2.13.18 3.26.2023 Mark 14.3-9,22-25 Beginning to Be the Church (2)

Start:

Entice: Mark Chapter 14 is the door to the passion narrative. It is kind of a long, rambling chapter with lots of moving parts. There are two incidents which stand out. One stands out because it has formed the basis of Christian worship for more than two millennia. The second stands out, despite not being central to the unfolding plot to arrest Jesus, because He specifically said,

“This will be remembered everywhere the Gospel is proclaimed.”

The shared theme of these stories is memory.

Everything that the Church is ultimately begins with memory.

Engage: In a very real sense,

we are our memories.

When you remember

your past,

your childhood

your education

your career,

the years raising your children,

you are defining what you mean by

“me”.

That is what makes the retention of our first story so remarkable: It does not seem to serve any real purpose in furthering the cause of Christ. I have preached from Mark 14 many times, but candidly, I’m usually moving as quickly as I can to get to the “good stuff” like shady deals and backroom betrayal. Yet there is a commonality to these two stories that we really should not miss, and it comes down to that idea of memory.

As an individual is defined by her memories the Church is defined by its institutional and communal memory.

Expand: In a sense the whole of the Gospels, the NT the Bible, is a sprawling catalogue of memory. These two stories, the Anointing of Jesus and the Institution of the Lord’s Supper stand out for combining what appears deliberate and purposeful behaviors on the part of Jesus with what seems spontaneous and serendipitous on the part of the nameless woman. This is among the mysteries of God’s foresight and providence. I think we need to be reminded that life consists of both

the profound and the prosaic,

the important and the innocuous,

the simple and the complex.

Excite: For our congregation to be the best Kingdom-outpost possible, for us to fulfill our calling to be the Church present in this place requires an ongoing, persistent, purposeful, even stubborn act of memory. We must constantly remind ourselves who we are becoming by the Grace of God in Christ Jesus, constantly reinforcing the lessons of scripture.

Explore: because…

Acts of memory define our worship and understanding of Jesus.

Expand: Remembering is responding.

Body of Sermon; consider with me our first story...

Mark 14:3–9 ESV

3 And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. 4 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? 5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. 6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 9 And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

This nameless lady responds to the coming passion with

1 Attraction, Affection, and Attention.

1.1 She was drawn to Him.

1.2 She Did for Him.

1.2.1 Simple Action/Complex Theology.

1.2.2 Anticipation and Participation in the Kingdom.

1.3 The Details Spoke Volumes.

1.4 An act of memorable devotion.

Ultimately, the Christian is someone drawn to Jesus,

someone who does both what is expected and what is not

A Christian understand the details of the story impact the details of daily living.

Disciples know that all we do is an act of devotion.

Next, Jesus responds to His coming passion with

2 Action, Anticipation, and Affirmation.

Mark 14:22–25 ESV

22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

2.1 Jesus acts combining the common and the uncommon.

2.2 Jesus anticipates the outcome of the cross.

2.3 Jesus affirms the saving nature of His sacrifice.

Shut Down

You and I, this Church meeting at this place is a part of a far larger constellation of memories. We are a part of 20 centuries of communal covenant memory of Jesus. We share His words and His deeds. We share the saving outcome of His death, the explosive empowerment of His resurrection, and the sanctifying outpouring of His Spirt. And every Lord’s Day we share His memorial feast. Communion reminds us of what He did for us, what the world did to Him, and what we should do until He comes again.

This is Gospel.

This is Kingdom.

This is worship.

This is mission.

I do not beg for a response to the message, because I serve a King, not a beggar. Yet there are times where I want to be very clear what my goal is for a message and what I hope you will do—what response I pray for. The response Jesus expects. He wants you to be like that woman gave so much.

Be attracted to Him.

Feel affection toward Him.

Give Him your undivided attention.

That is love, that is faith.

Then we can all gather as His disciples around His table where His actions, anticipate our Salvation and make eternal memories. If you have not come to Him yet, let this be the day.