Risking Rejection: Doing What We Can Preached on Facebook Live Video On March 22, 20 Scripture: Mark 14:3-9 This week we come to the fourth day of Holy Week in our series “Entering the Passion of Jesus.” On the first day we saw Jesus ride into Jerusalem on a donkey. We saw him overturn vendors’ tables in the temple on the second day. And we saw him challenging religious leaders in the temple on the third. The disciples have been seriously unsettled these past three days. Their world has been turned upside down by these provocative actions in Jerusalem. They cannot help noticing that Jesus is drawing attention to himself. Both the Romans and the Temple authorities are monitoring his actions. He is walking a dangerous path. The cross looms in his future. This is not the way they want to go. They are relieved on the fourth day when they finally get an opportunity to relax and enjoy themselves. They go to the home of Simon the leper in Bethany, for a lavish dinner party. Today we read about this party in the gospel of Mark. Mark’s gospel is not so much a story of wonders and miracles. It is more of a story of failure. It’s about the failure of the disciples to the one thing Jesus wants them to do. Jesus wants the disciples to follow him on “the way.” The Way is a literal road, and also a way of being. The road to Jerusalem, began months ago, in the north, just outside the Roman city of Caesarea Philippi. Here Jesus began teaching the disciples that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, be rejected by the elders, the priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He warned them “if any want to become [his] followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow [him].” And we might wonder, does Jesus really expect that all the disciples will hang on crosses beside him? Does he really expect them to follow him to the death? Jesus gives two more warnings on the way to Jerusalem. Each prediction gives specifics of what will happen. Jesus is very clear, this is not the road to honor and glory, to victory and triumph. This is the road to humility and suffering. Even so, the disciples possess that amazing human quality of denial. They are all along for the party, oblivious of Jesus’ intent in entering Jerusalem during the holiday of Passover. And so today, the disciples and the friends of Jesus are gathered at a table in Bethany. This is not a simple soup supper eaten at the kitchen table. They are reclining, Roman style. Delicious food is served, the wine is flowing. The men are privileged to eat together with Jesus. They are riveted to him and his teaching, when a lone woman enters and breaks the mood. They don’t know where she came from. They didn’t see her coming. The noisy dinner conversation stops abruptly. As an uninvited guest she has broken protocol, but that isn’t all. She is carrying an elegant alabaster jar. As she opens it and a rich perfume fill the room, it becomes clear … this is a jar of costly nard. And, then, most astonishing of all, she goes up to Jesus, leans gently over his place and pours all of it – all 300 denarii of it – over his head. She massages the oil into his hair and scalp. The dinner guests are aghast! The jar of nard was worth a year’s wages. It could have been sold, and the money could have been given to the poor. But Jesus is not aghast, he defends this unnamed woman, saying "Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has performed a good service for me.” He reminds them that the poor will always exist. It will always be their mission to care for them. But for today, he says “She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her." Friends, these last few days we may have felt a bit like the disciples in those first days in Jerusalem before the dinner party. Our worlds have been turned upside down, we are deeply unsettled. We have received instructions to remain at home, to cease physical gathering and contact with our friends. Our support systems have been taken from under us. All at a time when we are anxious, stressed and in need of support. We may wish we could make it all go away, get together and have a good old fashioned potluck supper in our social hall! We may well be going through some of the stages of grief … denial, anger, bargaining and depression. Here at the church, we have been hearing from our various building users. We are particularly concerned for the recovery groups because their work is a literal lifeline to one another. We were glad to hear that they have been able to use internet tools, like Zoom, for virtual gatherings. We are also concerned for our un-housed and poor neighbors, and for the already stressed organizations who provide services for them. A small local team of congregants was able to put together 75 bagged lunches for Father Bill’s Place on Thursday. We hope we will be able to continue to help in that way. We are also concerned for our members – and our neighbors – who are elderly, who live alone, and are unable to take advantage of virtual gatherings. Some do not have the necessary equipment, or they cannot cope with technology. It is important that we all reach out with phone calls, to our fellow church members and neighbors. When the news of the coronavirus pandemic first emerged, my husband was on it right away. But, I have to admit I was reluctant to acknowledge the seriousness. I was saddened that the infection would claim many lives in China and other parts of Asia. I never thought that the virus would sweep around the globe and wreak the same devastation in Europe and the United States. Over the last week or so, I have been trying to accept the reality of the situation and learning what it means to “social distance” and stay at home. I’m fortunate, I have my husband and daughters at home with me. I still worry, though, especially for my parents overseas and our son, in a different state. When will we next see them again? Will they be OK in the meantime? What does all of this mean for our lives? There are many different reactions and responses to this new reality. There are beautiful videos from Italy, in which apartment residents go out onto their balconies and make music together. And then there is the mom, dad and little girl who live across the street from us. Usually they are out at work and school all day. Now we see them all come outside for playtime after lunch: sidewalk chalk or splashing in the puddles. Some people are panicked, they have already anxiously bought up all the toilet paper. There are profiteers, who bought hand sanitizer and medical face masks early and are now trying to price gouge. And there are the overworked and exhausted: nurses, doctors, healthcare providers, first responders … grocery story employees to mention a few. And there are devastated hourly paid employees, who don’t know when their next check will come. Did you hear the interview with Chef Ming Tsai, of Blue Dragon restaurant as he broke down and cried over the workers he had to let go? He considers each of them to be a member of his family. [1] There is sadness and joy, there is panic and calm, there is greed, and there is anxiety. There are many other feelings and responses besides. It’s likely that there were as many responses among the disciple community to Jesus’ disturbing behavior in Jerusalem. Jesus praised the woman who busted into the dinner party at Bethany and poured nard over his head. He said that the story of what she had done would be told in remembrance of her. Jesus’ response gives a clue to what he meant by telling the disciples to take up their cross and follow him. Jesus is not expecting all the disciples to be literally crucified with him. But at the same time, he wants them to remain with him. He wants them to accompany him, not only physically, but spiritually and emotionally. He wants them to be on the same page, in the same place as him. The guests who gathered for the dinner party that night have not reached the point of acceptance about what was to come. They are in denial. When the woman performs the action that confirms their deepest fears, they become angry. They don’t want to hear this talk of anointing for burial.They make excuses that the perfume could have been sold for the poor. All while they are enjoying a lavish dinner. Jesus sets them straight: there are times for joy, times for mourning, and times for preparation for burial. They are always to care for the poor, but for today they are to face into what is to come. They are to open their hearts and do what they can to care for him, just like the woman with the nard. Friends, in these days ahead, things will probably get harder. We will have all sorts of emotional responses, including denial, anger, sadness and grief. But we do not have to do this alone. Together we can move our mindset to acceptance. We can get on the same page with one another, emotionally and spiritually. We can pray for one another, talk together on the phone, run errands for one another at a distance. We’re feeling scared and we’re feeling upset, our whole world has been turned upside down. All Jesus asks is that we do what we can. May all God’s people say, Amen. [1] https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2020/03/18/coronavirus-outbreak-brings-uncertainty-to-the-local-restaurant-business
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