April 6 | Lent 5, Year C
Isaiah 43:16-21
Psalm 126
Philippians 3:4b-14
John 12:1-8
We are accustomed to seeing humans as belonging to one of two groups—the haves or the have-nots. Of course, as Christians we believe that God loves his people indiscriminately, so from a spiritual perspective there are no such categories as haves and have-nots. In practice, however, in our religious lives we can be located along a spectrum between two poles: the givers and the getters. Our location on that spectrum is determined by our attitude toward God. In this case it is not our theological, philosophical, or otherwise intellectual attitude but our practical attitude that determines our position. When we boil all the rhetoric and posturing down to its elemental form, we find the attitude that is the measure of our faith is articulated by whether we seek God to serve him or for what he can do for us.
Mary, sister of Lazarus, defines the giver pole. Mary’s devotion to Jesus knows no bounds. She takes what has to be her greatest treasure, an exquisitely expensive bottle of liquid perfume, and pours it on Jesus’ feet. She does not even rise to pour it on his head, as would have been the tradition. Rather, she humbly bathes his feet. In a greater denial of tradition and social custom, Mary lets her hair down in public and uses it to wipe Jesus’ anointed feet. No monetary or cultural cost was great enough to stop Mary from showing her love and devotion to Jesus.
The interpretation of her action in response to Judas’s protest brings even higher emphasis to her devotion. Perhaps the greatest act of giving love is when there is no possibility of return. In that case, the one who lovingly tends to and anoints a person’s corpse must be placed high on the list of devoted lovers. Such treatment and ministry to a dead body is the last act of love one can offer. It is performed for love, at personal expense, without any possibility of return. Jesus’ explanation of Mary’s action raises her devotion to the highest level of honor.
What a challenge Mary’s act is to us as followers of Jesus. When we read this account and do not feel its challenge, we have effectively joined Judas in dismissing Mary’s example of love and service. What is our threshold of cost in demonstrating our love for Jesus in our lives? Do we have a treasure that is of greater value to us than Jesus? Do we value our reputation in this world more than we value Jesus?
St. Paul’s devotion, as expressed in his letter to the church in Philippi, is also an expression of loving, single-minded sacrifice. The most important thing to Saul of Tarsus was his reputation. He built his entire life on his achievements as a Pharisee. He had the best teachers, the right pedigree, and the greatest zeal. He had risen above his peers in the understanding and teaching of Judaism, and was even a champion of Israel in the battle against heresy and paganism. Not only did he hold the cloaks of those who stoned St. Stephen, but he also traveled the region to persecute the nascent church. But once he met the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, he declared all that was his reason for being was simply rubbish. He even put dying for Christ above all his achievements. Nothing this life has to offer is of greater value than following Jesus.
One of Jesus’ most probing and challenging questions to his followers is “Who do you say that I am?” (Matt. 16:15). The intellectual answer is that he is the Christ, God’s anointed one, the ever-living Son of the Father. But the answer that counts as belief is not what articulates Jesus’ title, position, or his function in our salvation. Our real answer is revealed through our obedient service. Is Jesus our Master and Lord? If he is, then we will serve him with every aspect of our life. The true disciple of Christ is a giver.
Look It Up: Isaiah 43:19-22
Think About It: What defines me as a human being? Is it not my sin? Jesus has taken my sins, but have I let go and given them (that is, myself) to him?
The Rev. Dr. Chuck Alley, former rector of St. Matthew’s Church in Richmond, Virginia, teaches anatomy at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical School.
