John 12:1-8 (and 9-11 also) (NRSV)
Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5 'Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?' 6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7 Jesus said, 'Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.'
THOUGHTS:
In the three other canonical gospels, a "nameless" woman anoints Jesus' feet with expensive perfume and is praised by Jesus for her act of love. This woman-- "Mary" in John's gospel-- is "nameless" only because those writers chose not to bother with recognizing her worth. Unlike Mary, whose actions communicated to Jesus in an intimate way that he mattered to her, that he was a beloved child of God who faced a certain and unjust death, these writers chose consciously or unconsciously not to extend love. Why does it matter? Because those choices, and others like them made by the gospel writers, come to bear on the decisions of others that echo into our future. Interpretations were formulated that colluded with negligence, erasure, and the destruction of others. The intention of these writers does not make the impact of these words any less real.
This has been on my mind lately, especially when I encountered the rest of the verses that are included in this selection from the "revised" "common" lectionary. John 12:9-11 reads thus:
9 When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.
Rife with anti-Judaism, these verse portray Jewish leaders as petty and clannish representatives who would rather turn to murder than face the supposedly "obvious" insufficiencies of their religious practices and beliefs when compared to those of Jesus. No matter what one might argue about why these verses were written, this is how they are heard, and they justify the false dichotomy of good, grace-lovin' Christians and bad/confused law-keeping Jews. I was pissed to hear them read aloud last Sunday in the progressive Lutheran church I attend, by the warm-hearted and intelligent pastor no less. I became enraged when this pastor at no point addressed these verses in his sermon about God's love reflected in Mary's acts. He could have pointed out their dissonance with this love that God gives and inspires. He could have chosen to not give them any air-time. Instead, he consciously or unconsciously chose to read them and participate in approximately two thousand years of Christian anti-Semitism.
Mary's love is a concrete action, and so is Jesus' in this instance. Jesus defends Mary's dignity, safeguarding her well-being under Judas' attack (who has his own shit to examine). This is what love does: it builds up other people in their humanness (and respects all other living creatures and life-giving systems) and resists the forces, ideologies, and conscious and unconscious choices that lead to wanton destruction. And let's be clear: we don't love because we're innocent of these destructive ways. Hell no. We love because we've a encountered a Love that has has showed us that life is better for all when we, for example, reside in religious identities that do not affirm their value by badmouthing people of different faiths. Love affirms us in our inherent worth, and, if we allow it to work through us, uproots the violence of oppression in our souls and in our societies. Love enables us to call out these forces that mindlessly enslave others (or ourselves) for our own (or other people's) social, economic, and political gain. Love does this and, as another John wrote, love comes from God.
PRAYER:
Holy One, during Lent you teach us your love again and again. May our hearts grasp hold of this wisdom. Lead us to repentance, Lead us to action, and give us hope for a new creation, where love reigns and no one or nothing is ever crucified again. May it be so. Amen.
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Thoughts by Ben Masters, a graduate of George Mason University and an alum of Lutheran Campus Ministry at GMU. He is currently working at Open Arms of Minnesota in Minneapolis, through Lutheran Volunteers Corps and is a proud member of the Wellstone House, who also says: "P.S. For folks on college campuses, folks in diversity and multicultural services often have some good resources for resisting oppression. Go look them up. A shout out to the folks at George Mason, who have some kickass opportunities to resist heterosexism and transphobia for LGBTQ Pride Week this week. Blessings and peace, y'all."
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1 comment:
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I enjoyed reading the Lenten Devotional messages up until now. I spiritually benefited by reading past messages, including an earlier entry by [the same author]. However Lenten Devotion #35, the one for today is one I take great issue with.
Having read my share of offline devotionals for Lent and ordinary time, I feel like I have a good understanding of what a devotional should be. There should be spiritual edification, an anecdotal message that aids a Christian on her or his journey.
I do not see how using the foul language throughout the entry edifies a Christian spirit. Terms like “shit”, “pissed”, and a profane usage of “hell” neither build faith nor stand in good terms with what the Bible says about taming the tongue. Remember what Christ said, “What goes into a man‘s mouth does not make him ‘unclean‘, but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’” (Matthew 15:11)
I do not see how demonizing large numbers of Christians, including the Gospel writers cited, edifies a Christian spirit. [The devotion author] said the reason the synoptic Gospels did not name Mary as the woman who washed Jesus’ feet was “only because those writers chose not to bother with recognizing her worth.” Maybe its because they forgot her name, maybe Mary herself out of humility did not want her name mentioned and requested they not do so. But no, according to [the author of this devotion] there is one reason and one reason only: they considered Mary an inferior. I wonder if that’s why these same Gospel writers specifically mentioned Mary and other women staying by Jesus while the men fled, tending to His tomb while the men hid, etc.
I do not see how saying the Gospel is inherently anti-Semitic edifies a Christian spirit. [The author of this devotion] mentions a clergyman reading the Gospel of John as “participat[ing] in approximately two thousand years of Christian anti-Semitism.” He writes angrily about a passage from John’s Gospel, “Rife with anti-Judaism, these verse portray Jewish leaders as petty and clannish representatives who would rather turn to murder than face the supposedly ‘obvious’ insufficiencies of their religious practices and beliefs when compared to those of Jesus.” Lest we forget, John and most of his audience when his account was first propagated were Jewish; they would be very surprised to learn that his words were advancing anti-Semitism, as would millions (if not hundreds of millions) of Christians today, Jew and Gentile.
Finally, I do not see how the [] entry edifies a Christian spirit. [The author] writes, “Love that has showed us that life is better for all when we, for example, reside in religious identities that do not affirm their value by badmouthing people of different faiths.” He writes this having just badmouthed those who believe what the Bible says to be true. [The author] also wrote, “This is what love does: it builds up other people in their humanness (and respects all other living creatures and life-giving systems) and resists the forces, ideologies, and conscious and unconscious choices that lead to wanton destruction”, then in his P.S. note he talks of “heterosexism” and “Transphobia”, politically loaded terms often used as pejorative names for people[.]
On a psychoanalytical level, these contradictions are to be expected. People are rarely as critical about their own beliefs as they are of others’, so it is very likely [the author] could not see how his profane words were just as bad as (or worse than) those he chastised. It harkens me back to the fact that it is impossible to not be judgmental, for by saying “do not be judgmental” one is making a judgment call.
Though deeply disappointed in this entry, I will continue to read the devotions sent to me. I do not wish to be taken off the listserv. I pray these words were of value to you. Forward them [] if you like; I love it when many people digest my writing.
Sincerely,
Michael Gryboski
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