Sermons

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Bittersweet Perfume
March 12, 2000
Sermon Series on the Gospel of John
Pastor Dan Baumgartner

We’ve reached a turning point in our study in the gospel of John, and it is more a case of divine inspiration than great planning that makes today’s scripture entirely appropriate for the first Sunday of Lent. As we arrive at chapter 12, we are told that the story takes place six days before the Passover, the Passover associated with the time of the arrest and death of Jesus. In other words, everything we have read from chapter 1 through chapter 11 has covered a period of about three years. But these chapters from 12 through chapter 20…will cover about one week’s time. That is indicative of the importance that the writer John puts on the events of what we call “holy week.”

John 11:54-12:10

It is so much fun to have kids. Nothing ever happens the way that you had in mind. I remember a few years ago in Minneapolis, going to one of those extremely large sporting goods stores, a warehouse sort of place, with the kids. We split up to look at different things. And after a little while, I’m browsing through the clothing section, and I’m practically knocked over by a smell. It’s sweet, like some sort of perfume or something. And it is overpoweringly strong…filling the whole section of the store. And lo and behold, who comes around the corner but my kids…and the closer they get, the stronger the smell! And I say “Wow! what’s that smell?” Sheepish looks. “Oh, it’s this stuff we tried.” What stuff? “The Michael Jordan cologne.” Wow. How much did you put on? “Too much.” It wasn’t exactly what they -- or I -- had in mind!

I don’t think that being in this situation is exactly what this woman Mary had in mind either. Mary has just stood next to her friend Jesus as he raised her brother Lazarus from the dead. We read about it last week. It must have been an absolutely mind-stretching experience that Mary could hardly grasp. But as the word of the Lazarus miracle gets out to the religious leaders in Jerusalem, they are concerned that Jesus is stirring up the people, that he is getting too popular. And so they put the word out that if Jesus comes back to town, he is to be arrested. As the Passover approaches, people gather ahead of time in Jerusalem to prepare themselves for it. And there is a buzz in the streets, as people wonder if this miracle-man Jesus would come, knowing that there was essentially a warrant out for his arrest. And Jesus shows up in Bethany, the village 2 miles outside of Jerusalem where Mary, Martha and Lazarus live. It’s home away from home for him, and he stops there.

But Jesus is headed for Jerusalem. He has been warned and re-warned…he knows the danger, his followers were reluctant…but he is headed for Jerusalem. Luke says He “set his face towards Jerusalem.” Knowingly, willingly, Jesus moves towards Jerusalem.

But first, he is at dinner at a house there in Bethany, surrounded by at least some of his dearest friends. This family: Lazarus, wonder of wonders, sits beside him, eating. Lazarus’ sister Martha is there, serving the table. And their sister Mary. Mary creates quite a scene. I don’t think it is exactly what she expected. I don’t think it’s what she had in mind. But she has created a scene nonetheless. She anoints Jesus.

Anointing was the act of pouring aromatic oil or perfume on a person. And it had three main purposes in the Middle East. First, It was something done to sanctify and approve kingship. We see Solomon, for instance, in the Old Testament, being anointed as King. Then the Bible sometimes calls them “the Lord’s anointed,” or Messiah. Second, anointing was performed to consecrate someone or something to a holy purpose…Aaron was anointed to the priesthood. These are very similar ideas. Both of these are proud moments, the apparent fulfilling of destiny, or the following of a call to leadership. Both of these were very true for Jesus. Truly, he was brought as a different kind of king…as messiah. And truly, he called for a holy purpose, of bringing people back to God.

But there is a third use of anointing, the most visible here…and it is why this anointing is bittersweet. The bodies of the dead were anointed before burial. And Jesus knows what awaits him in Jerusalem. He knows he won’t leave again.

And so Mary pours this perfume on Jesus’ feet, and wipes it with her hair. And the whole room stops in shocked silence. I don’t think she had planned this all out ahead of time. You could’ve heard a pin drop. Why? First, this was no Michael Jordan $29 cologne…this was expensive stuff! It cost a year’s wages to buy such a bottle. Perhaps in the case of a death this could be justified. But Mary chooses not to wait for Jesus’ death…but to pour it out now. There is incredible irony here. Jesus’ own life will be poured out very shortly.

Surely, given a moment to think, Mary would have guessed that Judas and others might have objected to this poor stewardship. AND, if she had stopped to think, she would have remembered that in that culture no self-respecting woman would ever let their hair down in public. In fact, only prostitutes would do such a thing. It was disgraceful. And finally, no one, not even a host washing the feet of an honored guest, would dry the anointed feet with their hair.

But whether she had stopped to think or not, the key thing is that Mary acted out of her heart’s impulse. Mary is unafraid to pour herself out, to love here and now, to risk loving deeply. She doesn’t know if she will have another chance, and so she lets her love out in this perfume.

As I thought about Mary this week, I thought: “She is demonstrating what we are called to do with our lives.” I think God calls us to love, and to love deeply, the people around us. Calls us to risk investing, to be extravagant in love, to extend ourselves, to love here and now regardless of anything else…it’s our call. Jesus says in John 13, “a new commandment I give you: to love each other…even as I have loved you.”

I asked myself this question this week. “Am I extravagant in my love for people around me?” With my family? With friends? With my neighbors, with folks on Wednesday nights, with people I coach with, with people I meet here in our community? Would “extravagant” describe my love? Most often, I have to say “No.” “Careful” would be closer to the truth. So often I love carefully. Not going too overboard, not extending too much, always playing the waiting game to see if love will be returned to me, and if it isn’t, then I haven’t put myself in a position I might be hurt.

Remember when you were in elementary school, and the opposite sex was just starting to have some appeal, and you mustered up the courage to slip someone a note? “I like you: Do you like me? Check one of these boxes: yes, no.” If it was a ‘yes,” you had no idea what to do next. If it was a “no,” you ripped up the note, and nobody ever knew it happened. You could carefully exit.

But there’s nothing careful about Mary’s love here. It is downright reckless. I read of this kind of love in action this week in a very unexpected place for me, a very unexpected person. It was Mr. Rogers. You know, Mr. Rogers on TV. Fred Rogers, actually, who is incidentally a Presbyterian minister. I knew Mr. Rogers, of course, from our kids growing up, and I had always respected the fact that his shows held kids’ attention, and that they taught very good values and lessons. But honestly, those shows drove me crazy. I’d usually tiptoe out of the room. You know, the cardigan sweater, changing into tennis shoes, always singing, “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood." Drove me crazy.

Well, it turns out that Mr. Rogers was on the front of Christianity Today last month. And in the feature article, it referred many times to an article from a couple years ago in Esquire magazine, so I tracked that down. I was amazed. The Esquire writer had very little faith background…but he followed Mr. Rogers around for several days, and then wrote this article.

And you know what it was that happened? Mr. Rogers LOVED this writer. Loved him to death. Welcomed him, had him to his home, explained what he was doing and why, really lavished love on this person he had never met, extravagant love…unafraid of what might appear in print, unfazed that the writer seemed pretty dazed by watching people come and thank him for changing their kids’ lives. It was very apparent that Mr. Rogers was not trying to be anything different than the man you see on TV.

And finally, at the end of the story the writer finds himself, much to his surprise, praying with Mr. Rogers and another person. And he writes, “What is grace? I’m not certain; all I know is that my heart felt like a spike, and then, in that room, it opened and felt like an umbrella. I had never prayed like that before, ever.” When Mary anointed Jesus…it filled the whole house with the fragrance of the perfume. When we are willing to love deeply, to love with risk, to invest…it permeates everything…it changes the world.

We’re not only called to love other people like this. We are invited to love God like this. The scripture Jeff read said, “Love the Lord your God with ALL of your heart, soul, mind and strength.” To love with everything we have, to give everything. To hand over the good and the bad. We are to love Jesus Christ, to trust and then trust and then trust again.

One of the ways we do that is to hang around people who call us into deeper love, just because of who they are. I’ve told you before about my friend and Greek professor from seminary, Dr. Story. He was the one who used to go down to the gym with me and play H-O-R-S-E on the basketball court…and make me spell “horse” in Greek! Dr. Story is 83 years old now. He has been a lifetime teacher and pastor in many places around the world. As much as anyone I have met, he loves Christ. At 83 years old, he is interim pastoring a church, and writing a commentary on the gospel of Mark. He has invested in people…people like me…for years and years and years.

I got a letter from him last week. He had been on a trip, and suffered from vertigo…dizziness, and had to go to the doctor. The doctor treated him, and gave him a complete check up at the same time. Here’s what he wrote me: “(The doctor)…was amazed at all my tests—nothing wrong—didn’t want to see me again except as I might need him. I took this spiritually, Dan, almost like a second conversion and decided that the Lord Jesus must have all of me from now on.”
Isn’t that amazing? To me, Dr. Story is a man who has always given Christ everything. But no…here, at 83…there’s more. Like a fragrant aroma, being around people who love Christ makes us want to love Him too. It makes us love deeper.

The temptation is to give God what we often give people… that careful love. We work hard at living a balanced life that includes all the different compartments and hats we wear, and our “spiritual life” is another compartment. I don’t think that’s what God is looking for. I don’t think he wants us to have a spiritual life…I think he wants our whole lives to be spiritual…to be lived in intimacy with him. And to do that, we will have to give God the most reckless, most extravagant, most trusting love we have. We will have to turn it all over…our sin AND our gifts, our weaknesses AND our strengths…instead of kidding ourselves with this idea of careful love.

Brennan Manning says this so well. He writes:

My friends, one thing that I have learned over the past 28 years is this: The Jesus of my journey will never say to me, “Brennan, you were too reckless, you confided in Me too much, you trusted beyond reasonable limits, you hoped too much of Me. You should have only played with my word, 'Have confidence in Me,' rather than foolishly acting it out.” No, the Christ of my life would never say that.

When Mary anointed Jesus, the fragrance of that reckless love permeated the entire room. Yet, it was bittersweet. She was anointing Jesus the King. The anointing of Jesus the Savior. But also Jesus, the One turning his face towards death. As far as Mary could rationally know, this was her chance, her one chance to love Jesus with extravagant love. She wasn’t going to miss it.

Here, at the beginning of Lent, we set our face towards the cross of Christ. As we behold it…it is bittersweet as well. It is bitter, because we look at the cross we must acknowledge that if scripture has any credibility at all, Jesus did not mount the cross voluntarily…but he willingly allowed himself to be put there for humankind’s sin. That includes our sin. Our shallow, self-serving, careful love. And so at Lent, we examine our lives, listening for the love of God that whispers to us, calls us to turn over more and more things, good and bad, to Him.

And yet…the cross is also sweet. For each time we look at it, we must be reminded that the God who allowed His Son to go there…did so out of love. Out of a reckless, extravagant love that like a strong perfume…intends to permeate the whole world. The cross reminds us…that at the end of Lent…lies Easter morning. Amen.