3rd April 2022 (Lent 5)
Title: Gracious Ministries for the Lord
(Scripture Readings: John 12:1–8 & Philippians 3:4–14)
By Heeyoung Lim
All four gospels tell a story of a woman anointing Jesus, but only John names this woman. Along with Mark and Matthew, John sets the scene in Bethany. The place is the site of the conspiracy of Jesus’ death, the place where Mary prepared for the Lord’s death through expensive perfume and devotion, and the place where the Lord was later ascended into heaven.
When Jesus arrived at Bethany, a banquet was held for Jesus. It was a feast prepared by Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Lazarus died a while ago and was in a state of rotting, but now he is alive and having a lively feast. This scene shows that there is no need to despair over death. On the other hand, Jesus does not away from such a feast as He is approaching His Passion. His power to overcome death and be resurrected makes us not despair.
John began with the story of Mary anointing Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume. He tells us we have come to the last week of the Lord’s life before the cross. John has spent nearly half of his Gospel narrative on events of that crisis-filled week. Through the John’s gospel we will see our Lord facing several crises such as crises of values, confrontation, timing, and faith.
In Luke 10:38–42, Jesus contrasts Mary’s doing of the “needful thing” with Martha’s distraction over her tasks. Along with Luke, John associates the woman’s action with an extravagant act of hospitality. However, Mary anointed Jesus while Martha served. The Greek verb translated as “served” means ministering. Service and ministry for the Lord have been done by both Mary and Martha here. Jesus is graciously ministered to by the actions of both women.
Mary was pointed out by Martha in Luke’s gospel and by Judas in John’s gospel. Pouring that expensive perfume on Jesus would have been difficult for others to empathize with. Judas immediately criticized sharply, but Jesus recognized Mary’s heart.
In John, as Mary generously anoints him, Jesus tells her critics, “Leave her alone.” & “You will not always have me.” Here is Jesus’ clear defence of this woman, and she was no longer attacked by others. Deuteronomy 15:11 commands care for the poor. Justice is a critical tradition Jesus inherits from his Jewish culture. John 12:8 does not reject that tradition, rather a central theme in John’s gospel is what “time” it is. It can be expressed as an approaching hour. Verse 8 contains Jesus’ assertion that Mary’s action was timely since His time draws short. The inevitable hour had come.
John makes clear the market value of the nard of 300 denarii, and it is roughly equivalent to the yearly wage for a day labourer. But there are other values than the market. The opportune moment to minister to Jesus leads Mary to move outside of still-valued traditions and censure. It aims to engage in this highly relational and devotional act. What Mary does in ministering to Jesus is a gracious act and ministry beyond all else services and a path to prepare for Jesus’ cross. Mary who sat at the Lord’s feet did needful things for herself listening to the word of the Lord, but now, Mary, at the feet of Jesus, anoints for the Lord. And at the feet of Jesus, and at the table where He eats, Mary and Martha both minister to Jesus.
God has had grace and given his Son Jesus on the cross for our sin, raised Jesus, declared us righteous and justified, adopted us as His children, and promised us resurrection and eternal life. The human part in all this, in faith, is to accept what God has done. There is abundance wherever He is present.
Who are the recipients and providers of gracious ministries? We expect God’s new and gracious actions in our lives. We continue to hope and pray for God’s restorative grace. Paul personalizes the priority given to a relationship with Christ that empowers ministry. As for Paul, the things of the world are viewed as rubbish in comparison to gaining Christ. His eyes were on Christ. All that matters is his relationship with Christ.
What had formerly been Paul’s sources of pride gives way to Paul’s source of hope. Everything now hinges on an ever-deepening relationship with the risen Christ. The Damascus Road experience transformed him. This changed Paul’s aim in life. He wanted to know Christ and the power of His resurrection. To know Christ meant much more relational and depth than just knowing about Him in his mind. To know Christ in this way meant he was ready to share in Christ’s sufferings, even if that meant sharing his death.
His goal is to win the prize for which God had called him in Christ Jesus. This is the driving force that moves him forward through his gracious ministries in Christ. Paul’s longing to share with Christ comes through strongly in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” We have not attained completion as a Christian but press on toward maturity in Christ.
He had not “arrived.” Not yet mature, he was still very much in the race of the Christian life. He had to deal with his sinful body and was aware of the need for further spiritual growth. He is willing to press on as he had not attained the intense knowledge of Christ that he desired and had not become all that Christ wanted him to be. A fact of the Christian life is that the more we mature the more we realize how much further we have to go to become like Christ.
Paul uses the image of a runner in a race who hopes to win the prize. He cannot look back or cloud his mind with memories. His eyes focus on the finish line. Paul faced so many difficulties, sufferings, and frustrations, but he looks ahead to see the resurrection, where he will meet Jesus face-to-face.
We live our lives in the shadow of the cross, but we also live in the presence of the risen Christ. So here is an invitation to daily companionship with Jesus, at the Table, in acts of compassion and generosity, in moments of worship and prayer, and in our gracious ministries.
Mary did not pour out the expensive perfume on Jesus in anticipation of Jesus’ death. But in the end, she became the person to prepare for the imminent death of Jesus. Mary’s good intentions were more preciously used by God. We can easily see our dedication, services, and devotion to each other in our faith community. All things all of you are doing for the Lord are so precious. I believe that God knows our hearts and joyfully uses our gracious services and ministries. May we live in a mind-set of abundance and minister to Jesus in faith. Like Lazarus and Paul, being with Jesus is sometimes risky and accompanies suffering, but may we glorify God through our gracious services and ministries for the rest of our lives.
Thanks be to God! Amen.
(Ref. Bible, commentaries, theological books, UCA materials)