Sermon for Lent 5 – Passion Sunday

Today’s Gospel passage of Mary anointing the feet of Jesus with expensive perfumed oil is one of my favourite stories in the Bible. There is so much to this beautiful scene that grabs attention. You can picture the reaction of those present when she not only anoints his feet, but then begins to wipe them with her hair – In Luke’s version she even begins caressing and kissing his feet. You can imagine the embarrassment that some of them felt, maybe the anger of others, and the absolute bewilderment of the rest.
It seems that the one person who totally unperturbed by it all was Jesus, he just carried on as if it was a normal everyday occurrence. When objections were raised he defended Mary; Mark’s Gospel records Jesus saying: “What’s all the fuss about? She has done a beautiful thing for me.”
Through her anointing she was showering Jesus with love and comfort. She was serving Jesus as he had served others, she was giving something back; she was letting him know he mattered, that he was appreciated. She was showing him that she recognised that he, too, needed to be loved. She may have got a little carried away with the process, but it was indeed a beautiful thing she did for him, and Jesus accepted that.
Mary set an example for us to follow, an example of how we should treat one another. We might not feel the need to kiss each other’s feet and pour expensive oil on them, but we can anoint each other generously in different ways. We can anoint each other by being willing to give time and listen. We can anoint one another with words of kindness and encouragement. We can anoint one another by not being quick to take offense at a misjudged word. We can anoint each other with forgiveness and acceptance, We can anoint one another by holding back judgement and criticism, and giving each other the benefit of the doubt.
Mary was lavish with her kisses, her perfumed oil, and her public show of affection; we can be lavish with our praise, our care, our willingness to reach out; we can be lavish with our willingness to hold our tongue, and carefully choose the words we use, our tone of voice, and the looks we give. Mary challenges us to be generous and lavish in our dealings with others.
Also in this passage, Jesus teaches us to be generous receivers of what others give to us. Some of us are willing to give out, but are far more reticent to receive back. By allowing Mary to kiss him, anoint him, and potentially embarrass him with her love, Jesus also did a beautiful thing for Mary.
Sometimes our reluctance to allow others to help, and to show they care,
can make people feel small and inadequate. Jesus knew how to give, but he also knew how to receive. Jesus knew how to give out love in an extraordinary way, but he also willing to allow others to love him – in whatever way they were capable of expressing it. He knew that to be truly open to love others, we have to open enough to allow others to love us.
Sometimes we need to show our gratitude to people and life, simply by humbly accepting what we are given, as a gift, and by not being embarrassed by the generosity of others. It is easy when someone gives us a gift to immediately begin to think of what we can do in return. Have we ever thought that we might actually give more to the other person by simply graciously accepting their kindness and generosity?
This wonderful little story teaches us so much about generosity and gratitude. Mary was willing to risk the hostile stare by lavishly expressing to Jesus her love and thankfulness for all he had given to her and others like her. Jesus was willing to receive people’s criticism, ridicule, and anger in order to receive her gift graciously, and allow her to serve him. May we too be willing to give lavishly of ourselves, but just as importantly, may we be willing to allow others to lavish us with generosity and kindness.