March 9, 2022 – Lent Text: John 12:1-11
Dear Friends in Christ,
Marie Kondo is known for organizing. She has written four books and had a Netflix series on the subject. She has been listed by TIME magazine as an influential person because she realized that people are surrounded by so much complexity and clutter. Her method of organizing is known as the KonMari method. It consists in gathering all your belongings and then only keeping things that bring sparks of joy.
Who doesn’t need to simplify? Who doesn’t need to declutter? Who doesn’t want sparks of joy?
In Lent, we are meeting witnesses to Christ’s Passion in John’s Gospel. Today, John introduces us to the Marie Kondo of the Bible. Who is that? Mary. Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. Mary who simplifies and declutters. Mary who helps us to see sparks of joy.
How does Mary do it? She does it by . . .
“REPLACING GET WITH GIVE”
Pretty simple, right? Replace get with give. Get only clutters things. Get only confuses things. Get only makes us miserable. Get ahead. Get back. Get even. Get even more. Get revenge. Mary replaces get with give. Mary gives freely. Mary gives joyfully.
Are you in an emotional rut and you would like sparks of joy? Replace get with give. Here’s the context. In John 11, Lazarus dies. After four days, he stinks to high heaven. Jesus weeps. Then He shouts, “Lazarus, come out.” Lazarus comes out alive and a little groggy.
Well, the Jewish leaders are not happy. Raising people from the dead. Jesus is no longer a nuisance He is a threat. From that day on they made their plans for His death. As we get to John 12, Jesus has a price on His head. So does Lazarus. “The chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.” (vs. 10-11) The evidence, Lazarus must be destroyed with Jesus.
That’s the context. Here is the cost. “Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair.” (v. 3) Do you know the cost? A year’s income. Wow! Ever dropped that much in an instant? Me either. Mary is stepping out in faith. Get is being replaced with give.
Now the comparison. It is between Mary and Judas. Mary is extravagant and has gone over the top. Judas? He feigns concern for the poor but wanted the money for himself. Judas is threatened. All because Mary lives by one word – give.
Mary is generous. Judas is greedy. Mary gives with joy. Judas is a miser. Mary sacrifices financially. Judas won’t give a nickel. Mary shows her faith with actions. Judas talks a good game but doesn’t mean it. Mary loves the word give. All Judas can do is get. Get more. Get ahead. And it will kill him.
It all leads to the cross. “’Leave her alone,’ Jesus replied, ‘so that she may keep it for the day of My burial.’” (v. 7) Mary understands the cross. She believes these words, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” And these from John 2:13: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up..” Mary gives Jesus everything she has. Jesus is going to give Mary everything she needs. This preparation fills the room with the smell of costly perfume.
Smells are powerful, aren’t they? The smell of a workplace. The smell of a school. The smell of a bakery. How about scents? The perfume of your wife, or your mom or your grandma? Smells can bring out emotions. It may take us back to the person it reminds us of.
That is true of Jesus. This strong perfume lingers with Jesus throughout Holy Week as He makes His way to the cross. When Jesus gave Himself completely – all of His love and mercy and grace, holding nothing back for us – He might still have a faint smell of the sweet fragrance. A reminder He mad been marked with one word – give.
Jesus said this in Matthew 26:13: “Wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” Why is that? Because the kingdom of God is not about hoarding. The kingdom of God isn’t about being cheap. The kingdom of God isn’t about get. Get will kill us. God’s kingdom is about give. Then what? Sparks of joy. “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35) Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, shows us that the kingdom of God is about giving generously, giving joyfully, and giving completely.
We can boil it all down tonight. As a child of God we have one simple, powerful and life-changing word. Try it out. It will bring so much joy. The word? Aw, c’mon, you know by now, don ‘t you? G-I-V-E. Give.
Amen.