Below is the message given at the ecumenical service at Oahe Manor Sunday, March 25, 2012. The scripture is John 12:1-8.
Did you ever wonder why this story is in the Bible? It’s not really necessary to the plot of the gospel of John. In fact, in some ways, this passage seems kind of thrown in. Right before it, we’re told about how the Jewish authorities are plotting to kill Jesus and speculating as to whether he’ll dare to go to Jerusalem for Passover. Right after it, we’re told about some more plotting by the Jewish authorities. After that comes the story of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. If this story had been left out of the Bible, we never would’ve known the difference. Yet, when John wrote his gospel, he went out of his way to include this little story about Jesus having dinner with his friends, and about a woman washing Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume and drying them with her hair. Why do you suppose he did that?
Well, I don’t know the whole answer, but I have an idea for part of it. Think about this: after this act is described, we’re told about Judas’ reaction to it. He said basically, that Mary had wasted that perfume, that it could have been sold for a lot of money and that the money could’ve been given to the poor. Now, we’re also told that Judas did not really care about the poor, and that he was a thief, but I’m guessing that a lot of people who heard him say that probably agreed with him. They probably thought, “You know, he’s right. That perfume was worth a lot of money. She could’ve done a lot of good with that. Why waste it in a way that won’t make any difference to anybody?”
In fact, that might be what you or I would’ve said. After all, most of us like to think of ourselves as practical, sensible people. We don’t like to see things wasted. I could see myself agreeing with Judas, at least to some extent. I could see myself agreeing that what Mary did was not a very practical thing to do.
Maybe one of the reasons this story is in the Bible is as an example to us that sometimes we can carry this whole idea of always being sensible and practical too far. Not that there’s anything wrong with being sensible and practical, but it’s not our main purpose in life.
When you think about it, there’s an awful lot about what God does that’s not sensible or practical, at least by our standards. I’m really not sure what sense it made for God to create us in the first place, when you come right down to it. Then, too, look at God’s plan for salvation for us. This one carpenter from Nazareth is going to walk around, spend a few years teaching, preaching, and healing, eventually get arrested and killed, and that’s going to change the world forever and give the chance for salvation to all humanity. Does that sound like a sensible, practical plan to you? Those are just a couple of examples. We could think of a lot more.
Again, I’m not saying we should not use our heads, but I’m saying we should use our hearts, too. That’s what Mary did: she used her heart. When Mary went to get that perfume, she did not think “Is this practical?” She did not think “Will this really make a difference?” She saw the Savior, she wanted to do something for him, and she did what may have been the only thing she could do.
And you know, maybe she did make a difference. After all, think about what must’ve been going on in Jesus’ mind at this time. This was “six days before the Passover”. In other words, this was less than a week before Jesus was going to be killed. Jesus knew what was going to happen to him. He knew he would have the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. He also knew that would be followed by his arrest, his trials, his beating and whipping, and eventually his death.
I have to think this act of love from Mary helped him. I have to think that this wonderful gift Mary gave him, this demonstration of her love for her Savior, helped strengthen him a little, and helped make it easier for Jesus to face what was coming.
Remember, too, how it seemed like, even though Jesus tried to tell people what was going to happen, nobody understood it? Maybe Mary did. Not totally, and not in her head. She could not have explained it to anyone. But in her heart, maybe she did understand, at least a little. If nothing else, she understood that the Savior was hurting, that something was really bothering him, and that she needed to do something to help. So she did.
I think there’s a lesson there for us. God does not just speak to our heads. God speaks to our hearts, too. God helps us see when people are hurting. When we see that, we’re expected us to do something. When we think “There’s nothing we can do”, we’re still expected to do something. If we cannot change the person’s situation, maybe we can help them through it. At the very least, we can let them know that we care, and that they don’t have to go through it alone.
There are hurting people all around us. There are hurting people all over the world. There are hurting people in our country and in our state. There are hurting people in our community. There are hurting people right here in Oahe Manor. In fact, there may be hurting people in this room today.
We need to follow Mary’s example. We need to open up our hearts. We need to hear God speaking to our hearts. Then, we need to act on what God is saying. We need to not let our heads make excuses for us to not act on what God is saying to our hearts.
God is speaking to our hearts. We need to listen.
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