The Most Perfect Disciple
01 Apr 2012 3 Comments
in Bible Essays, Faith, Feminist Theology, John, Lent, Mark Tags: annointing, Palm Sunday, The woman of Bethany
When he was in Bethany reclining at table
in the house of Simon the leper,
a woman came with an alabaster jar of perfumed oil,
costly genuine spikenard.
She broke the alabaster jar and poured it on his head.
There were some who were indignant.
“Why has there been this waste of perfumed oil?
It could have been sold for more than three hundred days’ wages
and the money given to the poor.”
They were infuriated with her.
Jesus said, “Let her alone.
Why do you make trouble for her?
She has done a good thing for me.
The poor you will always have with you,
and whenever you wish you can do good to them,
but you will not always have me.
She has done what she could.
She has anticipated anointing my body for burial.
Amen, I say to you,
wherever the gospel is proclaimed to the whole world,
what she has done will be told in memory of her.” Mk 14: 3-9
One cannot but be awed by such an act. Crossan and Borg have suggested that this unnamed woman was the “first Christian”. And she might well be, although I might suggest that the Samaritan woman at the well has a claim on that title as well.
But at least we can agree, that in Jesus’ mind, she exemplified what is best and perfect in discipleship. She gave all she had in offering to her Lord. She recognized, as none of the others did, that they were in the final days of the Master’s earthly life.
One of the things that is most ironic in this passage, is that Jesus proclaims that her actions will never be forgotten. And that turned out to be true, but alas no one remembered her name. Unless we conflate it with John 12: 1-11. In that case, we would realize that it is our wonderful “friend” Mary of Martha and Mary, longtime friends of Jesus, and brother to Lazarus.
Since Mark is by far the older of the two texts, it’s unlikely that John suddenly discovered the name of the woman. I have not investigated the history of the passages however, and so it might be possible.
In any case, we are confronted with the stark differences between the perfect disciple and those who are caught up in the technicalities. The technocrats worry about how much money has been wasted that could have been spent on the poor. She worries about nothing, not her even her own livelihood. She simply honors Jesus, and presages the burial process to come.
We too, can get lost in the weeds. Much is done in the name of religion and faith that would no doubt offend and shock Jesus. People cut corners and tell untruths in the name of greater good that they have so defined. They tell themselves that this lie or that turning away from righteousness is okay, because we must keep our “eye on the prize.”
But Jesus surely did not teach us that.
Do good.
No matter what it takes.
No matter how much it is unnoticed.
No matter how much it is ridiculed.
Just do the right and good thing. At every juncture. Not for some “greater good.
I have heard many a police officer justify lying under oath because “given the protections afforded the criminal, it’s the only way to convict the guilty.” Guilty in their minds. Perhaps guilty in reality.
But what do we do when we offer to those we wish to “redeem”, lies and cut corners? We do not offer truth. We offer nothing more than a new way to scam the system. We are the authors of every televangelist who promises prosperity if only we will send in our “love” in the form of a check.
She, in her utter faith and simplicity offers nothing but the purity of her faith and love for her Redeemer. She offers no manipulation. She willingly accepts, without defense, the harsh words of her “betters” and the company men. She simply loves.
She is the true disciple. The one who has perfectly understood and answered the call.
Let us all reflect on Her.
Related articles
- John 12:1-11 – The Anointing at Bethany (readingacts.wordpress.com)
- Moment Three: Anointing (contemplativechristians.com)
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Fallen Grains
25 Mar 2012 3 Comments
in Bible Essays, Faith, God, Jesus, John, Lent, Spiritual Growth Tags: compassion, God, Jesus, spiritual growth
Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat;
but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Jn 12: 24
This was Jesus’ response to a request by several Greeks to “see him.”
Surely the rest of his response must have been just as puzzling.
Whoever loves his life loses it,
and whoever hates his life in this world
will preserve it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me,
and where I am, there also will my servant be.
The Father will honor whoever serves me.“I am troubled now. Yet what should I say?
‘Father, save me from this hour?’
But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.
Father, glorify your name.”
It must have been very mystifying to them. This demand that one lose one’s life for the love of life and to “preserve it”.
During this Lenten season we have journeyed in reflection of our lives, in our accomplishments and in our failures. We have done so knowing what the end will be. But that was not at all true of those who surrounded Jesus when he spoke those words.
How depressing it all must have sounded.
And we know that in truth most of his followers saw his death as the end. They walked away disheartened, thinking that the great odyssey they had become a part of was over. Many were deeply fearful, fearful that they would be next, rounded up and sent to a painful and humiliating death.
The words were, you see, just words.
We are human and weak. We need to SEE.
It was not until some members “saw” the risen Lord that the tide turned back, and the words gathered their deep meaning.
The grains of wheat must fall to the earth and “die” in order to rise again triumphant in LIFE.
We are those seemingly dead grains, dead in spirit and faith more often than not. And we must enter into that loamy soil, be watered, and benefit from the sunlight and warmth before we can sprout anew, renewed.
How more fallen are our brothers and sisters who are weakened by hunger and disease, from being abandoned and discarded by society as somehow “other”? How much harder the journey to break through the soil and reach for the warmth of God?
And is it not part of our growing and reaching to reach out? Can we not both rise with greater ease and grace if we do it hand in hand?
But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.
Father, glorify your name.”
May we glorify God’s name by our growing in compassion, empathy, and knowledge of truth. May we serve by following. May we be where the Son is. May we ALL be drawn until him and each other for the Glory of God.
Amen.
Ref: Jn 12: 20-33
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Let There Be Light
18 Mar 2012 3 Comments
in Bible Essays, Faith, God, Jesus, John, Lent Tags: essay, God, grace, Light, Love
We take light for granted. It is but a flick of the switch away.
But it was not the case for much of human history.
No, life was ruled for much of its existence by the natural movement from daylight to darkness.
Darkness was not evil, but it could be frightening. Darkness emboldened those carnivores that hunted by night, surprising their prey when it was too late to escape.
Fire was safety. It was warmth. And it was, believe it or not, a mechanism by which truth could be deciphered. How else the gauge the truth-telling of a speaker than to be able to see his face. How do his eyes react? Does his temple throb? Does his face twitch?
I don’t mean to make a great deal of this, but certainly we began to see light as having relationship to truth, a reality that is made clear to us in the Johannine passage for today: Jn 3:14-21.
that the light came into the world,
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light
and does not come toward the light,
so that his works might not be exposed.
But whoever lives the truth comes to the light,
so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.
There can be no doubt as to the truth of this passage, yet, it is not universally the case is it? Those who still retain the now archaic means of producing photographs do so in a dark room. Light spoils the results. And surely the early Christians were often forced to the catacombs and other recesses to practice this new faith, done in the darkness away from the authorities who would arrest them.
Yet, the claim rings true. Jesus is the light.
Light is clean, bright, pure. It opens our vistas to broader seeing. It offers us the opportunity to move without groping and stumbling.
God is Light.
This Light, burns away, burnishes our very being.
And it is a gift freely given.
After all that Israel had done, God returns them to the land of Judah.
After all that Israel has done, indeed the world, God sends his Son.
All to remind us that we are Loved.
All to remind us that we are Forgiven.
All to remind us that we are called to the Light.
Called to be the Light.
All of us.
While no doubt most Christians would insist that John tells us most clearly that we can only share in God through believe and confession of the Son, I think it reads much more broadly.
Jesus is God among us. Jesus is Light. God is Light.
Believe in the Light, the utterly free offering of God to love you for no reason than that God created thee. Believe in that. Believe that all things may be proven false in the world, but never that.
The Love of God is for all, forever.
We need but say yes. We need but to step into the Light, to merge with the Light, to Live Light.
It is all one beautiful whole inclusive dance of light.
Come join in the dance of Grace.
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Let Us Cleanse
11 Mar 2012 2 Comments
in Conversion, God, Jesus, John, Lent Tags: cleansing the temple, Gospel of John, Jesus, Lent
It is ironic in a sense that we find John’s version of the cleansing of the temple as our Lenten reading today. For John, written last, perhaps in the very late part of the first century, or into the second, moves the time of this event in Jesus’ life.
Instead of immediately preceding his arrest and trial and crucifixion, John places the event at the very start of his ministry. Let there be no doubt what Jesus came to do, John announces!
And John brings an added element of violence to the whole affair, introducing the whip to the story.
Jesus enters the temple and witnesses what were the normal goings on. The money changers were hard at work exchanging coin of the realm (Roman) for coin that was “legal” in the temple–coin that did not bear the idolatrous figures of Caesar on them. Animals, for purchase as sacrifice wander around in some disarray.
Jesus, sees that in some measure, what passes as worship has been reduced to financial transactions. Bonhoeffer would call it “cheap grace.” One buys one’s sacrifice, and presents it to the priest. Religious obligations fulfilled. No wonder Jesus was disgusted.
What Jesus is pointed to is that this building, this temple is not God, it is not even where God need by worshipped. He points to himself as the true temple, and prophetically indicates that he will be “raised up in three days.”
Of course, most of those who witnessed this event did not understand. John does, and he reminds his listeners that upon his death, his disciples remembered the words and fully understood at last that Jesus was the embodiment of God.
We are told too that we are “temples” of God.
We understand this since God is Spirit, and resides within us.
But we are not Jesus. We merely emulate him as best we can.
It thus stands to reason that our temple is prone to reflect that one in Jerusalem.
It is prone to contain all manner of extraneous stuff, adherence to rituals and practices that have become meaningless in their routine. We are prone to bringing into our temple those thoughts and beliefs not worthy of such a place. We bring our angers and our fears, our jealousies and house them in this holy place.
We allow our temple to be polluted with too much food and drink, and we fail to care for it in other ways. We lack the strength of will or physical ability to do the work we are called to do to welcome in the Kingdom.
Lent is a time of cleansing. It is a time of evaluating, of fasting, and reflection. It is a time of change, reordering, and prioritizing.
Are you cleansing your temple?
Isn’t it about time you did?
Amen.
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- “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (worryisuseless.wordpress.com)
- 3rd Sunday of Lent – B (johnmsfs.wordpress.com)
- Jesus: No more business as usual! (maryharristodd.wordpress.com)
- Third Sunday of Lent, Year B: March 11, 2012 (prayerbookguide.wordpress.com)
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Our Test of Faith
04 Mar 2012 4 Comments
in Faith, Genesis, God, Lent Tags: Abraham, essays, Genesis, Lent
I really hate biblical texts that start off with telling me that God put so and so “to the test.” Such is the case with today’s first reading, Gen 22: 1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18.
“God put Abraham to the test.”
Untold numbers of fundamentalists have taken this text and used it to explain why the earth is not really as old as it “appears” to be, and evidence of “early hominids?”, just another test by God to see if we are faithful to the Book.
So, you see, I dislike these kinds of stories, although I know it is not the story but the erroneous interpretation that is the culprit. When we accept stories word for word as written as utterly literally true, we miss the point. We miss in fact what the author intended, which is the lesson to be learned from the story. For that was the point of stories in ancient times, they were convenient vehicles to convey truth, convenient in that they were easier to remember than the tenets. Frankly, no story is easier to remember than the one filled with danger, mystery, and shocking turns.
The story of Abraham and the offering of Isaac delivers dramatically.
At first blush it is easy to dismiss the story as grandiose and hyperbole simply because God being omniscient, or so we all believe and contend, has not need to test anyone. God knows us, as we also say, down to having counted every hair on our head.
But it is just as simplistic to dismiss the story as one of “proof of perfect faith.” Abraham is seen thusly as the man willing to murder his most beloved and only son of his wife Sarai. Was this such a demonstration of faith? Maybe.
A wonderful reflection by Father Kavanaugh, based upon a lecture he heard given by Professor Eleonore Stump, suggests something rather different. Professor Stump suggests that Abraham did not offer to execute his son under some vague “God works in mysterious ways” kind of conclusion. But rather that God had made very specific promises to Abraham, among them being that nations would “issue” from Sarai.
Remembering that all the promises of children in old age had come true, Abraham believes that this God of his can indeed be trusted. God had promised that Ishmael would produce nations as well, and Abraham had sent him off into the wilderness with his mother Hagar. He trusted then. He trusts now.
As Kavanaugh says, God asks of Abraham no more than He asks of himself. He offers his son, who goes upon the cross. And yet that son’s death, was not forever, it was burst forth in glorious resurrection. Abraham of course could not have known this, but he trusts.
And the point of the story is not the grand trust of Abraham, but that we may be comforted in our own trials. God is faithful. God has given the great sacrifice, his only Son for our lives. We can trust in this God, we can weather the storms of life knowing that the promise is and was and will be forever.
Amen.
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- “Sarai” by Jill Eileen Smith (A Revell Blog Tour) (onedesertrose.wordpress.com)
Of Miracles in the Sand
26 Feb 2012 2 Comments
in Faith, Jesus, Lent, Mark, Seasons Tags: Jesus, Lent, Mark, Reflection, Repentence
The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert,
and he remained in the desert for forty days,
tempted by Satan.
He was among wild beasts,
and the angels ministered to him.
After John had been arrested,
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:
“This is the time of fulfillment.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel.” [Mk 1: 12-15]
Amen
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- Jesus was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan (worryisuseless.wordpress.com)
- First Sunday of Lent (prepareformass.wordpress.com)
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When Our Beloved Died, . . .
22 Apr 2011 6 Comments
in Faith, Jesus, Kahlil Gibran, Lent Tags: Crucifixion, Good Friday, Jesus, Lent
“When our Beloved died, all mankind died and all things for a space were still and gray. They the east was darkened, and a tempest rushed out of it and swept the land. The eyes of the sky opened and shut, and the rain came down in torrents and carried away the blood that streamed from His hands and His feet.
I too died. But in the depth of my oblivion I heard Him speak and say, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
And His voice sought my drowned spirit and I was brought back to the shore.
And I opened my eyes and I saw His white body hanging against the cloud, and His words that I had heard took shape within me and became a new man. And I sorrowed no more.
Who would sorrow for a sea that is unveiling its face, or for a mountain that laughs in the sun?
Was it ever in the heart of man, when that heart was pierced, to say such words?
What other judge of men has released His judges? And did ever love challenge hate with power more certain of itself?
Was ever such a trumpet heard ‘twixt heaven and earth?
Was it known before that the murdered had compassion on his murderers? Or that the meteor stayed his footsteps for the mole?
The seasons shall tire and the years grow old, ere they exhaust these words: “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
And you and I, though born again and again, shall keep them.
And now I would into my house, and stand an exalted beggar, at His door.
["Phillip," from Jesus the Son of Man, Kahlil Gibran]
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Moving Toward. . .
21 Apr 2011 Leave a Comment
in Jesus, Kahlil Gibran, Lent Tags: Jesus, Last Supper, Lent, Maudy Thursday
Well do I remember the last time I saw Jesus the Nazarene. Judas had come to me at the noon hour of that Thursday, and bidden me prepare supper for Jesus and His friends. . . . At twilight He came and His followers, and they sat in the upper chamber around the board, but they were silent and quiet. . . . They stayed until it was full dark, and then they all descended together from the upper chamber, but at the foot of the stairs Jesus tarried awhile. And He looked at me and my wife, and He placed His hand upon the head of my daughter and He said, “Good night to you all.” [from "Ahaz the Portly" Jesus the Son of Man, Kahlil Gibran]
In the dark night we call to one another and cry for help, while the ghost of Death stands in our midst stretching his black wings over us and, with his iron hands, pushes our souls into the abyss.
In the dark night Death strides on and we follow him frightened and moaning. Not one of us is capable of halting the fateful procession or even nourishing a hope of its end.
In the dark night Death walks and we walk behind him. And when he looks backward, hundreds of souls fall down on both sides of the road. And he who falls, sleeps and never awakens. And he who keeps his footing marches on fearfully in the dread certainty of falling later and joining those who have yielded to Death and entered the eternal sleep. But Death marches on, gazing at the distant Evening Twilight. [In the Dark Night, Kahlil Gibran]
We walk on, following. . .knowing. . .our cheeks bathed in tears. We keep our footing.
Amen.
Calm at the Center of the Storm
20 Apr 2011 2 Comments
in Early Christianity, Jesus, Lent Tags: Holy Week, Jerusalem, Jesus, Lent
One stop on the road to enlightenment, or so I’m told, is when we can be an internal witness to our thoughts, disengaged from them, simply watching them go by. We neither want them nor hold them. We are indifferent.
Something like that sometimes happens to me, usually in social situations. I feel disengaged from my body. I am fully aware, yet I see myself as witness to the conversations and activities surrounding me. I feel in a sense invisible, able to just watch the action.
I’ve been feeling that a lot these last couple of days as regards the mass readings leading up to the crucifixion. I can see in my mind’s eye that time of long ago, after Jesus had entered Jerusalem. The messengers running through the street to inform the Sanhedrin that “he is here.” The flurry of meetings, discussions, and decisions.
The streets were awash with talk. “He is here.”
“Who?”
“You know, Jesus of Nazareth, the healer, the one some call the Messiah.”
“Where is he?”
“No one knows, he’s disappeared somewhere in the city.”
Arguments ensue between those who follow the Master and those who don’t. Rumors are rampant.
Depending on which story you attend to, Judas is going through a crisis of his own. Jesus has not turned out to be what Judas expected. There are whispers among the disciples, arguments even. Some were against this entry into the city, some were fearful. Others were simply confused. Some trusted the Master’s decision.
Jesus, remains the calm center as all about him is arush with all this confusion. He sees the fear in the eyes of Peter, the anger in Judas eyes. His mother is quiet as is Mary the Magdala. They tend to the preparation of the rooms where they are staying. Hauling water, setting up bedding.
The Roman soldiers are on high alert. They’ve been told that there is unrest, arguing, meetings, and groups gathering around the Temple. They have heard of this itinerant preacher who is causing dissention among the Jews. The Pharisees are speaking out in the Temple and around the city. Crowds listen, some cheering and others jeering. The soldiers are nervous.
Jesus is aware of all of it. And he knows how it will end. He cannot and would not stop it if he could. It must be this way. They must see this new way of God, and the only way is this way. This perfect and complete offering of self–only this will jar them out of their complacency.
Jesus is the calm within the maelstrom, all moving inexorably toward this one apex of exquisite pain and offering.
I can sit and see it all. And somehow there is comfort in it all. Somehow there is. I sit in the calm with my Lord.
Amen.
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To Whom Do You Relate?
19 Apr 2011 3 Comments
in Jesus, John, Lent, Sin Tags: Jesus, Judas, Lent, Simon Peter, sin
In the passages included with John 13:21-38, Jesus points directly at his betrayer, and tells Simon Peter that he will disown him three times before the cock crows next morning.
Unlike the other three Gospels, which leave the betrayer somewhat ambiguous at least to the disciples themselves, John doesn’t mince words. Simon Peter asks the beloved disciple to ask Jesus, and he replies that it is the man to whom I give my dipped bread to. He then hands that piece to Judas Iscariot.
It’s a troubling passage, since one would think that the other disciples would have risen in horror and raised some sort of cry. Yet, John pretends that somehow they didn’t understand, thinking Jesus’ words to Judas were having to do with the purchase of food for the Passover. (Remember John doesn’t situate the “Last Supper” on the Passover as do the other Gospels.)
In any case, we learn from John that Satan entered Judas at the moment that he touched the bread offered by Christ. How John knew this, is unknown. But it certainly puts Judas in a different light.
People have speculated that Judas was a Zealot, a Jew who awaited the Messiah who would lead an army against the Romans. The argument goes that Judas, realizing that Jesus intended no such armed rebellion, grew angry and felt betrayed by Jesus. He felt Jesus was “in the way” of the real movement that would throw off the chains of Roman occupation.
John seems to dispel this argument by arguing that Judas’ betrayal was in fact “always meant to be” and something that did not enter his mind until he accepted the morsel of bread from the hand of Jesus. In a sense, Jesus “picked” Judas to be the betrayer.
Peter, on the other hand, is not overtaken by Satan. He simply acts as many a frightened person. How often have we read in story or seen in film the followers who, when the going gets tough, get going in another direction? Peter is all of us who have not the strength of our convictions when our own skin is being threatened.
I don’t think we pay nearly enough attention to Judas frankly. There are references in the Gospels of Judas not liking how money was dispersed. There are references to complaints. But if indeed Judas were a Zealot, it would be reasonable that he would want all funds for the “movement.” Indeed his 30 pieces of silver may well have been diverted into the rebellion had he not realized that the Sanhedrin intended to kill Jesus, and realized his mistake.
I don’t mean to make too much of this, since we can never know. But perhaps we make too much of Judas’ evilness and too little of Simon Peter’s running away. I am not sure. I only mean to suggest that thinking about the juxtaposition of the two is of value perhaps today.
