Six days before the
Passover Jesus came to Bethany,
the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha
served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of
pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was
filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
But Judas Iscariot,
one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, "Why was
this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the
poor?" (He said this not because he
cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and
used to steal what was put into it.)
Jesus said,
"Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of
my burial. You will always have the poor with you, but you do not always have
me."
Holy Wisdom, Holy Word.
Thanks be to God
Lent 5 Year C
John
12:1-8
The Poor
By Rich Gamble
In the story today in John, Mary has wasted perfectly good
perfume to anoint Jesus. Judas complains that the perfume could have been sold
for a great deal of money and that could have been given to the poor. Three
hundred denarii is about a years salary for a common worker. In today’s terms
here in Seattle
we are talking about maybe $30,000. Imagine paying that amount for a bottle of
perfume and then using all of it at one time on one person’s feet.
Granted Jesus didn’t ask for this but neither did he try to
stop Mary. And when Judas complains Jesus defends Mary. Now John discounts
Judas’ motive for saying this. Where this story appears in the other Gospels it
is the disciples as a whole who ask the question. The point is the question not
the motivation behind why it was asked. Why waste the resource? Why not turn it
into aid for the poor?
Jesus quotes the first part of Deuteronomy 15:11 “You always
have the poor with you,” he then says “but you do not always have me."
I bet you have heard that quote about the poor always being
around. It is generally used by people who know enough of the bible to insulate
themselves from the implications of being Christian. People use this quote to
justify ignoring the plight of the poor.
The point supposedly is that it is silly to worry about the suffering of
impoverished people because they are a natural part of the social and economic
landscape. Worrying about the suffering of the poor is like worrying about rain
in Seattle. It
happens, live with it.
It is important when people write off the suffering of
billions of people with this throw away quote that we respond that it is a
really bad understanding of what Jesus means. First of all Jesus was quoting
from Deuteronomy 15:11.
Indeed if you read the rest of Deuteronomy 15:11 you will
see that it says:
“Since
there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command
you, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.’”
This quote comes from a part of Deuteronomy which talks
about the Sabbatical Year which calls on believers to honor God every seven
years by forgiving debts, and releasing those enslaved by debts.
Assuming that Jesus understands what he is quoting then not
only is he not saying to ignore the poor but he also pointing out a passage
that talks about the forgiveness of debts and setting free indentured servants
every seven years. It is a vision of charity as part of a broader systemic
approach to economics. Yes you help those in need by giving freely but also you
forgive debts and set slaves free. It is a much bigger picture than just giving
money to those in need.
So what’s going on in this passage? Jesus in supporting
Mary’s action is saying to the Judases of the world, there will always be
opportunities to care for the poor. But what Jesus is about is something
greater than charity, something bigger than justice. Jesus is the embodiment of
the will of God and that will leans not to a perpetuation of unjust
relationships between rich and poor.
Jesus represents God’s ancient call to upset the applecart
of human relations and celebrate our faith by ridding ourselves of injustice
and all other forms of violence and living fully in the light of the love of
God.
In other words Judas, our celebration of Jesus is not about
painting the smiley face of charity across the abysmal evil that is injustice.
Jesus represents God’s indomitable will to Love and love is bigger that
charity, even bigger than justice.
Jesus then is the symbol of the transformation of the values
of the human community.
Charity is important but it is not the answer. Charity
perpetuates the separation between the rich as givers and the poor as
receivers. Justice eliminates the separation by redistribution of resources so
no one has to be a perpetual receiver. Charity by itself justifies unjust
systems by making those who profit from the system feel righteous and superior
to those who are the recipients of their generosity.
Yesterday 3 of our interns joined with people of faith from
across Seattle to talk about starting a campaign
to make the minimum wage in Seattle
a living wage. In other words compensation capable of supporting a family with
adequate salary and benefits. This work comes straight out of our understand of
God as one that places a priority on those most marginalized and vulnerable.
Out of that conversation came the insight that by providing
food banks and free medical care we are often subsidizing the profits of those
businesses that fail tor provide their employees with a living wage and
adequate benefits.
Could Mary have honored Jesus by selling the perfume and
giving it to the poor. Of course she could. But this story is meant to provoke
our thoughts and questions. This story highlights the fact that Jesus stands
for more than just charity. In fact charity is one of the least parts of what
Jesus has to offer. Jesus embodies for us a struggle for a world ruled by love
where the need for charity would be rare because we have constructed a just and
loving society .
Why should places like this church exist, when the space
could be used to provide low cost housing, and the budget could be used to buy
food for the hungry? Well we shouldn’t continue to exist if we are not
promoting a bigger more just vision of what the world could be. But as long as
we do proclaim such a vision then we like Jesus serve a vital role. We question
the current order of things and instead illuminate the radical alternative that
is God’s Realm. We are called neither to abandon our works of charity nor our
work for justice. It is important to remember that charity often makes us feel
better about ourselves than working for justice does. That is why most
congregations do some form of charity but few do the work of justice. But is it
in that more challenging less rewarding work of promoting Jesus’ alternative
world view where the real hope for humanity is to be found.
This congregation has given hundreds of thousands of dollars
away to support the cause of charity and justice since the beginning of the
Festival of Hope. In the time that I have been at Keystone we have over 500
forums for justice, plus countless planning meetings. We host Eliza’s work with
Heifer which helps provide food and empowerment to people all over the planet.
We host my work with FAITH which works towards the end of homelessness. That
work may not have happened if there had not been a congregation keeping this
space open. That work may not have happened if there had not been a
congregation here tending the flame of God’s vision.
But as important as all that work is the vision God gives us
is so much bigger. The implications of understanding the very core nature of
God and therefore ourselves as self-giving love, has the power to transform
lives, families communities and nations.
As long as that vision sits at the heart of this
congregation and as long as we act in accordance with that vision then we are
justified in giving our time and money to keeping Keystone alive and growing. As
long as embers of a vision of God’s love smolders in places like this, then
there is the very real possibility that it will catch and transform the world.
We are the keepers of a vision of transforming hope. That vision is very good
news.
Amen.
