This is, in my estimation, one of the best times of the year, especially if you are a college basketball fan. The only thing better than a great game? Four games at once, especially if an upset is involved. More is better. Is your team is up by 10? Don’t just sit back and coast through the second half. You cheer for them to keep going and make it 20, a more impressive victory to strike fear in your next opponent. Beyond basketball, this quest for “more” seems to be a part of our culture. Value is placed on getting the “mores” in our lives: purchasing a vehicle that gets more gas mileage, having one more item to add to our collection, being more successful than our coworker, taking one more day of vacation, getting more “likes” on a post. Whatever good we receive, it seems that we always want more.
Our text from John’s gospel presents us with a slightly different understanding of what living with a “more” mentality might mean as a disciple of Christ. In the spirit of thanksgiving, Martha and Mary give a dinner for Jesus and his disciples, in celebration for the incredible miracle that has just happened as Jesus raised their brother Lazarus from the dead. It must have been an overwhelming moment for this family. How could they possibly thank Jesus for such a gift? There must be something “more” they could do.
Mary comes forward with a gift – a pound of costly perfume – and liberally pours it on Jesus’ feet. This is a moment of abundance, rich with symbolism. It was not just a few drops, but a considerable amount of fragrance. In fact, it is one of the few times in the New Testament where smell is even mentioned, and it is a significant reversal. As Frances Taylor Gench describes it:
a fragrant smell and grateful love now fill a house that had once been filled with mourning and the smell of death’s decay[i].
There is more to this story than just a fragrance. This is a moment that foreshadows the events that will come. The only other time the evangelist John uses the words “dinner” or the “wiping” in his gospel happen in John 13 during the meal Jesus shares with his disciples in the Upper Room[ii]. Mary’s action, then, parallels Jesus’ washing the feet of his disciples in an incredible act of servitude and love. This moment also foreshadows Christ’s death, and the anointing with oil and spices that would have followed.
William Carver says “nothing begins a conversation like an extravagant gift[iii].” Mary sparks quite the conversation. After her act of devotion, Judas jumps in, essentially asking “is there a thing as too much?” That is the question at the heart of our quest for “more” in life, isn’t it? We are pushing the limits of our capacities. For some things, we would argue that no, there is never too much – for example, I could argue that there is no such thing as too many Girl Scout Cookies, or too many pairs of shoes. For other things, though, like salaries for star athletes or the amount of sugary cereal a child pours into a bowl, we may find ourselves saying “that’s too much.” When we fall into the latter mentality, we tend to label things as “extravagant”: over the top, not necessary. This is the voice of Judas, who immediately responds to Mary’s gift with skepticism, offering the practical view of things, even if of dubious genuine care for the poor.
Although clearly he has missed the symbolism, I think he does raise a valid point. There is a tension between extravagance and our quest for more. At some point, we have to say enough is enough. Set some boundaries, and be content with what we have. This is true in our lives and even within the church, as we contemplate new ideas and make decisions about how we live. We can’t say yes to everything, even the good and worthwhile endeavors; we’d all be exhausted and would end up with activities going 24/7. Instead, we pray about and talk about what God is calling us to do right now. It’s about deciding when to say yes, and when to say no. We call this process discernment. And part of this discernment involves using our resources wisely, so as not to be wasteful with what we are given. In some ways, this is what Judas points to in his commentary on Mary’s action. He reminds all who are present of just how extravagant this moment is – perfume worth three hundred denarii, nearly a years’ wages for a laborer. There is a cost to extravagance, and it is steep. Judas is, in essence, asking those gathered if it is worth it. Clearly he thinks it is not.
Jesus responds with a differing opinion. He justifies the cost, speaking up for Mary and instructing Judas to “leave her alone,” revealing the fast-approaching reality of his death. In this moment, Jesus again praises Mary for her faithful devotion.
In Mary, then, the reader is given a picture of the fullness of the life of discipleship. Her act shows forth the love that will be the hallmark of discipleship in John and the recognition of Jesus’ identity that is the decisive mark of Christian life[iv].
The faith that Mary models, to Judas, the disciples, her family, and even to us, is a faith marked by extravagance. It is a faith that always seeks “more.”
In contrast to Mary, I think many times faith is a part of our lives that often gets shortchanged in our quest for “more.” We want more sleep, so we hit the snooze button on a Sunday morning. We want more time for our hobbies, so we put off reading our Bibles for another day when we “have more time.” We want more money to get the latest gadget or take that vacation, so we adjust our giving just a bit. In short, we let our need for “more” become the priority over our faith. We spend more time worrying about the challenges and issues in our lives, more time trying to figure out our relationships and schedules, more energy and resources on material things, and, because something has to give, less time on our relationship with God.
Instead of letting our faith take a backseat, perhaps we should reframe our understanding of “more,” and, like Mary, seek to live with extravagant faith. Such a faith may seem ridiculous to others, wasteful even. But we rest assured that our Savior encourages us to continue even in the face of adversity, for we have a Savior who believes in extravagance, over-the-top actions. That, of course, is one of the messages of the cross, the overabundance of love that God had for the world.
Of all the things that Mary’s gift represents, particularly to fulfill the gospel writer’s theological connecting points in the greater narrative, I think the most compelling is that Mary’s extravagant gift was one of love. In this, she models the most important aspect of our lives of faith: love. Love is what overwhelms Mary. Love is what prompts her to do something more. Her actions convey what cannot be spelled out in words or even in thought, they are only ones that can be demonstrated through an act of the heart. This story invites us to consider what our love for God might inspire us to do.
Having faith that is extravagant means being willing to truly love God with all that we have: minds, bodies, and heart. It means making the first “more” in our lives our relationship with God. Going above and beyond into something deeper still, and trusting that there is always something more to be learned, more to experienced, about the one who first loved us. This “more” is not about a transaction or monetary value. And it’s not about how many events we attend, or committees on which we serve. Extravagant faith is about how we live into these faith practices, and more importantly, about how God works through them to bring us restoration beyond anything we can imagine. Extravagant faith is about giving God all that we have, not just settling for the bare minimum. When we are overwhelmed by our love for God, we are apt to do wild and radical things, the kind of things that truly label us as Christ’s disciples.
It was love that inspired St. Patrick to return to Ireland. It was love that inspired volunteers to spend a Saturday afternoon loading groceries into cars yesterday. It is love that leads us to speak out where there is injustice – to stand up to the bullies of the world and proclaim that all deserve to be treated with love and respect. It is love that helps remind us to spend a few extra minutes checking in with someone we know is having a tough time. God’s love leads us to extravagant faith.
Some moments of extravagant faith, much like the perfume Mary poured, might seem temporary or fleeting. After all:
lots of extravagant gifts are put into the air, where they soon evaporate. A church choir labors to prepare an intricate anthem, and three minutes later it is gone. The teacher prepares the lesson, stands to deliver, and then class is adjourned. Mourners provide large arrangements of flowers to honor those whom they grieve. Saints donate large sums of money for their congregations to spend. Why do they do this? Love has its reasons[v].
But perhaps these aren’t as short-lived as we might think, for once we break open the jars of extravagant faith, “the fragrance of love’s actions is carried on the wind to places we never see[vi].”Acts of love and extravagant faith have the potential to grow into more, as generosity inspires generosity. Imagine how extravagantly-filled our lives could be if we all lived with a little more love, a little more faith. That is the hope of the Psalmist, and the encouragement of Jesus. To live a little more, for with God, the possibilities are endless. No act of faith is too small, and no act of faith is too large, when inspired by our love for God.
So let go a bit, of whatever holds you back from giving all that you have, all that you are, from God. Let God’s love wash over you and carry you to something new. Seek to be “more” of a disciple, and prepare for the overwhelming fragrance that comes when we live with a faith that is extravagant, worshiping a God whose grace and love is indeed always “more” than we could ever dream. Amen.
~Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford
March 18, 2018
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[i]Frances Taylor Gench, Encounters with Jesus: Studies in the Gospel of John. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2007), 95.
[ii]Gail R. O’Day, “John 11:55-12:11,” The New Interpreter’s Bible: Volume IX: Luke John (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995).
[iii]William G. Carter, “John 12:1-8, Pastoral Perspective,” Feasting on the Word: Year C, Volume 2, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009), 140.
[iv]O’Day, 703.
[v]Carter, 142.
[vi]H. Stephen Shoemaker, “John 12:1-8, Homiletical Perspective,” Feasting on the Word: Year C, Volume 2, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009), 143.
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