Today we read from John’s gospel. The gospel of John was written last, after the other 3 gospels were written and told. If alive at all, the witnesses would be great grandparents. John did not feel a need to write the same way as the other 3 gospels. In the gospel of John stories are told that we would not otherwise have. There would have been no water into wine. No raising of Lazarus. No woman at the well, no washing of feet.

Believing in John is huge. It is written about 10xs more often than the other gospels and 2xs more than Paul.

This time of year we remember that John gave us another beatitude. When Thomas didn’t believe until he saw Jesus, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” That is us, all of us who were not witnesses. Not alive at the time of the resurrection, but believe not having seen.

John doesn’t talk about “Belief” not as a noun. He talks of believing. No noun set of beliefs but believing. In John believing is a verb, what we do such as washing feet, abiding, loving. Believing is an embodied reality in John.

This bring us to this dinner Jesus is having at the home of the sisters Mary and Martha. Lazarus is there to. Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha.

Embodied, there are smells in this house. The smell of food is soon drowned out by the smell of the perfume, the oil, the spikenard Mary has brought out. She breaks the jar and covers his feet with the ointment.

She loosens her hair. She pours all of it on his feet. Touches him, and wipes the salve with her hair. Some say it is hard to watch it is so intimate. The love is lavish.

Judas – betrays silence with ethical objection.
Uses the kitty as his personal expense account
Jesus can speak for himself — burial. Poor will always be with you, you will not always have me.

Broken open the truth

Barbara Brown Taylor described it as: the poor are sturdy perennials in God’s garden— tending each year for all time.

Jesus is an annual, his time is almost up.

Mary here is a prophet. The air has the sense of death all around. Mary knows his death is coming. Anointing the head is what you do for a king, but the feet, this shows she knows something.

Prophets of old did strange and extraordinary things such as Jeremiah smashing a clay jar, Ezekiel eating a scroll, Isaiah – naked for 3 years
John the Baptist wearing animal skins, and eating bugs.
Act out the truth, when no one else can see yet.

When Judas objects and the disciples are uncomfortable, Jesus rebukes them. Leave her alone, she is preparing for my burial.

Commentators use much ink to try to find Mary’s words of belief. Where is her statement of faith? It is in her hair. It is in her hands. Believing in her body, not her words.

Jesus is reminded the others, you do not yet know what she knows, but someday you will.

So all these years later, we are grateful for Mary. For her tender anointing of Jesus feet. If we are still waiting for confirmation of our faith. We can love now, and the belief comes later.

Where God is, there is no fear of running out.
Love multiplies, it does not divide.

We are moving toward Holy week. It begins next Sunday with Palm / Passion Sunday and Holy Thursday and Good Friday and Easter.

The Prophet Mary poured out her love with the symbolic perfumed oil. Naming, this is what is going to happen. We too can pour out our love and welcome others into the presence of the holy sanctuary.

Lord prepare me
To be a sanctuary
Pure and holy
Tried and true
And with thanksgiving
I’ll be a living
Sanctuary for You