O God of love, help us to find our place in the holy drama of this week, that we might encounter anew the grace and wonder of our salvation. Amen.
What does love smell like? Perhaps the aroma of a freshly baked apple pie at Grandma’s house? Maybe coming home to the smell of a recently cleaned and lemon-fresh house? The perfume or cologne of a lover? The scent of spring flowers? One poet has said, “Smells are surer than sights or sounds to make your heartstrings crack.” And it’s true. The sense of smell, for many of us, is the most evocative. So what does love smell like?
This
Holy Week, each sermon will focus on one character in the day’s readings. That’s
not to say that the other characters or themes don’t matter. It’s just by
focusing on one person, we can find different entry points into the drama of
our salvation that unfolds this week. Yesterday, on Palm Sunday, we considered
the Jewish crowds. Tonight, on Holy Monday, we focus on Mary of Bethany.
There
are a lot of Mary’s in Scripture, particularly in Holy Week. This is not Mary,
the mother of Jesus. Nor is she Mary Magdalene. And this Mary is not one of the
other Marys who is identified as the mother of Joseph and James. This is
Lazarus’ and Martha’s sister, Mary. She was a patron of Jesus’ ministry. We
tend not to think about Jesus having financial supporters – but being an itinerant
prophet and preacher didn’t really pay well, or at all. In Holy Week, Jesus and
his disciples spent their nights in Bethany – so this family was providing food
and lodging for this group of thirteen. It’s also quite likely that throughout
Jesus’ ministry, Mary was one of those whose generosity supported his ministry.
This isn’t a stewardship sermon, but it does remind us of the importance of
supporting those in ministry.
And
given her actions in the reading from John, we know that she was a woman of considerable
financial means. This act of anointing Jesus’ feet with perfume is an act of
pure extravagance. Scholars can tell us that a pound of pure nard was equivalent
to a year’s salary. In our terms, we’re talking about $60,000. That’s quite the
gift. It seems excessive, and perhaps it is. But there’s a lesson in the abundance.
Nothing is ever wasted if it is spent on love.
We
are all busy people. Even if we are well off, we’d always rather have another zero
in our bank account. We only have so much energy to give. And sometimes it can
feel small and insignificant to do things like sending a text to someone going
through a hard time, or mailing a card to someone, or buying someone a cup of
coffee, or giving a gift to charity in the face of so many needs, or serving a
meal at Rowan Helping Ministries when so many people are still hungry in our
community. We might be tempted to think “What’s the point” or “Am I really making
a difference?” The example of Mary is a resounding “yes!” All actions done in
and for love matter.
In
fact, when this event is recorded in Matthew, Jesus says “Truly I tell you, wherever
this good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told
in remembrance of her.” In the end, compassion matters, generosity endures, and
love is never wasted. It’s the same truth we see throughout this week, that the
life and love of Jesus are what make all things well, even if his life is taken
from him in the most degraded and tragic of ways.
This
doesn’t mean that love is always easy. The cross makes that obvious, but so
does Judas’ complaint. He says that this perfume could have been sold and given
to the poor. And he’s not wrong. His error is not in getting the facts wrong. Rather,
his mistake is getting the question wrong. Judas was locked into binary thinking
– it had to be this or that. Either we help the poor or we honor Jesus. This sort
of thinking is emblematic of the gridlock that we know so well. We live in an
either-or world, whereas God seems to be much more about both-and. We can serve
the poor and lavish Jesus with love. We can both give to support the arts and the
homeless. We can find time both to pray regularly and to spend time with family.
We get into so much trouble when we put things into competition that are both
on the side of goodness. Mary understands this lesson that she learned from
Jesus – we don’t have to ignore one good thing in favor of the other. One act
of charity does not negate another. “Both” is always an option when it comes to
love.
And
this love that Mary shows, John tells us, fills the home. “The house was filled
with the fragrance of the perfume.” That’s how love is. You give a bit, and it's
sort of like the mustard seed or the yeast that Jesus spoke of in his parables.
A little bit leavens the whole loaf and a tiny seed becomes the grandest of
shrubs.
It’s
fascinating that Jesus says “She bought it so that she might keep it for the
day of my burial.” One of the themes throughout the Gospels is that the disciples
don’t get it; they don’t quite understand Jesus when he, rather clearly, tells
them that he will be killed. No, Mary of Bethany is not one of the twelve
disciples. She presumably did not follow him around Galilee and hear his teaching.
But she understood the trajectory of his ministry. We might even say that her
act of anointing anticipates the foot washing that will happen later this week
on Maundy Thursday. Sometimes the insiders miss the most obvious of things
because they assume they know all of the inner workings. It is why Church works
best when we listen to new voices, to marginalized perspectives, to those who
have a different approach.
This
isn’t the only time that Jesus will be anointed for burial. On Good Friday we
will hear that Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus hastily anoint the body of
Jesus after his death before the beginning of the sabbath rest. Mary of Bethany
also anoints Jesus. I’m not at all suggesting that Joseph’s and Nicodemus’
anointing wasn’t good, proper, or tardy. But we can’t ignore the fact that Mary
showed this love while Jesus was still alive. For one, this demonstrates that
she understood what was about to happen to Jesus. And it was also a bold move,
to anoint a still living person with burial spices. But she risks ridicule because
showing love is more important than keeping up a reputation. Telling someone how
much they mean to us while we still have the chance matters.
You
might know the quote, “Life is short. We don't have much time to gladden the
hearts of those who walk this way with us. So, be swift to love and make haste
to be kind.” It’s a truth that Mary knew and expressed. Don’t wait until it’s
too late to say “thank you,” “I’m sorry,” or “I love you.”
Mary
of Bethany is a pivotal player in Holy Week because, in her devotion, she
points us towards Jesus’ devotion to and compassion for us. We know from
Scripture that “We love because God first loved us.” Mary knew the love of God
in Jesus, which enabled her to respond with a generous, abundant, and extravagant
love. So what does love smell like? We pray that God would grant us the boldness
to dare to act and find out. Amen.
