ONEFAMILY OutreachSign up for Weekly Study:ONEFamily Outreach exists to "Connect Kids to Community and Communities to Kids." Have you considered having a mission week for your church? This is one of my favorite "in-depth" ways of reaching out with the Great News of Jesus Christ. Activities can include:
ONEFamily Outreach is primarily supported by your donations and by trainings, workshops, retreats and concerts. Download More Studies | Download Music | Books and Products | Book Jerry The House Was Filled With The Fragrance of The PerfumeJohn 12:1-8Lent 5c John 12:1-8[Jn 12:1] Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. [2] So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. [3] Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. [4] But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, *said, [5] “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?” [6] Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it. [7] Therefore Jesus said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial.[8] “For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.” (NAS) John 12:1-2[Jn 12:1] Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. [2] So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. (NAS) Six days before the PassoverThe end of Christ’s earthly ministry was glaringly near. We saw that the moment Peter recognized Jesus as the Messiah; our Lord’s teaching ministry was over and his sacrificial ministry had begun. How many of us struggle blindly against similar transitions in our own lives? Perhaps our greatest shift will always be from “being in charge” to modeling, mentoring and serving, from being a “mover and a shaker” to being behind the scenes, passing on our knowledge to another generation. John the Baptist had to do this: John 3:30[Jn 3:30] “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (NAS) Jesus did this: John 16:7[Jn 16:7] “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.” (NAS) And, it was the final lesson that Jesus taught Peter as well: John 21:18[Jn 21:18] “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” (NAS) Are we aware of life’s transitions; are we prepared to decrease so that Jesus can increase? The hardest lesson of life is learning that it is not about me. In fact, our greatest quest is to live a life that is continually less about me and more about him. Just as Jesus sacrificed himself for us in Jerusalem, we too must sacrifice ourselves for his sake everyday. Each day of my life I will face this issue and, even as it becomes a habit, it doesn’t get easier because I have to give of myself on a deeper and deeper level. That is the difficult aspect of this reading. The closer we get to the cross; the greater our burdens become. As Jesus continues his determined march toward the cross he goes forward with no illusions. He was already a wanted man: John 11:57[Jn 11:57] Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him. (NAS) It had become a crime against the religion to not report the whereabouts of Jesus on sight. Why? Because he had raised Lazarus from the dead in front of multiple witnesses. John 11:48-50[Jn 11:48] “If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” [49] But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, [50] nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” (NAS) If we accept the timeline as handed down to us through the Vulgate and by the King James version (this timeline is not necessarily a given, many scholars would place John 12:12-36 ahead of John 12:1-11), then we see Jesus healing Lazarus, the religious leaders plotting to kill him, Jesus taking his disciples north to Ephraim for a last teaching, and then we see either: a) Jesus returning to Jerusalem in triumph before going to Lazarus’ house for this last oasis before his death, or b) Jesus going to Lazarus’ house prior to the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. There is evidence for either viewpoint, however, either way, the point is that Jesus had come to Jerusalem knowing full well he would die and he made his whereabouts public knowledge. There would be no hiding for Jesus, this was his time, and he picked the season. The religious leaders did not hunt for Jesus; he willingly went to them, for he knew that our only hope of salvation lay in his sacrifice: John 10:17-18[17] “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. [18] “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.” (NAS) Less of me and more of him, it is a daily decision and ranks among out toughest choices in life. Each day, I must ask myself, “How can I sacrifice more of myself now? Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the tableMark tells us that Jesus went to Bethany (five miles from Jerusalem) where he stayed at the house of Simon the Leper [Mk 14:1-11]. Simon and the family of Lazarus must have been very close indeed because Martha takes over his kitchen. What is it that brought them all so close? They shared something awesome in common, radical healing. Does that still gather us as a church today? Do we realize that the gathering of these wounded families is the same thing that happens today whenever two or three gather in his name? Jesus is majestic in the presence of his wounded people today and for all time. Simon gives his house, Martha gives her service, Lazarus shares his company and Mary; her gift is absolute humility. Each one brings their gift to the altar as they are able and Jesus blesses them all. Here is church at its vibrant core, without pretense or ritual, just Jesus and his wounded friends. This had to be the last oasis on Jesus’ forced march to sacrifice, an instant of compassionate joy in a final week of unimaginable tribulation. Is my life an oasis for likes of Jesus? Would “being an oasis of compassion” for the suffering define my family and my church? What gifts have I given that the beloved of Jesus might be able to gather? Do I serve in the kitchen like Martha, offer up my home like Simon, sit in companionship like Lazarus, or anoint feet with the oil of kings like Mary? When they did these works of mercy, do I realize that they were doing them for a wanted man, a hunted man? Do I realize that if the High Priest’s guards found Jesus in this house they would all be “aiding and abetting?” Am I that kind of oasis? John 12:3[3] Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. (NAS) Wiped His feet with her hairHerein is the heart of the last oasis of Jesus’ journey. This beautiful Mary, this compassionate Mary, gives a gift to Jesus that is utterly outrageous in value. A pound of spikenard was worth 300 denarii’s, a year’s wages by most people standards. It came in pint-sized alabaster flasks or boxes and she literally broke the entire jar upon Jesus’ feet. Mary simply did not count the cost, she never seemed to count the cost. She was totally oblivious to what others were thinking when she was with Jesus. This is indicated by the fact that she wipes his feet with her hair. An adult woman would never let her hair down in front of other men in the Jewish culture. As far as Mary was concerned there was no one else there, no one else that mattered save her Lord. This is absolute adoration, beyond ritual, beyond the liturgy, beyond an Order of Worship, beyond all practicality. This is the way to come to Jesus (and later Jesus tells us it is the way he wants us to love the poor). At this last oasis, Jesus is loved, truly loved in the manner that he deserves. This is the rightful place of the Prince of Heaven, this is the rightful offering for the Lord of our lives. The King is in our home, he is not among the elite religious of Jerusalem, he isn’t in the temple, which he could have called home. In fact, Jesus would not have been permitted into his rightful chambers in the Holy of Holies! The Son of God came to earth and was not given his rightful place. Instead, he finds the right place in a home in a suburb of Jerusalem, surrounded by wounded worshippers. And, dear Mary, the most resplendent of all, doesn’t even anoint his head with oil because she doesn’t consider herself worthy of looking up to his face. Days later that brow would be beaten, dripping with blood and spittle for our sins. But, on this day, it was graced with the fragrance of love, extravagant love. The Hebrew word for worship [HSN7812 Shacah] means to lay prostrate, to grovel; it is the same term used for a dog licking his master’s feet. This is the worship of the humble, the broken-hearted, this is the true posture for worshipping God. It is the posture of the “fear of the Lord,” which Solomon speaks about and which Peter, James, and John experienced at the Lord’s transfiguration. However, did you notice that this was not the worship the Lord demanded of Mary? Indeed, he could have made everyone in that room (and even the Pharisee’s who were “outside-looking-in”) bow down and worship him. Instead, Mary falls in love with Jesus. She longs to worship and serve him. This is the sacrifice the Lord seeks, Mary is not forced to the ground to lick her Master’s boots, she bows down because she’s fallen in love with Jesus. Jesus did not seek respect for his position; he sought love for his compassion. Which of these two qualities do I seek from others: Authority or Authenticity? Even more, what type of worship would I give to the one who restored my dignity? What would I give to the one who returned my beloved brother from the dead? Would I give a drop from the flask, would I count the drops poured out, or would I break the seal and dump everything I possessed upon the Savior’s feet? Jesus’ response is just as disarming. He is not embarrassed by Mary’s love; he absorbs it. He does not care what the other’s think; in fact, he protects her from their vehemence. As far as Jesus is concerned, there are only two people in that room: Mary, in true adoration, and Jesus, in true acceptance. He knows this is his last gift before he dies, his last oasis, and he blesses Mary by allowing her to be exorbitant in her love. “Lord, let me be exorbitant in praising you. Help me be ridiculously extravagant, utterly, embarrassingly, exorbitant. If I am to be condemned, let it be because I gave everything to you in your most vulnerable form.” The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfumeHere is one of the personal touches that remind us that this experience was firsthand knowledge and still brilliant in John’s mind. John remembers how the gift of Mary filled [GSN4137 Pleroo] the room with fragrance. Pleroo is a frequently used word in the New Testament; it is a word of fullness. John the Baptist and Jesus use it frequently to tell us that Jesus is the fulfillment of the scriptures: Luke 4:21[21] And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (NAS) It is the word that Jesus uses to describe the fullness available to the disciples through prayer in his name: John 16:24[24] “Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be made full.” (NAS) Isn’t it amazing that John could remember this fragrance so many years after Christ’s ascension? That, when his mind drifted back to that last week of Christ’s life, it was the fragrance of Mary’s offering that framed his memory. What once was an oasis for Jesus, that helped comfort him so he could go forward, was now an oasis in John’s memory that helped him deal with the rigors of his trials. Still today, two thousand years later, Mary’s gift brings fragrance to our lives and while Mary was condemned by the apostle’s that day for her extravagance, she provided a gift that has been remembered for thousands of years. Her fragrance still fills our lives with the presence of Christ. Christ can take any gift given to him and make it “pleroo”-full. He can still fill any room where we take him with his fragrance. I have experienced the scent of his love fill prisons, homeless shelters, rest homes, and detention centers with his fragrance. Let your life be Mary’s flask. Break yourself upon our Lord’s feet. Let his fragrance fill every room where you find yourself today. John 12:4-6[4] But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, *said, [5] “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?” [6] Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it. “Why was this perfume not sold?”Here is the statement of a man consumed by sin, so self-righteous that he thought he could admonish the Son of God. After many years of reflection, John could see the events of that day from a larger perspective, a higher perspective, a “metanoia,” which is the translation of the word repentance. He was able to see Mary’s incredible transparency, Jesus’ absolute compassion, and Judas’ ulterior motives. He saw how Judas rationalized his sin by using half-truths and how the lens of time revealed the true possessiveness of Judas’ heart. Yet, what would I have thought about Mary’s extravagance? What if someone in my church gives their entire inheritance to the poor instead of the collection plate? Do I rejoice? We dealt with this topic a little bit in Luke 13, where Pontius takes money from the huge funds in the Jewish Temple to build an aqueduct for the people of Jerusalem. If there was an overbearing public concern (substandard water) in that community then why didn’t the people of the temple just step forward and offer to help? Why did it take a Roman outsider to identify the need and act upon it? However, how many of our churches are stepping forward into their own communities with finances or human capital and asking how they can change substandard conditions? How many of us are so aware of the cyclical cycles of destitution in our cities that we can advise and lead our public leaders in responding to those wounds? Look at Mary’s response to her Lord’s presence; everything she possesses is poured out upon Christ’s feet. It is a fragrance that continues to fill the lives of Christians with awe. Yet, we, as churches, all too often see our money as ours alone. We spend our offertory on larger facilities, better multi-media shows, or softer seats, and then we rationalize using that money on ourselves instead of on the body of Jesus in his most vulnerable form. With whom would I side: Am I Mary in her extravagance or Judas in his miserly-ness? Does my heart pour out for the vulnerable form of Jesus or am I angered that the poor who “burden our system,” my system? The system that favors me just as it favored Judas. “Jesus, help me to be judged as more extravagant in my compassion with each passing day.” John 12:7-8[7] Therefore Jesus said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial. [8] “For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.” (NAS) “Let her alone…”Mary’s absorption with Jesus overwhelms all sensibilities; but why does it cause outrage among the apostles? Remember Martha’s previous response to Mary’s adoration of Jesus? Luke 10:38-42[38] Now as they were traveling along, He entered a certain village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. [39] And she had a sister called Mary, who moreover was listening to the Lord’s word, seated at His feet. [40] But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up {to Him,} and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” [41] But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; [42] but {only} a few things are necessary, really {only} one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (NAS) Jesus tells Martha; “Only one thing is necessary [GSN5532 chreia].” The word means there is only one important vocation, one important demand, even, “There is only one thing worth being destitute over.” What is the one thing for which it is worth going totally broke? What is the one thing which is worth all that we possess? Of course it is Jesus, and he in his most vulnerable form. This story tells us of a subtle glory and a horrible sorrow. The subtle glory is that Martha is still in the kitchen. However, this time she is in there without condemning Mary. She is happy to serve in any manner she can and she has finally become confident that her gift is neither more nor less important than Mary’s. It is easy to miss this incredible victory in the light of Mary’s offering and Judas’ sin. Yet, it is an outstanding occasion for joy. Martha learned from the honest feedback of Jesus. Because of his honesty, she had a “higher knowing” which is the same as a “deeper repentance.” How does honest feedback from God shape me? Do I even notice His honest feedback in my life? Judas did not. Many theologians believe that this was the final act that propelled Judas out to seek the Chief Priests and turn Jesus over to them. Perhaps he finally saw that the “Way of Jesus” was not the way to riches, power, or human glory. So, he sold Jesus out for thirty pieces of silver, the price of a common slave. Judas saw the truth revealed, but it was not the truth that he wanted to see. Here the question is, “Will I be Martha or Judas?” Will I accept the truth I do not want to see; the truth that leads me more and more into subservience and less and less into riches, power, and human glory? I will confront this same temptation today. This is the desert of Jesus. It is Satan looking for an opportune moment. It is the same as the moment when the good father stared into the elder brother’s eyes (in the story of the Prodigal Son) and pleaded with him—pleaded with him—to come inside, join the family, and welcome his lost brother home. What will I choose today? Will I learn the hard lesson of liberation like Martha or will Christ’s honesty drive me deeper into hatred and justification like Judas? “You always have the poor with you”Here is one of the most abused passages in scripture. I have even seen ministers use this passage as a means to excuse poverty-but nothing could be further from the truth. The passage; “You always have [GSN2192 echo] the poor with you,” could accurately be read in the following ways: · “You will always be accompanied by the poor.” · “You can always befriend the poor.” · “You will always be able to assist the poor.” · “You will always be able to enjoy (find joy in relationship with) the poor.” Or, even fuller; · “You will always have the poor to remind you of me.” However, what the statement cannot be translated into-and which too many people have done throughout history-is to translate it as: · “The poor are endless, why try to help them?” · “You can’t help the poor-so just pray about it.” · “The poor are supposed to be poor and they will always be poor.” · “Don’t worry about the poor, worry about your relationship with God.” Nothing could be further than the truth! Nothing could be more deceptive! Because it is undeniable that “Jesus came for the poor.” Luke 4:18-19[18] “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, [19] To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” (NAS) Jesus blesses his apostles for choosing poverty so that they might be with him as he ministers to the “least of these.” Luke 6:20[20] And turning His gaze on His disciples, He {began} to say, “Blessed {are} you {who are} poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” (NAS) John the Baptist is told that the testimony of the Lord’s messianic claims lie in his treatment of the poor (in like manner, that must be the testimony of our claims as Christians); Luke 7:22[22] And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: {the} blind receive sight, {the} lame walk, {the} lepers are cleansed, and {the} deaf hear, {the} dead are raised up, {the} poor have the gospel preached to them.” (NAS) Jesus tells us to we are to complete our celebrations (especially the celebration of His meal) by going out to be present to the poor. It is not enough to invite them, we need to go out and bring them to the table; Luke 14:13-14[13] “But when you give a reception, invite {the} poor, {the} crippled, {the} lame, {the} blind, [14] and you will be blessed, since they do not have {the means} to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (NAS) In fact, God declares that He is the poor; Matt 25:34-40[34] “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. [35] ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me {something} to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; [36] naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ [37] “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? [38] ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? [39] ‘And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ [40] “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, {even} the least {of them,} you did it to Me.’” (NAS) “You always have [GSN2192 echo] the poor with you,” do my words echo Christ’s? Does my life echo his passion for the poor? Yes or no, “Are the poor always with me?” Sign up for Weekly Study: |