Sermon at All Saints’ Parish Church, Whiteparish - 5th Sunday in Lent – Sunday 6 April 2025
Isaiah 43:16-21; Philippians
3.4b-14; John 12:1-8
When I first heard this morning’s gospel reading as a young chorister
back in my home church in Lincolnshire, I misheard the name of the perfume
mentioned and thought that it had been made from pure LARD!
In fact, I
later learned that soap is actually made from animal fat which has been
emulsified by some pretty dangerous acids and other chemicals. This then reminded me, when I read the
reading again in preparation for this service of a story which I heard recently
whilst away at sea and told by the chaplain.
He narrated how a missionary was sent to a very poor country in Africa to
spread the word of the Lord. Amongst
those in the local village where he served were an elderly couple, or elderly
by that country’s standards, who eked out a living by making soap and he
observed how the making of this cleansing material was by such a dirty and
dangerous (to health) process and that this couple’s arms and hands were so
disfigured by the chemicals they were using that they found it hard to stir the
pot of goo! He asked them the usual
missionary’s question – “Have you met Jesus yet” to which they answered “No!
but we could certainly need some help with this soap making!
Seeing their distress, the missionary made a point of calling in on the
couple every day at midday to stir the pot of obnoxious chemicals for an hour
and thereby befriending them.
A few months went by and another evangelistic church minister arrived at
the same village and, in introducing himself to the elderly soap makers, asked
them, again “Have you met Jesus”. “Oh Yes”, came their unison reply, “he calls
in on us every day at noon and stirs the pots of chemicals”.
When I first heard that story I was so touched by its simplicity as well
as the wonderful message it gives. It
was by the simple action of helping this struggling couple rather than
preaching a complicated theology that truly did make Jesus known to them.
In our gospel reading Mary, through the simple yet dedicated way in which
she anoints Jesus’s feet and then selflessly wipes them dry with her hair shows
more about her love of Jesus than any words could ever express. In the same way
as, in a similar story, the sinful woman in the Pharisee’s House in Luke
7:36-50 (often taken to be Mary Magdalen) shows her love of Jesus and his Word
by doing something similar which results in Jesus forgiving her sins and
rebuking Simon the Pharisee.
Much has been made, in this passage, about Judas’s statement about the
wastefulness of the perfume when, at its very expensive cost, it could have
been sold and the proceeds given to the poor. John’s narrative adds, in
parentheses, that Judas being the Disciples treasurer, had his own wicked
agenda of helping himself to some of those proceeds. I have often wondered
whether those additional words were added to make Judas out a greater villain
than perhaps he was. For my part, I prefer to look more towards the actions of
Mary rather than of Judas here. We know, from previous passages, that Jesus was
a frequent visitor to the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. We know that he so loved all three of them
that he wept over Lazarus’s death and raised him up again, that Mary had
already shown her love and devotion by here attentive listening to him when he
visited them and recited scripture and that Martha felt compelled to ensure
that all the correct preparations were made for the meal and visit to make him
feel very welcome. These actions lie in
direct contrast to the actions and words of the Simon and Judas.
What is important to read here are the words of Jesus himself towards the
end of the passage when he puts down Judas’s comment. “Leave her alone” he says. She bought it so that she might keep it for
the day of my burial”. By saying these words he is saying that that day is now
upon them. He then goes on to say that
“You will always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me”.
I have pondered these words a lot as a Christian and at first appearance
they can appear quite selfish. Indeed, you could try and put things the other
way round and say that in a fair and equitable world we should be able to
alleviate poverty and, didn’t say to his disciples after his resurrection “I am
with you always to the close of age”.
These seem to contradict Christian teachings.
In fact, Jesus was actually being a realist for the fact remains that
here in the year 2025 we still do have a large majority of the world’s
population living in abject poverty – something I have seen many times over on
my prolific travels as well as many people who have not yet discovered Jesus or
that they can have a personal relationship with him if they just allow him to
enter their lives.
Today and every day, I find myself grieving for those who have not yet
experienced the love of God and those for whom the world’s economies are making
them poorer and poorer and I believe it is the duty of all believers to do
their bit to fulfil Christ’s teachings.
Jesus in admonishing Judas, and of course with knowledge that he will be
the one who betrays him, is reminding us all that first and foremost our lives
should be focussed on God before worldly possessions and money. He is also
predicting his own death and departure from this Earth and the fact that it
will be up to us, his followers, energised by the Holy Spirit to carry on the
work of making Jesus known throughout the world.
Salisbury Diocese’s strapline is now all familiar to us “Making Jesus
Known”. For some it may seem a bit
of a “trite” statement – surely that is what being a Christian is all about –
but we can so easily forget it and get focussed on ritual and church matters
rather than the wider teachings of Christ and remembering the ultimate
sacrifice he made for us.
So, I return to that elderly couple in faraway Africa and their little
soap factory. They saw, by the selfless actions of a Christian pastor, who put
his own health at risk, the face of Jesus.
What opportunities do we then have for making Jesus known to others,
through our actions, to those who don’t know him yet?
Might I suggest that it is often through opportunities given to us
outside of any formal religious event – something occurring in our ordinary
lives.
The world is crying out for Jesus to be a major factor in combatting so
much evil and selfishness in the world today; and it can start with something
as simple as stirring a pot of goo for an elderly couple or a kindly action or
word to somebody who is alone or struggling with life’s demands.
Let us pray:
Heavenly Father, may I sit at Your feet and worship
You with all that I am and all that I have. May the beauty of Jesus seep into
my soul and become a life-giving fragrance of His love, to all with whom I come
in contact today and the days ahead. In Jesus' name I pray,
Amen MFB/213/04042025
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