April 6, 2025 "Living with Open Hands"

Fifth Sunday in Lent

Isaiah 43:16-21

Psalm 126

Philippians 3:4b-14

John 12:1-8

Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ,

 grace and peace to you

from the one who lives with open hands. Amen

It’s almost time.

 Jesus knows that it is almost time

 for him to do what he has come into the world to do,

to be raised up on the cross

and in doing so draw all people to himself,

 to be raised as a different kind of king,

one whose glory is self-sacrifice

 for the love of the world.

It’s less than a week away,

 and Jesus is close,

in Bethany 2 miles from Jerusalem

the city that kills its prophets,

soon he will enter the city riding on a donkey.

But first.

But first he pauses to spend time with loved ones.

 Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus.

Yes, that Lazarus.

 In the gospel of John, we are introduced to these siblings

 when Lazarus falls ill

 “So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, Lord, he whom you love is ill.” (John 11:3

)and “though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus” (11:5)

he waits to return until Lazarus is well and truly dead

because he knows that he will raise Lazarus from the dead,

 a precursor to his own resurrection,

and a sign of power so bold

that it will kick off the plot to kill him.

 This is Mary and Martha

who display great faith in Jesus when he does return

 even before he raises their brother from the dead,

Martha even confesses that she believes that he is the Messiah,

 the Son of God, the one coming into the world (11:27)

 and Mary’s weeping causes Jesus to weep

and he calls Lazarus out from the tomb.

And then he must stay away from Jerusalem until the right time

because the chief priests and pharisees have orders out for his arrest. 

It’s almost time.

But first

he spends one more night with the family that means so much to him.

They give a dinner for him at Lazarus’ house,

and Martha serves.

Luke is the one who tells us the story

of the time Jesus stopped for a visit at Martha’s house

and instead of helping her sister

 Mary just sat at Jesus’ feet and listened,

 And when Martha appealed to Jesus

was told that her sister had chosen the better part.

In John Martha is still serving

though there is no frustration this time,

and Mary,

Mary is still at the feet of Jesus.

And in her actions

she shows that she has been listening to Jesus

 and perhaps more than the other disciples

she believes him

when he says he will lay down his life,

and since she’s been listening

 she knows the time is near

and in a move that anticipates

what Jesus will do for his disciples in a few days,

she kneels at his feet

and anoints them with an obscene amount of costly perfume

this isn’t about a display of wealth

it is an act of devotion, of love,

where Mary offers up all of the best of what she has

 and lays it (literally) at Jesus’ feet,

Jesus recognizes it for what it is

an act of care and devotion,

that is usually displayed after a person’s death

 but in this instance in anticipation of it. 

And “the house was filled with the fragrance of perfume.”

Mary’s faith and openness to what was to come

 was impossible for the others to ignore.

Of course someone had to respond,

 and it is the person with the attitude in direct opposition to Mary’s openness.

 Judas, the one who is about to send Jesus to his death by betraying him,

 who is closed to the power he will unleash by doing so,

whose fist was tightly clenched around the common purse that he kept,

who tries to make an act of generosity seem wasteful

- consider all the poor people that could have been helped with resources from the sale of this perfume?

 (though John makes sure that we know it is entirely for selfish reasons)

and Jesus rebukes him,

 pointing him to the meaning of Mary’s gesture

and the immanence of his departure. 

And then he says something that seems callous,

 or at least has been used in a callous way ever since

“You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

 How many times has this been used to condone

 the presence of poverty in society?

Inaction in the face of suffering.

And yet that seems so out of character

for one who traveled about

 providing free meals to the hungry

and free healthcare to the sick,

who did not shy away

when he was faced with the plight of those he encountered,

who came so that they may have life and have it abundantly.

 I’ve always wondered about this, haven’t you?

This week I found commentator Mathew Myer Boulton 

Who pointed out

that Jesus is actually referencing scripture here,

specifically Deuteronomy 15:7-11

 “If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor. 8 You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be.{ 9 Be careful that you do not entertain a mean thought, thinking, ‘The seventh year, the year of remission, is near,’ and therefore view your needy neighbor with hostility and give nothing; your neighbor[a] might cry to the Lord against you, and you would incur guilt. }10 Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. 11 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.”

These are Moses final instructions

 to the Israelites before they enter the promised land,

a land flowing with milk and honey,

where there does not need to be any in need,

 in fact “no one in need” is God’s ultimate vision for society;

 “open your hand” is part of the pathway for getting there…”

Boulton remarks

“Judas has taken the tight fisted stance, and worse he has tried to shame Mary for her generosity, generosity based on her discernment and understanding of the moment “And at the same time, Jesus puts Judas in his place by exposing his hypocrisy. Having an “open hand to the poor” should be a continual stance, Jesus contends, echoing Moses, not an occasional cudgel for judging others, much less a cover for tight-fisted greed. Yes, being generous to neighbors and moving toward a society in which there is “no one in need” should be our overarching goals — but along the way, there are milestones when special acts of generosity, moments of extravagance-in-love, are beautiful and fitting. Burying the dead is one of those moments, and Jesus, Mary perceives, is on the precipice of death. This is no ordinary dinner gathering. This is farewell.”((https://www.saltproject.org/progressive-christian-blog/2019/4/2/the-poor-wont-always-be-with-you-salts-lectionary-commentary-for-lent-5) )

Jesus has lived the ultimate life of the open hand

and he will continue to do so

all the way through his death and resurrection,

and he calls his followers to do the same

 and Mary sitting at his feet

puts his lesson into action

opening her own hands

not just with her possessions but with her love

knowing what is to come

she could cling to Jesus,

try to talk this beloved friend out of going to his death,

 she could close her hand around him for herself,

but she has been listening,

 she knows that what Jesus is about to do

 is something that will expand beyond the small circle of their lives.

And so she lets him go,

 and not only does she let him go

she sends him off with a blessing.

Sometimes we have to let go of good things of the past

and even the present

for the sake of the good of the future.

This is a theme throughout the rest of our scriptures for today,

The exiles in Babylon needed to do it

 to perceive the new thing God was doing,

the Apostle Paul left behind his former identity

(of which he had been very proud)

 in pursuit of Christ.

Letting go is a difficult thing to do

 and if we wonder how we might do this

 we look to Mary

sitting at Jesus’ feet,

 listening to him,

 believing him even when he tells her hard things,

letting go of what she loves with a blessing

for the sake of the world

 and in so doing she follows Jesus

who with open hands

offers his life for the world,

for us. Amen