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Fifth Sunday in Lent
Sunday, April 7, 2019
Lectionary C

John 12:1-8

As we transition from the reception and celebration of the return of the prodigal son to attend a dinner prepared in Jesus’s honor, let’s evaluate the venue and the dinner guests. Jesus and the 12 (disciples) are on their way to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, passing through Bethany, where they are invited to the home of Lazarus, the one Jesus raised from the dead four days after his burial, along with Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus.

Martha, all bustle and industry, and Mary, all tranquility and devotion – their collective gifts of servitude complement one another.  Jesus’s disciples are there, including Judas Iscariot, who was about to betray him. That’s a minimum of 16 people!

Possibly, you can relate to the detail involved in planning a dinner party – the guest list, the seating chart, the menu, the table décor, the wine selection, all only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. So how do you properly honor Jesus? He has no needs. He is God. He is the great I AM.  He is the resurrection and the life. He is the bread of life. He is the good shepherd.

We find ourselves in Lazarus’ home as he hosts a dinner party with Jesus as the guest of honor to express his gratitude. Lazarus, a former dead man, reclining at the table with Jesus, chatting amicably, eating his fill, and looking with awe at the one who raised him from the dead. Martha (who, at a time in the past, had experienced an attitude or priority adjustment when she had grumbled to Jesus about Mary’s idleness), doing what needs to be done so the guest of honor and others do not go hungry, without complaint, but with faithful service with a quiet, servant’s heart. Mary, with her alabaster jar of costly, fragrant perfume, anointing the feet of Jesus with all she had of value, lovingly wiping them with her hair. Judas Iscariot, meanwhile, objected because he thought the perfume should be sold and feigned the money be given to the poor as it was worth a year’s wages.

The other 11 disciples, who Jesus had told they were “going up to Jerusalem and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled,” (Mark 10:33) did not understand any of this; its meaning was hidden from them.

Obviously, a lot is going on here. So many characters and personalities that you almost forget that it’s all about Jesus! Jesus the healer, the life-giver, the teacher, the focus of worship, the Son of the living God.

As a child of God, think about who YOU are in this story! We are like Lazarus as we have been given a new life in Christ. He has healed us from the disease of a sinful nature. As a follower of Christ, we are like Martha, busy doing the will of the

Mueller

Father, completing the tasks He has set before us, dedicated to the work of His kingdom. As God’s own, we worship like Mary – not holding anything back, giving our very lives in honor of the Master and trusting Him for all of our needs.

If you identify more readily with one of the disciples – not speaking out against Judas Iscariot or not worshiping Christ with Mary, but just observing … pray for the Holy Spirit within you to break the clay jar of your fleshly nature so the gifts God has placed in you will be poured out, and the sweet perfume will flow freely from your very being.

– The Rev. Kay Mueller is deacon of Church of Our Saviour in Okeechobee.