 Tuesday of Holy Week APC 7th April 2020 Introduction and Welcome Good morning and welcome to the second reflection in our holy week series as we follow in the footsteps of Jesus’ final week using our 5 senses. Today is entitled ‘the smell of holy week’ as we think about the amazing incident when a close friend Mary, spontaneously pours a very expensive jar of perfume on Jesus’ head and feet. If you want, you might like to pause the video and light a fragrant candle as we pray and listen to God’s word together. But before we read this fragrant encounter with Christ, let us take a moment to speak to God. Let us pray… Opening Prayer Mighty God, as we take time today to reflect on what true love is, we thank you for your gift of love to us- the love that we are able to share with the people around us. The love which gives us a sense of self-worth and belonging. The love which enriches our lives in so many ways. Lord you have opened your heart to us, help us to do the same to you. We thank you for your love which defies all expression, constant, total, inexhaustible, flowing out to us like a never-ending stream. Lord you have opened your heart to us, help us to do the same to you. Loving Father, we thank you for loving us before we ever loved you, and for continuing to love us even when fail to love you in return. Lord you have opened your heart to us, help us to do the same to you. Deepen our love for you and for one another. Help us to be faithful and true in all our relationships and most especially in our relationship with you. Teach us again today what true love really looks like and give us the power to love like this more often. Lord you have opened your heart to us, help us to do the same to you…. Let us say the Lord’s Prayer together… Lord’s Prayer Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us, And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil, For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, For ever and ever, AMEN. Bible Readings John 12 v 1-8 Mary Anoints Jesus at Bethany “Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because Judas was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.” Reflection The Smell of Holy Week There are several stories of Jesus being anointed with perfume in the gospels. Most scholars believe the account in Luke is different from the other gospels because the woman mentioned there is described as a ‘sinful woman’ suggesting that she was a prostitute. One of the other gospels name the woman as Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus. There is no suggestion that Mary had a history of promiscuity which is why most believe this refers to a separate event. However some people have argued that the depth of love Mary expressed for Jesus may have been because she had received much forgiveness?... Matthew and Mark make no record of the woman’s name, but most scholars feel they describe the same event as John’s gospel. The details of each story differ slightly. Some mention Jesus having his feet anointed and then being wiped with the woman’s hair. Others mention only the anointing of his head. One mentions that it took place 6 days before the Passover, another that it took place just two days before the Passover. These differences suggest that like any modern day reporting, every journalist or writer will notice certain things about the same event. Whether each of the gospel accounts refer to one, two or three separate anointings will always be debated. My personal preference is for two for what it’s worth- one gospel describing the anointing of Jesus by a woman of the night, and the others describing his anointing by his friend Mary the sister of Martha. What cannot be debated is the depth of love that is expressed by the women in each case. Today I want us to reflect on 3 wonderful truths in all these stories that bring a beautiful fragrance to the otherwise dark and difficult days of Holy Week. Although today I will be focusing on John’s account where the woman doing the anointing is named as Mary. The first thing I want to draw your attention to is the sheer extravagance of Mary’s actions. She unexpectedly and spontaneously breaks a jar of perfume over the body of our Lord Jesus as he lies beside the dinner table, propping himself up on one elbow while eating food with his other hand as was the custom of the day. We are specifically told, because of a heated discussion that followed, that this small bottle of perfume, which probably hung around her neck, was worth over 300 Denarii. This was the equivalent to an entire year’s wages for a manual worker. Whether Mary broke the bottle in the same way that the glass given to a special guest would be broken so that it could never be used again we’ll never know. What we do know is that this expression of love could not have been more extravagant or without any consideration for personal cost. It was her way of saying, “Jesus, you are the most precious thing in my life.” The short story, “The gift of the Magi” describes an American couple, Della and Jim, who were very poor and very much in love. Each had a unique possession. Della’s glory was her long flowing hair. Jim’s was the gold watch his father had given him. It was the day before Christmas. Della had exactly one dollar and eighty seven cents to buy Jim a present. So she went out, and sold her hair for twenty dollars. With the proceeds she bought a platinum fob for Jim’s watch. That night Jim was shocked to see his wife’s hair, even though her gift to him made her lovelier than ever. Slowly he handed her his gift. It was a set of expensive tortoise shell combs with jewelled edges for her lovely hair. He had sold his gold watch to buy them. Each had given the other all they had to give… When love is real, there is no other way to give. So, can I ask you as I’ve asked myself this week… What’s your love really like for God and for other people? How do you express it? REFLECT True love is extravagant. That’s the first thought that I want to leave you with today. But the second thought that I’ve been reflecting on as I’ve read this story is equally challenging. And it’s this- true love acts on impulse. Yes, the disciples and their treasurer Judas, may well have been right in saying that this was a waste of money that could have been given to the poor. But Jesus wasn’t going to be around much longer. There might never be another opportunity to tell him again in such a special way, “We love you!” You know, so often in life it’s the same for us. An opportunity to express our love or appreciation suddenly presents itself or out of the blue an idea pops into our head. It might be as we are passing a shop window or walking down an aisle in the supermarket. It might be the thought to send someone an encouraging text or email, to write a card of condolence, to take a detour on the way home and pay someone a visit. Often God the Holy Spirit will nudge and prompt us in this way. Only last week, a Christian cleaner in a hospital in Belfast felt prompted to put two oranges, a packet of crisps and a can of coke in a plastic bag. After wiping them down carefully he dropped them into a patient who was in isolation. That man had only just begun to turn a corner and in his prayer had cried out for something that he really loved – a packet of Tayto crisps and a can of coke! What an encouragement when he opened the bag! But what an opportunity lost if the cleaner had not been willing to follow the prompting of God’s spirit. Mary acted on impulse. Jesus was overwhelmed by her generosity. He told the disciples to stop fretting. The poor would always be around and there would be future opportunities to help them. If Mary hadn’t seized the moment, it would have been gone forever. So let me ask you as I’ve asked myself this week… What impulses, what opportunities are popping into your mind during these days of social distancing? Could some of them be promptings of God’s Spirit? REFLECT The world would be a much better place if more people acted on the impulse of love because if we don’t act when it comes, the opportunity may well be gone forever. The final thought I want to leave you with from this story is simply this- the fragrance of a lovely action lasts forever. At the end of this story, Jesus says that what Mary has done will be remembered by millions of people for generations to come. How true that is! Even again today we are remembering what this woman has done. There is so much bitterness, treachery, intrigue and tragedy at the end of Jesus’ life that this story shines like an oasis of light in a darkening world. Every staff worker in our supermarkets, every teacher behind their laptop, every carer in our nursing homes, every nurse and doctor in our hospitals and GP surgeries. Each person on the frontline are sowing fragrant seeds whose aroma we will remember forever, especially those who will lose their lives in the process. But the same goes for all of us, not just at this difficult time, but in the future when everything returns to normal. Every day we have the potential to do lovely deeds, even simple things like helping our kids with their homework. Those are the things that will not be forgotten. There are few things greater in life than to leave the memory of a lovely deed. May God help each of us to be these sort of people. So let me ask you, as I’ve asked myself again. As you walk past the people in your life – Do they smell the aroma of Christ? Are you sowing seeds of extravagant love?... REFLECT Let’s take a few moments now to spend time praying for others… Prayer for Others Lord Jesus Christ, you gave of yourself without counting the cost, offering even your own life for the life of the world. So now we pray for all those who seek to love you in return, however hesitant, partial or imperfect their love might be. Inspire them through your love and the love of Mary. We pray for those new in their faith, still learning more of you, still uncertain perhaps of their commitment, still discovering more of your love. Keep their love always growing. We pray for those established in their faith, facing the daily risk of growing complacent, stale settled into a comfortable routine. Make their love fresh. We pray for those whose faith has crumbled, no longer holding the trust they once had, no longer feeling you close by their sides, no longer seeking to follow Christ. Renew their love. We pray for those who have never had faith; those consistently unmoved by the message of the gospel, those who resist its challenge despite themselves and those who deliberately go against your will. Kindle a love for you in their hearts. We pray for those whose faith is costly, those who sacrifice time money and energy security health and even life itself in the service of others. Reward their love. And we pray for those who need something to put their faith in – the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the sick, the suffering, the bereaved, all those broken by the tragedies and the crises of life. May they experience the fullness of your love. Lord we pray for all who are Christians at this time working on different frontlines. May your love flow through them in a special way to those they seek to help. May the healing power of Christ rest upon everyone they encounter. Lord, let your fragrance be spread abroad in these days, so that many people will be attracted to you and find you to be the greatest treasure. Lord Jesus, your love is for all, whoever they may be. May it reach out then into every heart in every place, and may we be a part of that, learning to love as you love us. Amen. Closing Words I hope you’ve found this time of worship to be both challenging and encouraging. Thanks for logging on. Please remember to tune in again tomorrow as we continue our journey with Jesus through Holy week. We will be reflecting on the ‘touch’ of holy week as we consider what lessons we can learn from the story of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet. Don’t forget to look at our church website or on our Facebook page for latest information. Special thanks to Alison who has posted some lovely piano pieces of modern songs and traditional hymns which have already been a blessing to many of us. If you’d like to record a little message of encouragement from your family, or even a fun clip of something you’ve been doing, please don’t hesitate to send it on to Dave Hendry. Do keep everyone in your prayers and look out for anyone you can help. So let me close with a benediction after which, as always, I invite you to join me in saying the grace together… Benediction Go now into the world in peace. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul mind and strength. And love all other people as yourself. And may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, now and forevermore, Amen.
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