All in...

All in ...

Lent 2016 (C) 2016-03-13: Reading the Lectionary with my family
(I encourage you to read the full text. Hold me accountable if you feel it has not been handled well. It is what Scripture means when it says to wrestle with the Bible and mentally struggle with it and inwardly digest it.)

John 12:3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

I have been privileged to engage this text under the guidance of a Rabbi, a Messianic Jew, a former Jew (now a priest) and an Israeli historian. There was a consistency to their teaching. To understand this story correctly you must understand clearly what the "nard" is. Yes, it was a fragrant cream or oil - yes, it was highly prized - yes, it was extremely valuable - and that is the key. Before banks, stock markets, commodities markets, and investment funds a family's wealth was invested in compact (that is easy to hide) durable desirable commodities such as this nard. This nard then is more than just a precious ointment - it represents the past prosperity, present wealth, and future security of this family. Every reader of this Gospel would be aghast at what was going on here: a family fortune was being squandered in this one seemingly brash moment.

Not long ago a young athlete was drafted to play in a professional sports league. To play pro-sports is the dream of many young people and their families. The contract offered was worth millions! The young athlete chose to walk away from the sport and instead to become a priest. I suspect the reaction of the Jews to Mary's anointing of Jesus parallels closely what the reaction among the athlete's family and friends and the sports media was: Has he gone mad! Think of the good he could do with the money he would make as a professional athlete! Think of the role model he could be. Similarly, a student accepted into a highly prized medical school, from a wealthy family and engaged to be married into a wealthy family chose instead to accept a place in a convent and then serve the poor in a "third world slum." Think of the good she could do as a doctor! Think of the charities she could support from her income!

The way Jesus breathes this moment into Scripture is awesome; He allows us to be astonished at the perceived waste and then gives voice to our shock. Our spokesperson is Judas! In a very real way, Jesus is asking: who are you in this narrative, Mary or Judas? We may not like our answer.

To be aligned with Judas is harsh and convicting! Yet Jesus gives us this moment for our own growth and for our call to repentance and redemption. Jesus also gives us encouragement in the words we find today in Philippians 3: whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Do we really believe Jesus is our everything - the ultimate possession - the most precious gift? - or - are these just words and ideas we parrot in our vain attempts to appear Christian? In this narrative are we Judas or Mary? In our heart are we Judas or Paul? God is calling out to transform our hearts to truly know His worth! God is calling us to the Cross.

Will we truly follow Jesus wherever He goes, even to the Cross? Is it yes or is it no?

For today's full text click here