Good Friday – 2 April 2021 – Year B

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The seven homilies of Good Friday

 

* First Homily *

Luke 23:33–34: “And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁴ And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments”.

 

One of my favourite priests has a way of talking about forgiveness that sounds wrong at first.  Then after he explains himself, you realise that he is right.  He begins by saying, “Forgiveness is not a teaching of the Bible.”  Your first response is confusion.  What can he mean?  Forgiveness is all over the Bible.  Just about the time you wonder if he got his medications mixed up, he repeats himself, “Forgiveness is not a teaching of the Bible … it is the teaching of the Bible.”  He then continues to make the case that the Bible is worthless without the teaching of forgiveness.  The teaching of forgiveness is the central teaching of the Bible in the same way that Jesus is the central character of the Bible.

Given the importance of forgiveness, it is not surprising that the first recorded words of Jesus on the cross are about forgiveness.  That’s the point of the cross, after all.  Jesus is dying so that we might be forgiven for our sins, so that we might be reconciled to God for eternity.

There was a time in the history of the church that false teachers laid an extra burden on their hearers.  You must confess every sin.  If you do not confess a sin, then that sin remains unforgiven.  Priests worked very hard with their members to help them enumerate every last detail of every sin so that they could do adequate penance and receive forgiveness.  But you were never sure!  What if you had sinned in total ignorance?  What if you had a poor memory, and simply forgot a sin?  The devout Christian had no true confidence in salvation.  There was always the uncertainty of some sin that remained unconfessed.

On the day we call Good Friday, an execution squad of Roman soldiers stationed in Jerusalem in Judea had a legitimate order of execution from their commander.  They believed they were simply crucifying another criminal.  They had no idea that they were executing the Lord of Life.  The sin of murder is bad enough, but to murder the Son of God?  What sort of punishment awaited such a person in this life and the next?

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”  What comfort we can take from those words.  Jesus forgives even the sin of which we are not aware.  If we could look at the books of justice concerning our lives, we would be shocked to discover that the sins of which we are not aware far outnumber the sins we recognise.  We know and confess some of our sins, but most of our sins are known only to God.  How comforting to know that Jesus forgives the sins of which we are ignorant.  What a comfort it is to hear the words of Jesus,   “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

* Second Homily *

Luke 23:39–43: One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” ⁴⁰ But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹ And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴² And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” ⁴³ And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

 

The Romans didn’t crucify just anybody.  Rome reserved crucifixion for only the worst of criminals.  In fact, Roman law prohibited the crucifixion of Roman citizens for any reason whatsoever.  This means that the men crucified with Jesus had to be terrorists, mass murderers, serial killers, or something along those lines.  These two men were not victims of injustice as Jesus was.  One of the criminals even admitted, “We are receiving the due reward of our deeds.”  They were not nice guys.

At first, one of these men mocked Jesus along with the crowd of spectators.  Then as the Gospel unfolded before his very eyes, the Holy Spirit worked faith in the other of the criminals.  His faith in Jesus bore fruit and he defended Jesus by rebuking the other criminal, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹ And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”

Then comes one of the more amazing conversations in the Bible:  The criminal said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” ⁴³ And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”  

We have no reason to believe that this criminal even knew who Jesus was before they met on the road to Golgotha.  There is no evidence that, before his crucifixion, this criminal was a believer in any way, shape, or form.  The very crimes that hung him on a cross next to Jesus seem to indicate quite the opposite.

One comfort for us today is that, in spite of all the strikes this man had against him, Jesus still said, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”  That means that, when you think you have too many strikes against you, you can still look forward to paradise.

Another comfort we find in these words is that it is never too late.  This criminal would die before the sun went down that day.  Never the less, while he was in those last hours before death, the Holy Spirit brought salvation to him through faith.

We all know and care for people who do not believe in Jesus.  It grieves us to consider their eternal fate if nothing changes.  These words of Jesus to the criminal remind us that, while there is the faintest spark of life, there is hope.

Finally, there is the simple fact that all of us must leave this world someday.  The Lord could return before we finish this service.  If He waits, then temporal death is our exit.  Either way, we shall have the comfort of the words Jesus said to the criminal.  “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

* Third Homily *

John 19:25–27: but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” ²⁷ Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

 

Do you remember Christmas?  Do you remember when Joseph and Mary presented Jesus at the temple?  A man named Simeon approached this family and praised God for sending salvation into the world.  Simeon also had a prophecy for Mary.  Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ^{(Luke 2:34–35)} “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” 

A sword will pierce through your own soul also.  Mary was the one who pondered things in her heart.  What did she ponder as she watched her son hang from the cross?  Did she ponder Simeon’s words?  I’ve often heard people say, “No parent should have to attend their child’s funeral.”  Did Mary feel utterly helpless that she could do nothing to ease her son’s suffering?  That would be natural.

Mary followed her Son to Golgotha.  She was one of many women who stayed with Jesus until the end.  Among the men whom Jesus had chosen as His Apostles, only John remained.  The other Apostles had all fled in terror.  Now the Mother of God and the Disciple Whom Jesus Loved stood together on Mount Calvary in order to witness the Death of God.   

There had been a meeting on a mountain many centuries earlier.  Before He took up His human flesh, Jesus had spoken to Moses on Mount Sinai and told him how to organize the Children of Israel.  Within all the instructions that He gave to Moses were these words, ^{(Exodus 20:12)} “Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you”. 

Now, here on the cross, Jesus had one last opportunity to demonstrate His obedience to the words He had given to Moses so long ago.  He would soon be dead.  He would no longer be able to care for His mother.  In His love He arranged for His mother and this one Apostle to adopt one another.  He said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!”

Even as He hung on the cross, He remained sinless.  He continued to fulfill the law.  He honoured His mother.  He cared for the one who gave birth to Him ^{(Luke 2:7)} “and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger”. He not only honoured her by caring for her in this life, but He also honoured her by caring for her in eternity.  For His suffering and death paid the price for all her sins.

As we consider these words from the cross, we can remember that Jesus was  a real man who was ^{(Philippians 2:8)} “obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross”. He said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!”

 

* Fourth Homily *

Matthew 27:45–49:  Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. ⁴⁶ And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ⁴⁷ And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” ⁴⁸ And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. ⁴⁹ But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.”

 

Here is a most terrible and mysterious word.  Anyone who has lived for more than a few decades has had that feeling of forsakenness.  So we do not have a problem understanding forsakenness.  And if Jesus were only a man, we might be able to understand how He also felt forsaken.  But Jesus has given many proofs that He is both God and man.  We recognise that He is the Son of God.  How does God forsake God?  What kind of massive super-cosmic event is it when God the Father forsakes God the Son?

The event is that the payment for sin has come due.  Our sin has built up a massive debt that we owe to God.  Now God’s justice demands payment.  The debt is due and payable and God does not accept gold, silver, or plastic.  The penalty for missing the payment is eternal torture in hell.

The fact that Jesus is crying out in the agony of forsakenness from God informs us that Jesus entered into the Hell of separation from God.  The Father abandoned him because Jesus took upon himself the penalty for our sins.  In that excruciating moment, he experienced something far more horrible than physical pain.  The beloved Son of God knew what it was like to be rejected by the Father^{.  (2 Corinthians 5:21)} “For our sake [God] made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God”. 

These words tell us that Jesus has picked up our sin debt for us.  He became the ultimate sinner before God by taking our sin onto Himself.  It is the presence of our sin in His Son that caused the Father to turn away in disgust.  This is the event that caused Jesus to cry out with a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

What is involved in the fact that God forsook Jesus?  No man can really know.  The closest we can come is to understand that the curse and sin of the world covered Jesus.  Jesus was sinful – not with His own sin, but with ours.  His sinful condition disgusted God and so the Father turned away.  All that we can say is that Jesus could pay the penalty for our sin only if the Father abandoned Him in this way.  The Father abandoned the Son so that we need never cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  

 

* Fifth Homily *

John 19:28–29: After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” ²⁹ A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.

 

It is not at all unusual for someone to thirst after they have endured the trauma that Jesus endured on the day He died.  It is a hot, dry climate.  There was already a loss of blood and other fluids due to the whip that tore open His skin earlier in the day.  He walked from Jerusalem to the site of the crucifixion, and He carried His cross at least part of the way there.  Dehydration is a normal part of the torment for victims of crucifixion.

Never the less, some of the ancient church fathers wondered if there wasn’t a little more than mere physical suffering in Jesus’ thirst.  Remember the prayer of Jesus in Gethsemane. ^{[Mark 14:36]} He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”  When He spoke of the cup in this prayer, He was speaking of the cup of suffering.  

He was following the example of the Holy Scriptures, for Isaiah wrote, ^{[Isaiah 51:17]} “Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering,” and again, ^{[Isaiah 51:21–23]} “Therefore hear this, you who are afflicted, who are drunk, but not with wine: Thus says your Lord, the Lord, your God who pleads the cause of his people: ‘Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering; the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more; and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors, who have said to you, “Bow down, that we may pass over”; and you have made your back like the ground and like the street for them to pass over.’ ”

Jeremiah also wrote, ^{[Jeremiah 25:15–16]} “Thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: ‘Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. ¹⁶ They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword that I am sending among them.’ ”

Is it possible that Jesus was not just physically thirsty?  Is it possible that Jesus was indicating that He is ready to drink more of the Lord’s wrath against our sins?  Jesus already endured the physical torture of the cross.  Even more, He endured the torture of forsakenness by God.  He endured the effective punishment of eternity in hell for each and every individual human being who has ever lived or will ever live.  Even after all of this, do His words, “I thirst,” indicate that He is ready, able, and willing to take on even more for you … for me?

Jesus knew that all was finished, and still He said, “I thirst.”

 

* Sixth Homily *

John 19:30: When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

 

“It is finished.”  In the original Greek, it is “tetelestai”.  The root of this Greek word is “telos”.  This little word may be translated as accomplishment, goal, achievement, objective, and so forth.  It is a thing that requires work to attain.  In the world of finance, it has to do with an obligation either to pay a debt or to fulfill a contract.  The prefixes and suffixes that convert the root “telos” into “tetelestai” modify the meaning of the root.  Now it means that the accomplishment has been accomplished; the goal has been made; the achievement has been achieved; the objective has been reached; the contract has been fulfilled; the debt has been paid in full.  In fact, archaeologists have found ancient Egyptian papyri of bills of sale with the word “tetelestai” written on them to indicate that the bill has been paid in full.  It is finished.

The “telos” that brought Jesus to the cross was the bowl of God’s wrath against our sin.  It was Jesus objective to drink it down to the dregs, and then to lick off the sides of the bowl so that not even a trace of His wrath would be left behind.  As the Lamb of God sacrificed on the cross, He drank down the fire of God’s wrath against us.  He drank it all.

Finally, as He maintained his thirst for more and more of God’s wrath, the bowl was empty.  It is dry.  Nothing remains.  God’s wrath has been, is, and will always be satisfied.  The debt has been, is, and will always be paid in full. “Tetelestai”.  “It is finished.”

“Tetelestai”  means that there is nothing we can do or need to do for our salvation.  It is guaranteed, paid in full, no hidden charges.  “Tetelestai” means that our salvation is full, complete, eternal. “Tetelestai” means that we are now and will forever be God’s dear children and our home is with Him and His home is with us.  Our confidence is complete in the word from Christ on the cross:  “Tetelestai”.  “It is finished.”

 

* Seventh Homily *

Luke 23:44–46: It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, ⁴⁵ while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶ Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.

 

It has been a long day for Jesus.  He has been awake for close to forty hours.  He has endured physical torment that most people can’t even imagine.  He has endured spiritual torment that no one can imagine: the burden of our sin and the wrath and forsakenness of God as the Father turned away from that sin burden.  He had endured.  He has perfectly fulfilled all things.  He has done all things well.

The Father no longer forsakes Him.  It is time for Jesus to take a Sabbath … a rest.  Jesus spoke one more word to His Father before He died.  Jesus used this last opportunity to lay His human spirit into His Father’s hands.  He opened His mouth and prayed the prayer every good little Jewish boy and girl prayed before drifting off to sleep.  “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!”  It is almost as if He was laying His head down on the pillow and commending Himself to the Father before drifting off for another night’s sleep.

Of course, this sleep was no ordinary sleep.  It was the sleep of death.  Jesus had done all things well.  His job was finished.  The worst was behind Him.  He was ready to leave His body behind and proclaim His victory to the ^{(1 Peter 3:18–19)} “spirits in prison”. There was satisfaction and joy in His voice as He shouted this last word.  Then He breathed His last.

At the completion of the six days of creation, we read: ^{(Genesis 2:1–3) “}Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. ²And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. ³So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation”. Although God needs no rest, He rested from the work of creation.  Although God must work continuously to support and maintain His creation, there is still a way in which he rests.

Now Jesus has finished His work, not of creation, but of redemption.  It is time for Him to rest on the seventh day from all his work that He had done in redemption.  Although He works continuously to support and maintain His new, redeemed creation, there is still a way in which he rests.

This last word from the cross is different from the other words.  All the other words from the cross tell us about things Jesus endured so that we don’t have to.  From the cross, He gives forgiveness, paradise, and righteousness to us.  We will never ask why God has forsaken us.  Those who believe will never endure the thirst of hell.  Jesus finished the work of redemption that we could not even begin.  On the other hand, because Jesus has done all these things for us, we can follow the example of His last word.  We can lay our heads down with the confidence of a little child saying bedtime prayers.  “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!”. Amen

The love and peace of our Great triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep you hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

 

Maundy Thursday – 1 April 2021 – Year B

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

 

The text for this meditation is written in the 11^th Chapter of Paul’s 1^st Letter to the Corinthians: Verses 23 – 32:

 

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵ In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 

²⁷ Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸ Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. ²⁹ For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. ³⁰ That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. ³¹ but if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. ³² But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

 

Tonight we study the ‘paradidomi’—the giving into the hands of another—Christ’s grace filled gift of Holy Communion.  In regard to most of you, what am I going to say on this that you don’t already know or believe?  Here is Christ, physically, truly, tangibly being handed over to you, to eat and drink for the forgiveness of all your sin.  Here is the very body and blood of Jesus Christ being handed down to you from heaven.  Here is Jesus Christ, stooping down and kneeling down from heaven to feed you, nourish you, all of us, and give us His peace, which surpasses all understanding.

  

And herein lies the miracle.  All this is beyond human understanding.  This is all apprehended, believed, and cherished through faith alone.  Without the eyes of faith, all you’re going to see is a little flavourless wafer of bread and a little bit of sweet red wine; mere symbols that represent an absent, distant Saviour, who has promised to be with us always.  But…we live by that faith, and I praise and thank God for that.  We see it.  We see Him.  Through the opened ears and eyes of humble, repentant, saving faith, we recognise our Lord and Saviour in these humble means of grace.  

So here’s the old mainstream sacramental question then: What does this mean?  What does this mean to you?  You get it.  I know you do.  But…what does this mean to you?  We know what’s going on here.  We know who’s at work and what He’s doing here with His body and blood.  We know that we come to this table empty-handed.  We bring nothing to this table.  This isn’t a business boardroom table, where deals are struck, and treaties are signed.  This is God’s feast table, where His victorious Passover feast of the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, is placed into our mouths and is faithfully, inwardly digested for our life, our forgiveness, and our salvation.  We do bring one thing to this table—thanksgiving—but that’s it.  We come empty-handed.  We come bearing our sacrifice of thanksgiving, calling upon the name of the Lord, and giving thanks for the life-giving, life-saving gift of peace He is handing over and handing down to us in that moment; that point-in-time that transcends all time; where heaven and earth collide; where angels, archangels, and all the company of heaven are gathered around that one-and-the-same Christ, praising and worshipping and feasting with Him at the very same time we are.  It’s awesome!  It’s humbling!  It’s beyond words!

So…I ask again: What does all this mean to you?  In the main, I know you understand what’s going on here.  Theologically and theoretically, you understand what all this is, but…do you get it?  Consider the fact that Jesus Christ instituted this new covenant of peace and handed this blessed gift of grace over less than one hour before all hell would break loose in the lives of His beloved disciples.  Jesus knew exactly what was about to happen.  He just finished praying for them, that not one of them would be lost.  He just finished praying that they be strong and remain grounded in the faith, even as they are hated and persecuted.  He doesn’t ask His heavenly Father to spare them from all discomfort, harm, and fear.  “I do not ask that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one.  Sanctify them in the Truth; Your Word is Truth.” 

Immediately upon praying this prayer, the prayer is already being answered.  Our Lord Jesus Christ, the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread….  He then took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them saying, “Eat, drink of it, of all of you….” Again, our Lord Christ knew EXACTLY what was about to happen within the next hour and over the course of the next few days.  He knew how utterly devastated and shell-shocked they would be.  He knew how terrified they would be.  He knew…and He gave them the very medicine they needed for their souls and the preservation and perseverance of the faith.  

And then one of the very first things He does three days later in His resurrection is join in table fellowship with His beloved.  Just think of the two Emmaus disciples.  Their eyes were opened, and they were finally able to recognise their risen Lord when He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them to eat.  Ever since then, the faithful have recognised the gift of Christ—not merely a gift from Christ, but the gift of Christ Himself—in the ordinary elements He hands down and hands over to us. 

 

And nothing has changed.  All these centuries later, and He’s still handing Himself over to us for the same exact reason—for our peace, our assurance, our confidence, our forgiveness…our life.  This is precisely why I ask, “Do you get it?” Yes, we know all the Catechism facts about this sacrament.  We know what the Bible says.  We even believe it.  And yet…when life hits the fan, where do we look?  Where do we flee to?  When the darkness of sin, death, and despair overtakes us; when it looks like all hell is breaking loose, where do we go or what do we reach out to in faith?  To what or whom does our faith look to hold onto and embrace?  Where do you find true peace?  Perhaps a better question is: Where do you look for true peace?

Dear fellow redeemed: Here is Christ, holding out to us; handing over to us the very peace that is Himself and His victory over sin, death, and the grave.  Here is the rest of the story.  Here is how our story ends.  We win!  We win because Christ has won!  I say all this because the world we live in is a crazy, scary, unkind, unforgiving, and unfair place…and it’s not getting any better.  No good deed goes unpunished.  Nice guys get persecuted, while the wicked, unscrupulous people—the real villains—always seem to get ahead.  Virtue is ridiculed while vice is celebrated.  Nobody likes to lose, and nobody likes to be disliked or hated.  The temptation to give in and sell out and go along with the rest of this fallen and sinful world is all around us, and even comes from within us; from our own fallen and sinful flesh.  There is nothing new under the sun.  Just like our first parents, we look to the forbidden fruits that world has to offer, and it all seems very appealing and pleasing to the eye.  It scratches us right where we itch.  Go along and get along, right?  Life is just easier that way.  What’s a person to do?  

Trust your ears.  Don’t trust your eyes.  Don’t trust your heart.  Your heart is a terrible guide, for out of the heart of Adam comes hatred, murder, theft, adultery, and all kinds of other sin and death that has been handed down to us from our first parents.  Trust your ears.  Trust what your Lord tells you.  “Take and eat.  Take and drink.  This is My body.  This is My blood, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of all your sin.” Here is Christ.  Here is the confidence, the assurance, the comfort, and the peace to endure and persevere; to faithfully bear our respective crosses as we run the race God has given us, in the world, but not of the world.  

My prayer is that you get it; that you recognise, rejoice, and hunger and thirst for this life-saving, life-giving, peace-bestowing gift that Christ wants nothing more than to give to you.  May this Christocentric reality be, not a last resort or a mere routine motion you go through as you come to the alter rail with the rest of the worshippers, or a superstitious action you think you can do to try to gain some peace and happiness. But, may it be your confidence, your assurance, your comfort, and your peace; a peace that surpasses all human understanding and is known only in the humility of repentant saving faith, may this joy and peace of Christ and His victory be yours, now and into all eternity.  Amen.

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

 

  

Palm Sunday - 28 March 2021 - Year B

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

The text for our meditation is written in the 14^th Chapter of the Gospel according to St Mark: Verses 1 – 15 & 27:

 

It was two days before the Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him; ² for they said, “Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.” 

³ While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head. ⁴ But some were there who said to one another in anger, “Why was the ointment wasted in this way? ⁵ For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they scolded her. ⁶ But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has performed a good service for me. ⁷ For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me. ⁸ She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial. ⁹ Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.” 

¹⁰ Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. ¹¹ When they heard it, they were greatly pleased, and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him. 

¹² On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?” ¹³ So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, ¹⁴ and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹⁵ He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”

 

²⁷ And Jesus said to them, “You will all become deserters; for it is written, 

‘I will strike the shepherd, 

and the sheep will be scattered.’

A woman named Mary, twelve seasoned disciples, a room filled with the fragrance of the finest perfume, a broken alabaster jar, and a Saviour drenched and dripping with the finest imported perfume. I am sure that you are familiar with the story. It was Holy Week. Jesus was only a few days from arrest and trial and crucifixion. But, tonight it was a celebration. It wasn’t so long ago before this night that Lazarus had been dead and buried, but tonight, he was sitting at the table with Jesus – and his sister Martha and Mary were there. The Passover was just around the corner. Jesus was with friends in the familiar village of Bethany. It was a happy night, but we don’t hear about that. No, this evening meal is recorded by Matthew, Mark, and John for one reason only: because of what Mary did. 

 

Mary had already made a mark on the Gospel stories. Remember, she was the one sitting and listening to Jesus while Martha cooked. But, tonight, Mary really did it! Sometime, while everyone was still seated, or as John tells us, reclining around the table, she came to Jesus with an extraordinary gift. The perfume Nard was imported from northern India, from a plant that grew there at the foot of the Himalayas. It wasn’t cheap. Mary had almost 12 oz. (that’s about 350ml) of it, worth about a year’s wages—by today’s standards, it was worth tens of thousands of dollars. This precious nard was bottled in a glass-like, translucent alabaster flask or bottle, with no lid. This bottle was sealed, as one piece, the nard encased within. It did not have a screw top, a wax plug, or even a cork. There was only one way to open it—snap off the top. It was a single-use dispenser. There was no way to use just a bit, no way to save some for later. So, Mary used it, pouring it—all twelve ounces of it—over Jesus’ feet and hair. 

 

We’re actually not told exactly why Mary did it. Was it love for her Lord? Was it gratitude for the resurrection and healing of her brother Lazarus? Was it an act of worship? We can’t know for sure. We just know what she did ... and we know what the disciples thought about it. 

John’s Gospel singles out the reaction of Judas, but Matthew lets us know that this time, at least, Judas was speaking for all twelve disciples. They were shocked. They simply could not believe what they were seeing. This was way over the top. Sitting and listening while her sister worked was one thing, but this was different. This was just wrong! 

 

We could justifiably ask, what was so wrong about the disciples’ reasoning? You can’t reject the force of the argument just because it comes from the mouth of Judas. Jesus himself had taught the lesson well— deny yourself, avoid the foolish indulgences of this world, scorn its deceitful vanities, focus on the needs of others, pay attention to the poor and to the social outcasts. So, why not take that luxury, that obscenely, embarrassingly expensive jar of pure nard, and sell it so that the money could be used for something important—something like helping homeless people, or reaching out to people who had lost everything in a sudden disaster? Why not use such a valuable resource for a good, God- pleasing purpose like doing evangelism work or building a church for a remote village that has no church? How could they justify merely pouring it out in one fleeting moment – even if it was to honour Jesus? Come on—there are other ways to honour that don’t come with such an absurd price tag. They were the compassionate conservatives. Mary was the wasteful liberal. Mary surely was a misguided fool at best, and a wasteful thief at worst, taking food from the mouths of starving babies to fuel her extravagant demonstration of affection! 

 

The truth is though, we are just like the disciples, we like to play it safe. We like to do what is controlled and reasonable and frugal and careful and responsible. So, we give what we think is reasonable—and consider that a great feat. We covet and hoard our time and exercise our right to relaxation time, this may be good in moderation, but are we reasonable about our rights? Does this mean a few extra hours of meditation in front of the TV? Some extra communing – with nature? Playing it safe leaves Jesus unimpressed. 

 

You know, I can’t think of a single time in the entire Scriptural record where anyone was ever commended or praised by God for playing it safe. Every time someone tried to play it safe, it ended with a rebuke from God. It was not that way for Abraham, Moses, Gideon, David, and Elijah. They were praised for taking a risk on what God said to them. The faithless servant who buried his single talent was rebuked! The rich fool who had every future plan perfectly covered and retirement all worked out was condemned. God is not impressed with a play-it-safe attitude. 

 

So, the conservative, play-it-safe disciples missed the point entirely. Here in Bethany, they we left wanting. And then, in a few days in the Garden, when Jesus was arrested, they again did the safe, responsible thing, and they fulfilled Jesus prophecy in our text; “You will all become deserters; for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ They ran and hid from impending danger.

 

At Golgotha, only John mustered the courage to make a brief appearance —the rest were nowhere to be found. Of course not, it was dangerous to be there ... better to play it safe, right? The disciples were wrong. Mary was right. 

 

Mary was 100% right! She was completely vindicated. Jesus did not play the role of mediator. Jesus did nothing to try to pacify both sides in this confrontation. He didn’t throw even a dry bone to the disciples and their calls for “be smart, play-it-safe” ministry. He did not even gently remind Mary of the importance of keeping things in balance, and the need to avoid extremes. No, it was not an issue of neglecting the poor. Jesus’ ministry proves his love and concern for them, and it was not an issue of making choices between competing goods. It was simple. It was an issue of a broken container and now could only be used completely with nothing held back. 

 

You see in Jesus’ eyes the vessel that was broken, the vessel that won the praise of Jesus was Mary herself. The broken alabaster container was only a symbol of a much more significant breaking that had already happened. In her love for Jesus, and in her singular desire to serve and honour him, Mary was holding nothing back. Like the broken jar that had to be completely spent once it was broken, so Mary could keep back not one thing in her devotion. She did not give herself halfway. She did not give part. She did not do what was safe, or even reasonable. That’s what love does. It’s gives all of itself. 

 

Isn’t that the way God has loved you and me? God so loved the world that he stopped short of sending his Son? No. God so loved the world that He sent one of the millions of angels He could afford to give up? No. God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son. Jesus told His disciples that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for your friends; and Jesus proved that...by laying down his own life. He was broken and His whole life was poured out on that cross. He didn’t hold back a little life. He didn’t just merely faint. No! like that alabaster jar he was broken and his whole life was poured out. Not just for his friends, but for the whole world. 

 

He poured His entire redeeming blood over us head to foot, covering us in the fragrant aroma of His perfection. He gave himself completely for all the times you and I hold back loving God with our whole heart, soul and mind. He gave himself extravagantly for every time you and I try to play it safe. That’s why He is our Saviour. That’s why He is our substitute before God. He did what we don’t do, for what we find excuses not to do. 

 

So, what’s that mean for us? It seems to me that the lesson is at once obvious but so painfully demanding we want to try to avoid it. Jesus doesn’t want us to be play-it-safe disciples. He wants us to be broken jars that can’t hold anything back. So, does this mean that you need to go out and spend $40,000 on a bottle of perfume, and then go looking for a likely candidate who could use anointing? Probably not. But it does mean that perhaps it is time now to pull out the stops and to knock down the safety barriers and to go all - out in faith in the way we serve God.

 

I’m not sure that Mary fully realised what she was doing that evening in Bethany; but she got it right. Jesus took that broken vessel, that object of ridicule, and restored it as a wonderful example of love and devotion for all time. 

 

Stepping out unreservedly in faith means that we never know with what or where our Lord and Saviour will challenge us, but we can be certain that He who ^{Phil 2} “found in human form, humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” has given all that He had that we may have salvation and eternal life, and will keep His promise ^{Matt 28} “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” As we go forth into this Holy Week let us stand with Jesus through His trials and suffering; let us mourn at His death and on Easter Sunday let us rejoice in His victory over death that he has won for us into eternity. Amen

 

The peace and love of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen