Told in memory of her

Lent 5 C 2013

March 17, 2013

Isaiah 43:16-21
Psalm 126

Philippians 3:4b-14
John 12:1-8

You may have noticed, over the years, that the Four Gospels, which tell the story of the life and ministry of Jesus, do not agree on all the details. Shepherds visit the baby Jesus in Luke, wise men from the East in Matthew; Mark and John don’t seem to care how Jesus was born, but they do agree that his mother was named Mary.

There are a few stories common to all four gospels: the feeding of the 5000 (Matthew and Mark tell the story of another miraculous meal, to 4000 more). This story, of the woman who anoints Jesus, is also told by all four gospels, but with some variations. For this event to be recorded at least four times means it must have been critically important to the early church – one of the signature events of Jesus’ life that his followers insisted revealed something essential about what Jesus was doing here on earth. Think about it: a woman’s act of loving service to Jesus was one of the few things that all four evangelists agreed HAD to be included.

As is the case with most Bible stories, our stained-glass memories of events cloud what is really going on in the text. So a pop Bible quiz here: I’m going to ask you a couple of questions, and DON’T look at your leaflet! How many of you remember that this woman was a prostitute? How many of you think that this woman has no name? Where does this story take place? Who votes for Jerusalem, at the Last Supper? Who votes for Bethany? Is it in the home of Simon the leper? Is it in the home of a Pharisee? How many of you know what the people in the story are doing when the woman comes in? Does the woman pour oil on Jesus’ head? Or on his feet?

Those things are all true about at least ONE version of this story of the woman who anoints Jesus, but they are not true of ALL of them. In the Gospel of Luke, an unnamed woman known as a sinner comes into the home of a Pharisee who is hosting Jesus for dinner. She anoints his feet with oil and with her tears, and wipes his feet with her hair. It is true that the only women in those days who let down their hair were prostitutes, or wives within their homes, and so this act – in all four Gospels – is quite shocking. I think this would be as shocking as some stranger coming in to a private party and giving the guest of honor a luxurious massage. In Luke this happens early in Jesus’ ministry, and he uses the example of this woman on the edge of propriety and full of emotion to teach his followers about the unfettered love and mercy of God.

Matthew, Mark and today’s reading from John all place this story near the end of Jesus life, actually as one of the last things that happens before Jesus enters Jerusalem for the last time. In Matthew, Mark and John, Jesus is in Bethany – both Matthew and Mark agree that Jesus is having supper at the home of Simon the leper. All of the disciples are gathered – which might be why we confuse it in our minds with the Last Supper. The unnamed woman comes in, loosens her hair, shockingly, and extravagantly pour expensive oil on Jesus’ head. Judas gets angry – “this could have been sold and given to the poor!” – and both passages end telling us the importance of this story. Mark tells us that Jesus said, “wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.” And remember: the FIRST words in the Gospel of Mark are “The Good News.”

Now let’s turn to the version of this story we read today: from the Gospel of John. In this version, the woman has a name: Mary. Mary who is Jesus’ close friend. Mary who is far from being a shameful woman or a sinner or a prostitute. Mary whose sister is Martha and whose brother is Lazarus, whom Jesus brought back from the dead. Mary, who called for Jesus when Lazarus died and greeted him on the road with the words, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Mary, who with her sister and brother, had enough family resources to host Jesus and his disciples many times before. Mary, who sat at Jesus’ feet to learn from the Master. Mary, who absorbed it all. Mary, who acted as a prophet, telling us what Jesus meant.

That is indeed Mary’s importance, as John tells the story: she is a prophet, acting out in ways that people do not at the time understand – signaling that Jesus’ actions are heading toward a confrontation with the powers that will conspire to put him to death – powers that include a Judas whose false concern for the poor masks his coming deception.

As John tells it, Mary anoints Jesus’ feet: only the feet of a dead man are anointed. Mary uses an ointment that cost the equivalent of a year’s wages for a working man -- $15,000 worth of ointment, in today’s money. Any sensible person WOULD object to this behavior, this extravagance, but Jesus accepts this gift graciously, assertively: “Leave her alone,” he says. She knows what is going on. The way she takes care of Jesus now is the way he will need to be taken care of in a very few days’ time.

Soon after this story, Jesus enters Jerusalem. He rides in on a donkey, when glorious Roman rulers ride in on chariots. When he eats his last meal with his disciples, he steps down from the head of the table, removes his robe, and with a towel, washes the feet of his disciples. They are shocked at this turn of events, this reversal of roles. This is his last act with his friends, his embodiment of what the love of God means, what service means. “Do this in remembrance of me,” he says. And it is Mary, in her home in Bethany, who has taken his feet in her hands, who has foreshadowed Jesus’ own action of love and service. Mary the prophet, who today show us the way, to give all she has to the one who has given everything for the life of the world.