At Jesus' Feet?
John 12:1-8, Lent 5c, March 17, 2013
How many of you like this Gospel text? (Take a minute and read it again to yourselves).
What do you think Mary is doing with Jesus' feet? Know – feet are often stinky. Particularly likely when feet are only shorn with sandals, trapseing through dirty streets. Traditionally when one came into a Jewish person's house of Jesus' time a bowl of water was in the entrance and that person washed his or her own feet. Or, if the host was relatively wealthy and had slaves, it would fall to the slave to wash the "guest's" feet. But here Mary washes Jesus' feet. All this happens in John's narrative only a short while before Jesus makes his final trip to Jerusalem. There, just a few hours before his false trial and death, Jesus washes his disciples' feet admonishing them to so serve others.
Not only does Mary wash Jesus' feet but she also anoints them with very expensive perfume. How expensive was this perfume? John tells us, 300 denarii. A denarii was the equivalent of a laborer's daily wage. So the cost of that which Mary poured over Jesus' feet was 10 months of wages for a laborer. In today's money $ 40,000 – $ 80,000. Wow! Nor was Mary' family wealthy. After all Martha is preparing the meal. So, what the heck is Mary doing with Jesus' feet? What do you think?
I suspect that Mary is pouring out her life's love on Jesus in a very intimate way. Firstly, such costly anointing nard may have even represented her dowry. A dowry was what a family saved up for their single daughter(s) to be married so that they could bring something to the marriage indicating that the prospective groom wouldn't have to solely support the woman. Even, if this incredibly expensive nard wasn't Mary's dowry it would represent a massive gift of all that Mary "had" specifically for Jesus.
Do we remember who Mary of Bethany is? She is Lazarus' sister. The very same Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead, some 4 days after Lazarus had died. Can you imagine? How deeply would you feel about a person who had raised/rescued your own son or daughter, brother or sister, mother of father, husband or wife from death?
Not only that – but Mary may have perceived that Jesus is nearing his end. Sometimes people have incredible intuition or are skilled at listening to what is going on around them. Here I mean, not necessarily end as in termination point – but end as in death itself. How could she then show Jesus her love? How could she help him with what he is facing? It is then that she pours out this expensive ointment, perhaps her dowry, all that she has over his feet, while she is bent down, near the floor, as close to him as she can get. As the perfume that nard flows, its sweet aroma fills the room, bridging whatever distance there may have been between Mary and Jesus.
In that day women wore their hair "up" – a sign of respect and decorum. But as the nard runs over Jesus' feet, Mary humbles herself in his presence and begins to wipe her feet with her hair. She totally disregards whatever others may think of her. Her respect, her love, her absolute concern for Jesus will be known by him and by any who care to see.
This all happens 6 days before the Passover... Now six days isn't very long. Seven days from now we will intentionally remember Jesus coming into Jerusalem for his last stay there. Then we will hear the people shout hosanna as he rides on. Yes, "Hosanna!" – God save us. Following that over the next week we will observe him being tried, suffering, dying and Hallelujah, being raised from the dead. How can that crowd goes from acclaiming him as One who can help them, to insanely being filled with anger and demanding his crucifixion?
It is important for us to see Mary in the midst of all that swirls around us. She sees Jesus for who He is. He is the One who brings new life to her brother and so to herself. So, she bends over and lavishly pours out herself on his feet in gratitude. He has done so much for her!
How about us? Do we see Jesus for who He is? Do we know him not only as the source of our lives, not only as the source of all life – but do we see Him as the One who loves us so that He wastes himself on the cross? There we are brought to new life, being rescued from being so damn self centered – so worried about what we have or don't have, so concerned about what others think, so consumed with how long we might live, while often losing sight of the quality of our lives. Jesus does all this on the cross for us AND FOR THE WORLD.
Will we join Mary at Jesus feet?
Will we realize that Jesus' feet are no longer only the feet of a Jewish man who lived some 2000 years ago? Now Jesus' feet are the lives of people, especially those most vulnerable: the sick, the dying, the lonely, those despairing, those convinced that life is simply or only the survival of the fittest. Do we not also realize that Jesus' feet may also be the rivers and the air that in our greed we pollute with little or no thought of what is happening to them and to the creatures and people that depend on them for life because of our action?
Will we in our living, in response to the grace of God in Christ like Mary approach Jesus' feet pouring ourselves out with joy and love, without paralyzing concern for what others may think?
Don't we know, this Jesus is the One who can, who will, who does bring us and the world to new life? God help us to be an active, willing and joyful part of God's work, for Christ's sake. Even now this "upward" call of Christ is placed upon our lives. Amen.