By the fifth Sunday in Lent,
the season is starting to drag on.
If we’ve given ourselves over
to the wisdom of the church
we may be of two very strong feelings.
Isn’t this over yet?
And it’s almost Easter!
The gospel passage on this Sunday —
regardless of the year —
is with us.
Some years we hear the story being given away
as Jesus raises Lazarus
calling for him to come out of the tomb.
This year we get a passing reference to that.
This year we get more fully
a preparation for next Sunday
and Good Friday after that.
Matthew and Mark have almost identical stories
about Jesus’ feet being anointed.
Luke has a different version.
John, today,
might (?) by synthesizing the two.
As we hear at the beginning of the passage,
Jesus has raised Lazarus from the dead.
In John’s gospel,
where we switch now that we’re deep in Lent,
that’s the last straw.
This Jesus has command over even death,
and so he’s got to go.
Raising Lazarus
is what begins the plot
to have Jesus killed.
So today we have this dichotomy:
Jesus has raised Lazarus from the dead
and Lazarus’ sister Mary
is preparing Jesus for his burial.
Whether she realizes it or not,
John knows that’s what’s happening.
As we move closer to Easter
and the Easter Vigil
Charlie and Asta
are getting ready for their own deaths
in the watery grave of the font.
Yes, beloved,
we’re having two baptisms
at the Vigil
so I expect to see all of you there.
Remember
if you stay up late for the Vigil
you can skip Easter Sunday morning.
Unless you’re serving
in one way or another.
As we move closer to Easter
and further into 2025
we might be looking around
and realizing that we need to prepare
for deaths of various sorts.
We continue as a congregation
to discern our long term future.
The Bishop’s Committee retreat yesterday
did excellent work
anointing the metaphorical feet
of the congregation.
We don’t know what is next
, and we know that something has to die.
How we’ve been doing things
isn’t working
so we have to change that.
Like Mary anointing Jesus’ feet,
she’s probably not sure what comes next.
She knows that she loves Jesus,
her teacher and friend.
We know that we love Jesus
and we love this congregation
and the people who make it up.
Beyond our congregation,
right now our country is starting to groan with creation
for a new way of doing things.
As people’s portfolios have tumbled this week,
many are saying
“Whoa! That’s not what I voted for!”
And there are those
without stock portfolios
who bought appliances and cars
before tariffs were announced
who are saying
“At least he’s doing something.”
There’s a desperation to both,
from the collar tugging
to the feelings of being left behind.
Even if we or NPR or One America News
don’t frame it this way,
there’s a yearning
for death and resurrection.
I’m a priest.
I’m your priest.
One of my jobs is to always reorient us
to the story we hold most dear:
that of Jesus’ death…
and resurrection.
As Mary anoints Jesus’ feet,
John keeps giving away the plot.
Mary is getting ready for Passion Sunday
and Good Friday
but John is pointing us toward Easter.
Death is not the end.
We aren’t yet in the point of the liturgical year
when we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection,
but we know it’s coming.
There’s no need to suspend disbelief
or pretend to wonder what happens next.
We know.
We have to sit with the unpleasantness
or the ambiguity
in the gospel texts,
in another week of Lent
and then Holy Week,
but we know this is not the end.
We can’t spiritually bypass
as the church reminds us
that salvation for creation
had a cost and a price.
At the same time,
we don’t need to wallow
in the agonies of the Passion.
More than preparing Jesus for his death,
Mary’s anointing of his feet with nard
is preparing his body for burial.
This is an act of love, service, and devotion,
like the ways we give of our time, talent and treasure
as we steward what God has given us.
Mary of Bethany
can’t be sure
that Jesus will come back.
But she knows he’s going to die soon.
Something is going to change
and she’s looking to her friend and teacher
to help her understand.
If you pray Compline regularly
you’re familiar with the verse from Psalm 4:
Many are saying,
“Oh that we might see better times.”
That is not new to 2025
or to any presidential administration
or to the most recent pandemic.
A part of the human condition
is a yearning for better times.
Markets can be front indicators
for how people are going to be impacted
by decisions of governments.
Retired people
and people close to retirement
are longing for better times.
The “at least he’s doing something” folks
may find themselves longing for better times
in a few months too.
Mary of Bethany shows us
what our job as followers of Jesus is:
prepare for something new
that includes death and resurrection.
Mary doesn’t avoid the realities of death,
which can mean a lot of things
in our congregational and national setting!
She doesn’t avoid the realities of death
and the church tells us
in so many ways
from the font to the grave
from Advent’s end of the world
to Easter’s breaking the bonds of death
this is not the end.
Whatever “this” is,
it’s not the end
until it’s been made whole
and redeemed by God
through Jesus’ resurrection.
O Holy Christ,
Your burdens are light
But your blessings are heavy
Almost too weighty to bear
There’s a hook in this meal
To receive is to follow
And you won’t always say where
What fool would dare follow you?