
and it was exciting for some of us
to come together to raise funds
and get volunteers in place
for refugee sponsorship,
but there were some in my congregation
who were angry about it.
“How could you justify budgeting thousands of dollars
to bring a family here
when we’re having enough trouble paying our own bills
and keeping our own church doors open!?!?!?”
For these people,
refugee sponsorship challenged their identity
and understanding of what a church should be,
and what church money ought to be used for.
I found the tone changed
when people had the opportunity to meet Helen from Eritrea,
the first family member to be brought to Canada.
We saw her smile,
her tears,
and heard her story:
living in a refugee camp;
a single mother
forced to be separated from her 8 year old son;
the fear with the disappearance
and presumed death of her husband.
Compassion grew as people gained an understanding
of what her life was like.
After bringing Helen to Canada,
no one seemed concerned over any additional costs
in bringing her son here.
Gaining understanding led to the anger fading away.
I learned this week that their reunion,
delayed by COVID and corruption
is coming soon,
Helen’s son, Alkanah is finally coming to Canada!
Thanks be to God!
In welcoming the stranger,
I have experienced God’s love.
God shows love in essential ways
and in eclectic ways.
When it comes to joining in Christ’s ministry,
sharing God’s love,
loving our neighbours,
we find ourselves navigating between
the essential and the eclectic:
Between meeting basic needs
and extravagance in love.
When Jesus fed the 5000 plus,
blessing 5 loaves and 2 fish,
it was an essential kind of love:
these people were hungry,
and they got that essential need met.
When Jesus turned water into wine,
the people weren’t hungry.
There was no essential kind of need present,
but Jesus showed an eclectic love
with saving the best wine for last:
6 giant stone jars full;
6000 glasses of finest wine!
Now that is extravagantly eclectic.
That is God’s love for us;
essential and extravagantly eclectic.
Mary anoints Jesus in eclectic love,
and Jesus does not decline.
Not long after this anointing of Jesus’ feet,
Jesus will wash the disciples’ feet.
It might have been essential;
their feet were dirty,
but it was not essential for Jesus to clean them:
rather it was an eclectic display of love.
I wonder if Mary’s eclectic love in anointing Jesus’ feet
helped inspire Jesus’ own eclectic display of love?
I hear Judas get angry with Mary,
complaining and mansplaining over this display of love,
and I get angry.
But Jesus doesn’t give into this kind of anger;
Jesus responds to Judas, and to Mary,
with love and understanding:
“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.”
Jesus stood up for Mary,
and Jesus teaches Judas - and us all -
about our call to love.
When Jesus says “you always have the poor with you…”
I believe it is a reference to Deuteronomy 15:11—
“Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth,
I therefore command you,
‘Open your hand to the poor
and needy neighbour in your land”
Jesus is not saying
“you don’t need to worry about the poor”;
much the opposite.
Jesus affirms Judas
- yes, provide for the poor -
and also opens minds to a deeper understanding
of what sharing God’s love might look like.
For us, I hear an affirmation and encouragement
to love our neighbour in essential and eclectic ways:
Sponsor the refugee family,
send the youth on a trip to the national gathering,
throw a party
to celebrate the church’s 40th anniversary -
and also head down to the mustard seed,
give blessing bags,
give money to the poor.
Babysit for your neighbour
so mom can go to work,
and babysit so mom can go out with friends.
Bring the casserole,
and maybe a bottle of wine too.
Shovel their sidewalk,
mow their lawn,
knit the prayer shall,
put together the 36 page scrapbook,
give the thank-you card,
write the cheque;
love your neighbour like God loves you:
with love that is essential
and love that is eclectic.
But we don’t and can’t know how to love our neighbour
until we understand them.
So what might it look like for us
to gain some understanding
in this time of anger and complaining?
I think it starts,
not with talking,
but with listening.
Anger is often a secondary emotion:
a reaction fuelled by the primary emotion of fear.
Some of the anger I’m hearing
comes from of place of people’s identity being threatened,
which generates fear and anger.
Folks who have lost jobs in coal or oil and gas;
they need understanding,
their identity in their work is being threatened.
Those who are outspoken about caring for creation;
their identity is threatened by current norms that pollute;
they need understanding.
Health care workers who have been caring for the sick,
nearing burnout in a prolonged pandemic
need understanding;
these protests threaten their identity.
Those who are protesting pandemic restrictions
are fearful for various reasons
and their identities are being threatened.
What might it look like to gain understanding
with folks on both sides of those protests?
Even Will Smith,
who made a mistake by slapping the comedian,
did so, not in an isolated incident,
but in reaction to his wife
being the butt end of too many jokes
because of lifestyle and her medical condition
He wants to protect his family
and be a person of love.
I can understand that.
Be it climate change
or pandemic
or Ukraine
or even the Oscars,
our identities get challenged when we hear opposing views.
I sure can be quick to judge,
quick to get angry
especially when my identity gets challenged.
Maybe you can relate
But our identity is found in Jesus Christ and him crucified.
Our identity is found in baptism:
you are no longer defined by sin,
death and evil,
rather you have been named and claimed by our God,
you are forgiven,
you are gifted and sealed with the Holy Spirit,
and together we are the body of Christ.
We are called and commanded to love our God
and love neighbour:
that is our identity!
Nothing can threaten your baptism;
no amount of anger
or criticism
or mansplaining
or judgment can take that away.
Although anger
and complaining
and fear may fill the air;
we live in God’s presence,
we live filled and surrounded by God’s love,
and God’s perfect love casts out all fear.
Judas was afraid.
Judas rejected Mary’s act of love.
With his betrayal,
Judas rejected Jesus’ love.
Yet even Judas was fed by Jesus at the table.
Jesus washed Judas’ feet too.
In our own anger and rejection of other’s acts of love,
in our own anger and fear,
God still pours out love for us,
for you,
for all.
When your neighbour is angry:
May you seek understanding
and love your neighbour.
When you are angry:
May you search yourself,
discern what you are afraid of deep inside,
and trust that God’s perfect love casts out all fear.
Above all:
May you remember your baptism,
remember your identity in Christ,
and love your neighbour as yourself.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
