Palm Sunday
Scripture: John 12:1-18
The Setting
In the saga of Christ, we’re now at the edge of the big dramatic finale. In one week’s time, it’ll all be over, and, so, we sit in anticipation to watch the full drama play out.
But, today, which usually a day of triumph and celebration, begins with a strange scene.
We’re at a dinner party, which isn’t so unusual, Jesus attended these quite often. But, the way it plays out, sets the stage. And, in an odd way, it asks us: whose side are you on? Where do you stand? And, what will become of you as Jesus marches on towards the cross?
But, first, let’s back up and take a look at all the key players.
Martha
First, you have the two sisters, whom we’re all familiar with: Mary and Martha. They were the sisters of Lazarus, who was raised from the dead, just yesterday.
When Jesus had arrived, after Lazarus had died, he first came to Martha, who chastised him for not having been there while Lazarus was still alive. Yet, Jesus did not offer the traditional condolences, instead he stated that her brother will rise again, and that he is the resurrection and the life. Martha responded by asserting her trust in him. Now, we see Martha serving Christ by inviting him into her home and giving him supper.
If Martha were alive today, she’d probably be the parishioner every priest wants: She’s quick to profess her trust in Christ; she’s obedient; and she’s quick to chip in and help when needed.
Mary
There’s also Mary, Martha’s sister, who did not wait for Jesus come to her when he arrived yesterday. Instead, she ran out to him, not to greet the Lord, but to also chastise him, “Lord, had you been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus didn’t respond, but Mary’s tears moved Jesus. The Gospel says that he “groaned in his spirit and yielded himself to his turmoil.”
But, now, Mary is acting very strange. It seems as if she’s compromised her own integrity. While Jesus eats, she bends down and anoints his feet with expensive nard, and then wipes them dry with her own hair. N.T. Wright says that this is “… roughly the equivalent, at a modern polite dinner party, of a woman hitching up a long skirt to the top of her thighs.” Has she no shame?
Yet, Mary is willing to worship Jesus fully, completely. She’s willing to risk the wrath of her sister and the disgust of the other guests. She’s willing to take the sneers of those around her in order to grow closer to the Lord. In some ways, she’s like the stranger at church: You know the one, the one who isn’t dressed appropriately, or who doesn’t quite know the rules, and who is disruptive during the singing of the hymns or the preaching of the sermon.
Judas
And, finally, there’s Judas Iscariot, the one we know who will betray Christ. He’s outraged at Mary’s behavior. Not only is she being shameful, she’s also wasting money, money which could have gone to the poor. And, so, in front of Jesus, the disciples, and all the guests, he’s the one who has the courage to speak up.
Now, setting aside what we know and think about Judas, he says what we’d all be thinking if we didn’t know the rest of the story. To the other disciples, he’s their treasurer, and, to them, he’s probably the cautious, prudent, and reliable one. After all, I can’t imagine this band of misfits being able to gather a lot of resources, so Judas is probably praised as the one who’s able to take meager earnings and stretch them to pay the bills. If we weren’t predisposed to dislike him, he’s probably the treasurer we’d all want to have on the parish council.
Who are you?
And, so the Gospel pits these three figures against each other. Each one with a different personality, and each one with a different response to Jesus and the events now happening.
If we were to pause and ask, “Which of these people do you see yourself in?” I bet most of us would say Martha or Judas. I’d think very few of us would say Mary.
It makes sense.
At this point in the story, we’ve seen Martha profess her trust in Christ. Isn’t this the ideal of every Christian? And, we’ve seen Martha obediently serve Christ in such a way that’s appropriate. If our lives weren’t so hectic and busy, I think we’d all want to be at every church service, and we’d all want to volunteer as much as we could. In fact, soon, we’ll have many Marthas serving us a beautiful fish dinner.
It also makes sense to see ourselves in Judas. He holds a leadership position within the group of disciples. If we ignore St. John’s side comment, it seems (at least to those present) that he has his heart in the right place: serving the poor. After all, isn’t this what Jesus had been preaching since he was baptized: an extreme love of neighbor?
In praise of inappropriateness
And, yet, it isn’t the obedient, good Martha, or the diligent treasurer that Jesus praises. Instead, it’s the wildly inappropriate Mary. “Leave her, so that she might keep it for the day of my burial; For you always have the poor with you, but me you do not always have.”
It seems Martha and Judas got left behind. In Luke’s version of the story (10:38-42), he tells Martha that Mary has chosen the better part. And, of course, the “trusted” treasurer ends up betraying our Lord. Not even the disciples, even at the last minute, saw that coming.
And, so, we’re left with the radical Mary as the example of faith just before Jesus’s grand entrance into Jerusalem.
But, only by being radical can Mary see that Jesus’s death is near—everyone else is blind to the upcoming trial. Only by acting inappropriately is she able to appropriately honor Christ for what will be a hasty burial. Only by becoming a nonconformist is she able to think outside the box to see how the death of Christ will radically alter the world.
Jesus’s death will, indeed, change the world. Jesus’s death will have cosmic significance for the realm of Death will be overthrown. It will usher in the Kingdom, and call all his followers, including us, to a new way of living.
I guess the questions before us now are: Are we also able to embody this strange behavior of Mary? Are we also able to see how Jesus will change the world? And, are we also able to throw off social convention in order to embrace Christ?
Are we able to follow Christ to the cross this week, or will we, like so many others, fall away?
Amen.