Amen
Let me begin by suggesting you take a deep breath. Do you smell it-the lingering scent of incense in the air? Once again this week our worship space hosted a worship service by our neighboring congregation, Ascension of Our Lord Greek Orthodox Church. Actually the service was here Friday evening but you can still catch the whispering scent of the incense that was used. Were we living at another time in history--say even just a couple hundred years ago--to say nothing of two thousand years ago in the time of Christ--my suggestion that you take a deep breath would have resulted in a whole different response--and definitely a different aromatic experience. Not so many decades ago public gathering spaces had no fresh air venting systems--your neighbor would not have known much about body hygiene by today's standards--scented soaps--actually soap of any variety for body washing-would have not existed--deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste and breath fresheners would have been thought to be silly ideas. In addition to the human scent filling the air around us--we would also have been very aware of livestock and animals who often even shared our living space--certainly the horses and other animals providing transportation would have left a strong scent trail--and the very daily disposal of garbage in streets and alleys would have meant that windows were rarely opened even on the hottest days--especially not on hot days. The use of incense in church would have served not only a religious function but would have made the close gathering of a large group of people far more tolerable. The luxury of a pleasant smell would have been most commonly found in the cooking of foods and the occasional burst of spring blossoms and summer flowers. The smell of perfume was a luxury beyond all reason--the incense and oils--perfumes with fragrance--were reserved for the extremely wealthy and the use of anointing the body for burial.
To use a perfume for any other purpose was an act of extravagance. As we consider our lessons for today it is important that we recognize an appeal in our texts that goes beyond reason. One preacher has suggested that these texts often require bifocals. I wear such glasses as do others of you of a certain age--glasses that are designed to help us recognize that the world consists of some things best seen through the upper part of the lens that provide us a longer broader view--while other times we need the lower portion of the lens to see things up close and in detail. Looking at our lessons in broad terms we find one unifying theme to be the need to keep our eyes focused on the future--God's future God's future-where the Old Testament prophet Isaiah sees God doing "a new thing" God's future--where the apostle Paul sees his ultimate "heavenly call." The future--and where Jesus in our gospel text anticipates his death and burial. In broad terms our lessons carry us beyond the season of Lent and into Holy Week--a fitting conclusion to the Lenten journey. But there are the finer points of the lessons--the details that we are tempted to gloss over because they are not so easily understood.
As we come to this the last Sunday of Lent--there is a lingering scent of death in the air--the faithful of the church know where we are headed--next Sunday will not just be Palm Sunday but also Passion Sunday--yet we are also growing very tired of the grayness of winter--many already escaped over spring break to other climates--inhaled the freshness of mountain slopes or breathed deep the salt fresh ocean spray--now as we hear forecast of one last dip of the thermometer and a few snow flakes--we await the flowers of spring. You may have already done as I did a couple times these past few days as the temperature rose above 50--I opened a window or two to let in some fresh air. Yesterday--late afternoon--I stepped out of the house and took a deep breath of the freshness that I know promises something more--soon-very soon there will be the scent of flowering trees--the smell of fresh mown lawns--the spring rains wash the air clean with the smell of new life bursting forth--we yearn to take a deep breath of life again. Looked at in close detail--we find our Gospel lesson from John the story of a collection of people who all inhaled the same air but smelled something different. In the Gospel of John our lesson is set immediately after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead--and as a result of this miracle the plots to kill Jesus begin in earnest The reasonable thing for Jesus to do would have been to hide in Ephraim. His return to Bethany where Lazarus and his sisters lived was an act of extreme courage--or something else.
It is clear the disciples with Jesus were afraid, but they were also intrigued. They had questions for Lazarus. What is it like to die? What is it like to be reborn? While they were visiting, Martha threw a dinner party in Jesus' honor. Every guest was glad to be there. They were at the same table with Lazarus. Once dead and radiating the stench of death--he now looked more alive than ever. They were at the same table with Jesus of Nazareth who had raised the dead man. Only God can raise the dead, but Jesus looked like a real person. Then, in the middle of this already extraordinary setting Mary took out a vessel of expensive, perfumed oil used only on important occasions. Mary quietly moved behind Jesus who was reclining at the table and anointed his feet--and then began to wipe the excess with her hair. Here is a situation that even bifocals can't help explain--to the modern eye Judas gives voice to what we are all likely to be thinking. Judas asks why the perfume had not been sold and the proceeds given to the poor. It is a good question. Best estimates are that the perfume was worth three hundred days of a day labors wages. By today's standards and economy the puddle at Jesus' feet cost at minimum over $10,000. Extravagance is something the church rarely indulges in--or is even allowed to consider. The excesses of the world are not a part of the not-for-profit world. As we approach tax time I am reminded that the IRS actually sets salary limits for clergy and directors of not-for-profit ministries and organizations. Top corporate executives, athletes, coaches and entertainers may make seven and eight figure salaries but those who guide work for the physical or spiritual good of others are expected to place the needs of others first. The smell of perfume is to be reserved for those who also smell of money at the fund raising events Judas was shocked. Of course the gospel writer editorializes his own understanding of Judas' indignation--but the question in its many forms is repeated again and again even today--"Couldn't we have done something better with the money?" If it had been used in another way could not more people have been helped? With our broad lens of social consciousness we can always identify a greater need--a more politically correct or emotionally gratifying need. The choice between our particular focus and the broader picture is never easy--especially when it comes to spending money or meeting human needs. History is filled with frivolous acts--wasteful moments of self indulgence. History is also marked by the creation of inspiring and challenging projects or activities.
In the 1500's Martin Luther challenged the Christian church of his day--a church engaged in money making activities that took the funds of poor German peasants to build great stone structures in Rome. Luther railed against what he considered to be the misuse of funds for brick and mortar structures when people had so many unmet needs--poverty, disease, hunger, the orphan and the elderly--most people could not even read the scriptures. A world of needs was all around--yet five hundred years later many of the structures funded by the activities Luther condemned still remain--and from the broad perspective of history there are millions--even billions of people of faith--who are glad that Luther's complaints did not stop the construction of St. Peter's Cathedral or keep Michelangelo from painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The daily budgets of our lives require the pragmatic and practical--but there is also room for the outrageous act of extravagance--the serendipitous moment that invites us to see the world in a different way. Maybe that's what the Old Testament prophet Isaiah was striving to reveal in his declaration in the voice of God--"Do not remember the former thing, or consider the things of old," he said, "I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?"
Too often the air around us is heavy with familiar smells--even when we think we are discovering something new it is really just repackaged familiarity--we no longer really expect the truly extravagant act--the miraculous excess-the truly new and creative act of faith. We may elect a new president for our country but we quickly discover that all that means is that he is reversing the actions of the previous administration who had reversed the actions of the administration before it who had reversed the actions of the administration before it and so on and so on-there is really nothing new. Even when we are confronted by issues that call for true vision for a good and just cause-even then there is no newness Consider any contemporary issue of our day--like the issue of violence in our schools--everyone agrees there is a problem but no one really expects a fresh new approach--instead we debate the application and enforcement of old policies and laws--health care reform will simply reshape and maybe expand existing forms--there will be nothing truly new once a conference committee gets through--hunger and assistance programs will be recast with new names but no extravagant act of aid--we strive to keep the poor with us.
Extravagance in our world today and especially in the church has become a very reserved event We are a practical people who have grown used to lives lived without exciting scents--we not only don't want any bad aromas in our lives. Now we strive to remove all scents--lest we offend someone. A pound of perfume on a wandering rabbi's smelly feet--allow that and what extreme act will be next. Yet that is exactly the moment we come to when Jesus speaks--there come the moments when the air in our lives begs for something more--when the tired act of striving to achieve things on our own--the constant demands we make on ourselves and others--have not produced the results we expected or wanted. We come to a point of weary frustration that smells of nothingness--there comes a time when we remember the rich aroma of God's grace--it is all a matter of discernment. Grace is all around us but some people can only challenge and question--doubt and confront--Grace never seems very practical--the new is often hard to recognize and even harder to understand or accept--it is greeted as often by frowns as by smiles. You see it every morning in the hospital lobby--there you see the patient leaving on crutches complaining about the burden of rehabilitation or the survivor of serious illness groaning about the pills they have to take for the rest of their life. But there you also see the patient who rejoices at having just one more day to live with loved ones or the cancer survivor inviting others to witness with them just one more sunrise and sunset--to breath deep the great gift of life.
Grace is a gift of discernment--the opportunity
to fill the air with the perfume of beauty, wonder and love that
opens the future to others. We are a people blessed by God's extravagance--take
a deep breath-do you smell it--do you smell the scent of the old
dying away that the new might be born--behold, a new thing-a new
creation-we are God's new people-freshly scented. We are the ones
who breath deep the gifts of God's grace--the rich aroma of wine-the
taste of bread--body and blood bringing life. We are the ones
who breath in and out the very Spirit of God's grace--in extravagant
moments of wonder--sharing gifts that bring life to us and others.
Take a deep breath. Do you smell it? There is the smell of something
sweet in the air--the aroma of grace-something new.
Amen