Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Several years ago, Sam and I went to Mexico City. I was attending a church conference for three days, but we stayed a week extra to see the sights. Of course, the sights include several enormous cathedrals including one devoted to St Mary. St. Mary appeared to an Indian man at Guadeloupe and the Mexicans have adopted this appearance as the Mary of Mexico’s national identity. The cathedral is enormous and can seat almost 10,000 worshippers. Built in rococo style, gold leaf is everywhere and no expense was spared. We took a tour and I got friendly with a couple from the Midwest and they remarked “All that gold, and so many people around here are so poor.” The sentiments she expressed I’ve heard as a Pastor many times particularly when I’ve suggested we buy something expensive for worship. The arguments go, “God does not need that kind of opulence.” God created blue ridged mountains and crimson and gold colored water at sunset.” While I would never suggest we withhold money from the poor, Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, in today’s lesson, truly has something to teach us about honoring God.
The scene is her house where she lives with Lazarus her brother and his sister Martha. They were disciples of Jesus, and in the previous chapter of St. John’s gospel, Jesus has just raised Lazarus from the dead. He’d been in the grave 4 days. Mary was inconsolable and we presume he died from a fever or flu, something that had come over him suddenly. Jesus had given her her brother back. She tried to find some way of honoring Christ. Her heart was bursting with love, joy, thanksgiving, praise and literally worship. Jesus had demonstrated that he had divine powers. Only God can generate, or re-generate life. She knew that in Jesus she was encountering God. So she worships.
How does she worship?
They were eating and their tables were low, maybe a foot off the floor. They reclined to eat and laid around on pillows or rugs if they had them. Jesus feet are exposed to her. She kneels down and pours a very expensive oil and perfume mixture on his feet.
The perfume was expensive – extremely costly. Judas estimates that it cost 300 denarii the silver coins of that day and age that were worth about a day’s wage. So, this perfume cost about a year’s income – in today’s wages let’s say 40 -60 thousand dollars. Perhaps Judas’ reaction makes a bit more sense. Sixty thousand dollars to anoint feet does seem extravagant, lavish. He, like the lady taking the tour of the cathedral in Mexico City, wonders if the money couldn’t have been better spent on relieving suffering of the poor.
But Jesus sees in Mary’s act the love and the adoration that motivated it. She was putting her money where her mouth was, and her heart, and her soul, and her mind. Her act was a genuine act of worship – the most moving way she could think of to express her love, gratitude and devotion. Remember, she kneels down; she dries his feet with her hair. People wore sandals in those days. The streets were filled with garbage, the droppings of horses, donkey, cattle and other domestic animals. Streets were rarely paved and paved in those days meant filled with crushed rock – not the smooth macadam surfaces were now know. Feet got filthy walking through the dust and grime. A hostess always offered a basin of water for her guests to wash their feet. In very wealthy homes, a slave would wash guest’s feet because it was considered a lowly, humiliating job. Mary takes the form and posture of a slave to show how utterly devoted to Jesus she is.
She dries his feet with her hair. Then as now, long, abundant hair was a woman’s prized feature. She uses her hair as a towel to express her love for restoring her brother from death.
Mary and Judas represent two distinct reactions to the presence of the “Holy One” in their lives. Mary can spare no expense to honor her God and Judas is presented to us as a cynic. St. John tells us that he really did not care for the poor; he simply wanted to put down Mary’s gift. He is a creature trapped in this world because even though he has been as eye witness to Jesus power, he doesn’t get it. Judas thinks Lazarus will die again – maybe as an old man if he’s lucky. But there is no such thing as eternal life and Judas heart is cold, it cannot be touched and he cannot imagine that the one, who can rise from the dead, is the same one who is the God who created all that is in the first place.
What does this story say to us? We live nearly 2000 years from it? Can it speak? What does it say?
Eleven days from today will be Holy Thursday. We will read a passage from this same gospel of St. John that had Jesus washing the feet of the 12 apostles. Peter will protest this time and ask Jesus not to wash his feet. In washing his disciples’ feet, Jesus re-defines divinity. He gets down to the bottom of human existence – both literally and figuratively. He told Judas “the poor you will always have with you,” and in washing the feet of the apostles he shows them that he identifies totally with those poor, those who are servants, indeed slaves. He further tells Peter that we who follow him who receive resurrection life from him, like Lazarus should spend their lives like Mary – withholding no cost, embracing any lowly posture, even sacrificing our greatest pride – like she did her hair, to show him honor, respect, devotion and love.
The great cathedral of Our Lady of Guadeloupe wasn’t financed by the offerings of the wealthy. Like any church, including our own, it is the result of the outpouring of perfumed love like that of Mary. The church‘s faith always erects great cathedrals and monuments because all of us, especially the poorest among us need to meet the grandeur of God’s love inside them. God does not demand or need the tribute of the 100 denarii perfume nor a great cathedral – these are the results of the spontaneous outpouring of our love and devotion. We pour out these gifts to say thank you and ”I love you.” But Jesus does need our help with the poor and has made us rich enough in grace to accomplish both.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Who We Are