Sunday: The 5th Sunday of Lent
Reading: John 12:1-8
Preacher: Peter C. Lane

We really treat the Gospels with reverence. We parade them around, sheath them in gold when it is not Lent, surround them in incense at our 11:15 liturgy, cross ourselves three times that this word might engage our minds, that our speech might be enlivened, and, as has been said so many times from this ambo, that our hearts might be set on fire. We are going to hear a great deal of scripture over the next two weeks. Our passage this morning about the woman anointing Jesus with oil can help put us in the right frame of mind for hearing scripture faithfully through Holy Week. On one level this and all the texts for all of these liturgies are chosen and the prayers written so that we can understand what is going on. They answer the question, "What happened and why?" On the other hand these passages and prayers have a life of their own. A life they can transmit to us, to excite us, delight us, and move us.

Our passage prepares us by helping us understand the meaning of Holy Week. You all know that there are four gospels. You are likely to know that we read the gospels in rotation and that this is the year for Luke. You will be interested to know that this story of a woman anointing Jesus with oil is found in all four gospels. You might then wonder why we left Luke-the gospel we have read 15 of the last 16 weeks-to hear from John when the same story was available to us in Luke? In the history of the Church, the Gospel of John was seen as the place to go for the fullest understanding of Jesus. The great 16th century reformer John Calvin said that he saw in the Fourth Gospel the Christological key to the other three gospels. And so as it got closer to Holy Week, the church bore in on Jesus' death by reading what was thought to be the key. The Gospel of John develops more fully than the three synoptic gospels an explicit theology that emphasizes that Jesus is the Son of God who came down from heaven to this estranged world to make God known. It is certainly a big reason why we read the passion account from the Gospel of John every year on Good Friday. The lectionary wants John here because it helps us understand what goes on during Holy Week. Only in John does the story of the woman who anoints Jesus with oil begin by saying that it happened six days before the Passover because only in John is Jesus viewed as the Passover lamb. In the synoptic gospels, the last supper is the Passover meal; the lamb would already have been slaughtered. But in John the timing is one day different. Jesus crucifixion coincides with the slaughter of the Passover lambs, identifying Jesus as the Passover lamb. Remember our story ends with Jesus basically saying Mary is anointing his dead body. John puts in our minds that the death of Jesus is a new Passover. John was also the only one of the gospel writers to have this story take place in Lazarus' house-the one resurrected by Jesus. John puts in our minds that death is not the final answer. John is the only one of the gospel writers to have Judas be the one to complain. John puts in our minds that humanity rejects Jesus. John gives this story a Holy Week feel. John uses the story of the woman anointing Jesus' feet with oil to put in our minds a connection between Jesus death and the Passover, to have resurrection literally at the table with that death, and to begin to blame that death on rejection.

We have been deeply shaped by the reliance of the Christian tradition on John's portrayal of Holy Week. And we should be. But I believe it can flatten the text. The word of God is holy and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, an inspired interpretation of God's dealings with humanity. It lives. I believe this brief first look at our passage, through the eyes of John's theology, explains most clearly why the lectionary committee put it here, the fifth Sunday of Lent. But I believe the scriptures' dynamism goes beyond the carefully thought out, including within it differing perspectives and human proclivities. So let's look again at our passage from the perspective of four of its characters: Mary, Judas, the narrator, and Jesus. Our passage prepares us for Holy Week by highlighting the dynamism inherent in the scriptures.

Mary. Mary was an Episcopalian. She appreciated fine art and Mozart Piano concertos, or at the very least good perfume. History has treated this woman very well, favoring her take. Mary, perhaps embarrassingly, shows a great deal of affection, using her hair to wipe a very expensive perfume all over Jesus' feet. Mary understands creation, "And God stopped and said it is good." She understands that organs and well-trained singers bring glory to God, that there is a place for extravagant worship.

Judas. Judas would not have watched Glen Beck, because Judas would go to a social justice church. Why are you spending $700,000 on the organ when Washington Park remains a bastion of crime? Judas comes off very badly in a quick read of this passage, but how many of us have asked the same question? St. Francis, Mother Teresa, Jane Addams would have been with Judas.

The narrator. The narrator is the kind of guy who makes small changes to Wikipedia articles. The narrator wants it all to make sense. He can't bear the difficulty of the unexplained and so uses parenthetical remarks about Judas to start unrolling a string that he will later use to wrap it all up.

Jesus. Jesus is ever the provocateur. At first glance it can seem as if Jesus has taken Mary's side completely. But looking again, you wonder if the phrase "the poor will be with you always" is not dismissive but a call to perseverance. And you wonder if his words about burial don't transform the woman's sensual and wasteful actions into the ritually important.

The lectionary put John's version of this story on this Fifth Sunday of Lent so that we can gain understanding. John makes it a Holy Week story. Knowing that is a good thing, but not enough, for like all scripture, this passage has a life of its own. The scriptures are alive. They draw us in, not leaving a clear meaning but rather asking us to practice the difficult task of discernment. Are we called at this time to follow Judas, worried about the poor? Are we called at this time to follow Mary, understanding that God deserves our utmost in praise? Are we called at this time to follow the narrator, explaining everything because faith seeks understanding? Are we called at this time to follow Jesus, leaving all ill at ease and pointing to death? We get to hear a lot of scripture in the next two weeks. God will be known in those scriptures. And the God made known is multifaceted and mysterious: A God for the poor; a God to be worshipped magnificently; a God who we can seek out and know; a God whose self-offering death brings life to the world.
AMEN.