One year on summer vacation, we went to the Chatham United Methodist Church on Cape Cod for their Friday night lobster roll dinner.  What a great fundraiser!  While we were there, we struck up conversation with some of the church members and they volunteered to take us upstairs to see their sanctuary.  Along the way they mentioned that they had just refurbished their organ, which cost $300,000.  My first reaction was, “That’s a lot of lobster rolls!”  But that wasn’t our son’s reaction.  Wes was 15, and you know what he said, loudly enough for our hosts to hear?  “$300,000!  You could buy a Ferrari for that!”

So I’m here to tell you, there are worse things the bystanders in our scripture lesson this evening could have said.  Compared to wanting to buy a Ferrari, the men who complained that the perfume could have been sold and the money given to the poor looked downright noble.  But apparently there is more than one way to miss the point.  Jesus seems to be saying that there are opportunities in life that warrant expensive acts of devotion.  Like that famous passage from Ecclesiastes, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:  a time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot…” we could say, “there is a time to be extravagant; and a time to be thrifty.”  Jesus’ remaining time on earth was very short.  He was within a week of going to the cross.  This was no time to be frugal with devotion.  If a demonstration of love was going to happen, now was the time.

The season of Lent is 40 days, which means it is roughly a tenth of the calendar year.  Observing the season of Lent is like a tithe—an offering, committing 10% of our days each year as an act of devotion, a way to demonstrate and grow our love for God and neighbor.  That’s why I chose this passage for tonight.  The woman’s act of devotion was an offering from her heart.  There was nothing required or rigid about it.  It was the gift she most wanted to give.  It was personal.  It made her vulnerable.  It made a lasting impact.  It was everything I think our Lenten practices should be.

Growing up, I didn’t pay much attention to Lent except that on Fridays, my school smelled like fish.  There is a time and season for everything, and for me, Lent was the season for fish sticks, tuna fish sandwiches, and tuna noodle casserole.  I felt bad for my Roman Catholic friends who couldn’t eat meat on Fridays during Lent, but recently, I’ve come to admire this practice.  The thinking behind the tradition is, it was on a Friday that Jesus gave up his earthly flesh for humankind, so Roman Catholics developed the practice of not eating meat—anything covered by the Latin word carne—on any Friday of the year.  Most Catholics today only follow this rule on Ash Wednesday and during Lent, but some Roman Catholics continue the practice of no meat on Fridays all year long.  Abstaining from meat not only connects them to the sacrifice of Christ, it connects them to the great number of people in the world for whom meat is a luxury.  But again, there is more than one way to miss the point.  Lobster tail on a Friday night technically “follows the rules” about not eating meat—but it doesn’t really feel like an act of piety, does it?

I think that’s why it’s so difficult to get excited about any potential Lenten practices.  They are hard to do right!  And they are easy to criticize.  Like the woman in our scripture lesson tonight, their “offerings” don’t make any sense.  But, I don’t know if you’ve noticed lately, there’s a lot about life that doesn’t make sense!  The point of Lent isn’t to “make sense”.  The point of Lent is to let our lives be an offering of love and devotion to Christ.

Because Lent is all about love, it is like a jewel with many facets.  Caring for the poor is certainly one facet of love.  The bystanders who criticized the woman’s extravagant display had a point.  But love also romances and woos.  It inspires creative expression.  It moves us to do things we wouldn’t otherwise do.  Love accepts others just as they are, but it also works for justice and peace.  Love sacrifices and it indulges.  Love is patient and slow to anger—but it can also be fiercely active and urgently protective!  Love is a many splendored thing!

And so I am wondering, how might the splendor of God’s love become more real in our lives this Lent?  What practice might you undertake this Lent so that, come Easter, you have your own resurrection story to tell?

Because Love is a many splendored thing, and Lent is all about love, there is no one right answer to those questions.  But my guess is, most of the best answers will have in common a foundation of SLOWING DOWN FOR LOVING UNION WITH CHRIST.   Slowing down for loving union is an old expression that comes from the middle ages, and I heard about it recently on a podcast by Pete Scazzero, who wrote The Emotionally Healthy Leader.  He says Loving Union is to lovingly allow God and God’s will to have full access in every area of our lives.  And the only way to achieve that loving union is to spend time with God on a regular basis.

Loving Union.  Allowing God and God’s will full access to every area of our lives.  Isn’t that what Jesus did?  He gave God’s will full access to every area of his life, including going to the cross.  He achieved this loving union by taking time for prayer and worship and service.  Jesus was God in the flesh—and yet he needed to devote time to his relationship with God!  What might happen if we saw Lent as an opportunity to SLOW DOWN AND BE WITH GOD?  To slow down and let Jesus love us, so we can deepen our ability to love in return?

I love our gospel lesson tonight because it gives us an image of what it’s like to give God the gift of an open heart.  The bystanders criticized the woman for “wasting” a bottle of perfume that could be sold for a year’s worth of wages.  But wasn’t the real offering worth far more than that?  The woman offered her whole heart.  She gave Jesus full access to her life.  The bottle of perfume she poured upon Jesus was probably a status symbol in her family.  She took the family’s most prized possession, and spent it on God.  What a picture of generosity, freedom, and grace.

And so I am going to offer a very practical suggestion for Lent this year.  Once a week, plan a special way to spend time with Jesus.  It could be a visit to a garden, communing with creation and Creator.  It could be walking around your neighborhood with Jesus as your prayer partner along the way.  You might want to watch Godspell or Jesus Christ Superstar.  You could spend some time in community service.  You could try baking bread, and reflect on how a little yeast makes the whole batch of dough rise.  Dedicate an hour to making phone calls and emailing legislators about an issue that matters to you and God.  Most years, I would dare you to try your hand at silence.  But many of us have been isolated enough during the pandemic.  What might help us spend time with Jesus the best might be going for a picnic with a good friend!  The possibilities are endless!  Easter is not until April 17, it’s late this year, which means we have more spring and less winter to work with.  Aim for once a week, spending time with Jesus in a special way.   What can you do during this season of Lent so that, come Easter, you have your own resurrection story to tell?

The season of Lent reminds us that from dust we have come, and to dust we will return.  There is a time to be born and a time to die.  We will all spend our time on something.  The question is, what we will spend our time on?  The woman who anointed Jesus with perfume, she spent her time and her resources on worshiping Jesus, on loving and being loved.  Her critics couldn’t understand why she would spend her life on an ordinary man, but she knew she was spending her life on her Lord and Savior.  She left behind a lasting legacy of devotion and faithfulness.  We can do that, too.

This Lent, let’s slow down for loving union with Christ.  Let’s lean into the love God has for us.  This is no time to be frugal in our devotion!  The woman in our scripture lesson is never named, but she is famous because her act of devotion was an offering from her heart.  There was nothing required or rigid about it.  It was the gift she most wanted to give.  It was personal.  It made her vulnerable.  It made a lasting impact.  It was everything our Lenten practices can be.  Amen.

 

Benediction:  One of our historic prayers asks, “What shall I render to the Lord for all God’s bounty to me?  I will lift up the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.”  This Lent, slow down for loving union with Christ, so you can more firmly take hold of the salvation Christ offers.  Amen.