Fifth Sunday in Lent - Strange Dinner Parties

Introduction

Have you ever been to one of those family dinner parties which just seemed strange? A distant cousin acting completely out of character. People showing up that you just didn’t expect to be there. An uncle suddenly dons a lamp shade on his head. Maybe it’s simply a weird dream that you’ve awaken from. Today’s gospel reading seems that way to me.

Jesus, Lazarus, Mary, Martha, and the others sit down to dinner. Lazarus, (just a few short verses before today’s reading is raised from the dead) enjoying his new-found lease on life. Judas was there, more worried about how things would impact him monetarily than enjoying the moment. And then there is Mary, listening intently to each and every word uttered by Jesus, getting up from the table, , anointing Jesus feet, wiping them with her own hair.

Readings

Isaiah 43:16–21 NIV

This is what the Lord says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.

John 12:1–8 NIV

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

Come to the table

For us 21st century folk, events of this dinner party may seem strange. It is easy for us to question why. Keep in mind a powerful theme here:

Judas, the holder of the purse strings, intently criticizes Mary for “wasting” such expensive ointment…the value of which was quite expensive. Yet Jesus, as he often does, reminds them that the day was quickly approaching that He would no longer be with them…that His life would be poured out as a most wondrous sacrifice for us all.

The Gospel writer John reminds us that Jesus is the one through whom everything was made. There is abundance wherever he is present. As Mary generously anoints him, he tells her critics to “leave her alone.” Generosity breeds generosity. Judas can criticize Mary for what she has done, but the story shows us his true colours: either we love generously, or we do not. Either we are already engaged in providing for the poor, or we are secretly hoarding what might otherwise be shared.

What did Paul Say

Philippians 3:8–14 NIV

What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Conclusion

Jesus is the gift of God. According to John’s Gospel, Jesus is sent into a world that did not request him, yet he acts entirely for its benefit. He consistently acts on his own terms, always revealing the grace and truth of God. Lazarus was raised from the dead on Jesus’ timetable, and not in response to his sisters’ wishes. Similarly, Jesus will lay down his life for his people (John 10:17–18), not because he is asked to do so, but because he chooses to give himself. WILLIAM G. CARTER

Prayer

Psalm 126 (NIV)

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,

we were like those who dreamed.

Our mouths were filled with laughter,

our tongues with songs of joy.

Then it was said among the nations,

“The Lord has done great things for them.”

The Lord has done great things for us,

and we are filled with joy.

Restore our fortunes, Lord,

like streams in the Negev.

Those who sow with tears

will reap with songs of joy.

Those who go out weeping,

carrying seed to sow,

will return with songs of joy,

carrying sheaves with them.