The Bigger Picture
(John 12: 1-8)
Over the course of my lifetime, I’ve had jobs that had a bigger picture mission that could often times get lost in the minutia of day-to-day business. Jobs where you can become so overwhelmed with what’s going on around you that you forget what your main objective was, and your mission suffers. For example, when I was the elected Prosecuting Attorney of Jefferson County the main objective of the office was to render civil advice to county officials, represent the county in civil lawsuits, and prosecute crimes, both felonies and misdemeanors, committed within Jefferson County. I had an excellent civil deputy prosecuting attorney, so the civil matters were the least of my problems. The basic mission of prosecuting those charged with violations of the law became more complicated when we were expected to solve mental health crises, drug and alcohol addictions, homelessness, and domestic violence to name a few. In response to those issues, I expanded the already-existing Drug Court to take on high risk offenders, established Jefferson County’s first Mental Health Court, worked with OlyCAP (Olympic Community Action Program) to find clean and sober housing for our Drug Court and Mental Health Court clients, and established a No-Drop-No Plea Bargain policy for Domestic Violence cases. We had to do all of that without an increase in our budget and making do with the staff already on hand, as in, no new hires. We became so consumed with dealing with these side issues, as important as they may be, that we began to lose sight of the bigger picture, being ready and able to prosecute serious crimes like Jefferson County’s first double homicide that required shifting personnel and realigning our resources. Trying to explain the bigger picture to someone who genuinely believes their issue takes precedence over everything else, even a double homicide, is an exercise in futility and they just can’t see it. It begged the question as to whether or not you wanted a social worker, or someone trained and practiced in holding criminal defendants accountable for committing a crime when it really counted. You know, the bigger picture.
And it’s Jesus’ dealing with the bigger picture that the Apostle John is writing about in our gospel reading for this morning. Jesus’ mission to bring the Word of God to the people was getting lost in the minutia. He had done so many amazing things that his ministry was taking on a side show atmosphere. He had healed leprosy, cured a bleeding disorder, restored sight to the blind, made the lame walk, cast out demons, raised a man from the dead, and fed thousands of hungry people with a few small fish and a couple of loaves of bread just to mention a few of his miracles. His message was being lost and even his own disciples and closest friends couldn’t see the bigger picture even as his date with death approached. Jesus knows what is coming and he begins preparing himself mentally for his suffering and death while those around him act as if nothing is going on, as if they are oblivious to what Jesus has been telling them.
John begins by telling us that it was six days before Passover that Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom Jesus had previously raised from the dead. Excited to see Jesus again Lazarus and his sisters hosted a dinner for him and his disciples, with Martha serving the guests and Lazarus sitting among those who joined him at the table. We’re told that while this is going on Mary took an extraordinary amount, almost three-quarters of a pound, of expensive perfume made of pure nard and anointed Jesus’ feet with it and then wiped his feet dry with her hair. John tells us that the entire house was filled with the aroma of the perfume. Now this wasn’t some nice perfume that you could buy at the perfume counter of a high-end department store. Pure nard was a fragrant ointment imported from the mountains of India. It was very expensive and the amount Mary used was worth a year’s wages for the average working man. John continues by telling us that Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples who was the one about to betray Jesus, complained loudly: This perfume was worth a year’s wages! Why wasn’t it sold, and the money given to the poor? The Apostle notes that Judas said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and that he carried the money bag and would help himself with whatever was in it for his own personal use. Jesus didn’t call Judas out because it would have served no purpose at the time. John had previously noted in chapter 6 that Jesus knew that some of them didn’t believe and that he knew from the beginning who wouldn’t believe and who would come to betray him. Jesus responded: Leave her alone. This perfume was to be used in preparation for my burial, and this is how she has used it. You will always have the poor among you, but you won’t always have me.
Mary got it. Mary saw the bigger picture. She saw through all of the miracles that Jesus had performed out of his compassion for the sick and suffering. She got it, she understood Jesus’ ministry and, more importantly, the timeline. She anointed Jesus just as the ancients would have prepared a king for burial, with expensive perfume. Apparently, nobody else around the table snapped upon the significance of her act of acknowledgement as to who Jesus was. His time on earth was coming to an end and then the real work would begin for those left behind.
This act and Jesus’ response to it do not teach us to ignore the poor so we can spend money extravagantly for Christ. It was a unique act for a specific occasion, an anointing that anticipated Jesus’ burial and a public declaration of faith in him as the Messiah. His statement about always having the poor has sometimes been considered a “hard saying” callous, but it really is not. His statement is neither an endorsement for the perpetual condition of the poor, nor a warrant for ignoring them. The focal point is his upcoming death, which Mary’s act signifies and prepares for. What Jesus is saying is that we will never lack an opportunity to care for the poor and he quite possibly is referring back to what Moses said in his last sermon to Israel before his death in Deuteronomy 15: 10, 11 where he said: No, give generously to needy persons. Don’t resent giving to them because it is this very thing that will lead to the Lord your God’s blessing you in all you do and work at. Poor persons will never disappear from the earth. That’s why I’m giving you this command: You must open your hand generously to your fellow Israelites, to the needy among you, and to the poor who live with you in your land.
Jesus encourages not neglect of the poor, but rather attention to the unique saving moment at hand, his royal death. He doesn’t want us to lose sight of the fact that he came to live amongst us to save us, to be a means to an everlasting relationship with God, a relationship that leads us believers to eternal life and victory over sin and death. There will be plenty of other things during our lifetime that will distract us and cause us to lose sight of Christ, but we must never lose sight of why he came and gave his life for us. Do we, like Mary, during this season of Lent, see the bigger picture?
Let us pray.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! There’s just something about that name. He’s our Master, our Savior, Jesus! Like the fragrance after the rain. Yes, gracious and loving God, how grateful we are for the gift of your Son, our Savior, who came to live amongst us, to show us the way to you through the forgiveness of our sins, great and small. We pray that by your Spirit that you keep us focused upon our salvation and leading others to you so that they too will know that inner peace we have through our relationship with Him. Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, but there’s something about that name! Let all heaven and earth proclaim that Jesus is Lord. Amen.
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Jesus encourages not neglect of the poor, but rather attention to the unique saving moment at hand, his royal death.