What is Your Heart Telling You?

Reverend Philip Stringer

John 12:1-8

LET US PRAY: Bless us, O God -- you who have given us every good thing -- bless us with ears that hear you speaking to us, and eyes that see you revealed, and hearts that are dedicated to your will for the sake of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and the coming of his kingdom. AMEN

Maybe you’ve heard the story before. A man is sitting in a boat on a lake with a fishing pole. He has been there for a long time, without a single bite on his line. Someone passes by on the shore and stops to watch. They call out to the man in the boat, “Are you fishing?” And he answers, “nope. Just drowning worms.”

What makes something meaningful? There may be many answers to that question, depending on your values.

What makes something meaningful? That’s a question for all of our lives. And it is a question that is asked of Jesus in our gospel reading today. And Jesus’ answer to that question is a little bit surprising.

Jesus is seated at the dinner table in the home of his friends, Mary, Martha and Lazarus. John carefully tells us the details of that dinner.

Martha is busy serving her guests at the table.

Her brother, Lazarus, is one of those at the table.

Martha’s sister, Mary, is also at the dinner -- but her behavior is a little unusual. She takes a pound of expensive ointment and smears it onto Jesus’ feet and then wipes it off with her hair. An unusual act that evokes a response from the final person John tells us about: Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus.

Judas asks Jesus an intelligent and rational question: “Why is she pouring that expensive ointment on your feet?” Judas has watched and listened to Jesus. He knows that Jesus is a champion of the weak and the poor. He knows that Jesus avoids situations where people try to glorify him. Judas had seen these actions and knows that this does not fit with his experience of Jesus -- and so he asks.

And he has an excellent point. The money for that ointment could have easily fed many people. Judas looked at the actions and made a value judgment that this was wrong -- it was bad stewardship. It was impulsive and wasteful. It violated the principles he saw Jesus modeling.

But what Judas’ didn’t understand is that when a certain moment comes -- any moment where a person feels stirred to act -- in such a moment a person simply must do what is in their heart.

Jesus tells Judas to leave Mary alone. To understand his answer, we have to understand why Mary did what she did -- and not only her, but Martha and Lazarus, too. Because the “why” of any person’s actions is what gives meaning to anything and everything.

You may recall that whenever we hear about Martha, we find that she is a person of action. In Luke there is a story about another meal, where Martha is working hard to care for her dinner guests, and complains to Jesus that her sister isn’t being fair. She learns from Jesus that he is interested in his relationships with Mary and Martha, and not with their job performance.

At another time, when Martha learns that Jesus has come to be with them after the death of her brother, Martha is the one who goes running out to meet him. After giving Martha assurances, Jesus raises her brother from the dead, and Martha’s grief is turned to joy.

So, when Martha serves Jesus at this meal -- it isn’t simply protocol. It isn’t “good manners.” It is a gift of service and hospitality offered in love and devotion.

Lazarus is the man whom Jesus raised. And apart from that, we know very little about him, except that Jesus loved him. He is a passive character, mostly. In the first story he is dead. In our lesson today he is simply seated at the table. But he surely cannot help but know that Jesus is quite literally the source of the life he lives. To be at the table with him is an act of acceptance and devotion for his friend.

And then there is Mary. She seems to have been the most emotional of the three -- drawn to Jesus’ words at the earlier dinner, she drew close to his feet to listen.

When Jesus’ came at the time of her brother’s death, she did not go out to meet him -- perhaps she was too overwhelmed with grief. But when she learned that Jesus was calling for her, she ran to him, knelt at his feet, and poured her grief out before him. And soon, she too had her grief turned to joy.

So, when she anointed Jesus feet -- it was not for her a pouring out of money upon the ground. She was at the feet of her teacher again. She was at the feet of the one who had taken away her grief. And her act was an expression of the thankfulness and love in her heart.

The answer to the question of why all three of these people did what they did with Jesus is simple: Because they loved him -- and THAT’s what gives meaning to the entire evening. For Mary, Martha and Lazarus, dinner with Jesus couldn’t have been anything BUT a celebration.

And yet it was certainly more than this, too. For it was well-known by now that the powers were aligning against him. The tide of hatred was rising against Jesus, and his enemies were gathering like dark clouds around them. Yes, their dinner was a celebration of their love for Jesus -- but it was also an act of devotion -- a casting in of their lot with Jesus.

And that’s what Judas couldn’t see.

To serve without love means nothing.

To be present without love means nothing.

Rituals and sacrifice without love mean nothing.

When you and I ask ourselves about the meaning of our lives, we ought not to look to the actions that we do, but to the reasons for doing.

Judas was caught up in the actions -- In a world of needs, that is easy to do. For this world is voraciously needy. It will take everything that we are and everything that we have a million times over -- and it will still be hungry and broken and needy. It is a black hole of needs that will take as much as it can devour.

“You will always have the poor with you,” Jesus told Judas. So, it is not what you do for them or anyone that matters, but why you do it. For Mary to love Jesus does not mean that she does not love the poor also. But now is the time for Mary to act, showing her love for Jesus -- a love that is rooted in her trust and belief in him.

What makes something worthwhile or meaningful? That’s a question for you and me to ask -- in regard to what we see around us, but also in regard to our own lives -- our own actions.

Years ago, friend attended the funeral of a man who was known to be thoroughly dedicated to his job. He worked long hours and weekends, and he rarely had time to spend with his family. His wife and children had all made sacrifices for the sake of his career, not knowing that the time he spent at work was the only time they would have. He died at a young age -- while his children were still in elementary school. At the funeral, my friend overheard two other young fathers talking as they watched the stunned wife and children of the man who had died.

One of them said to the other, “it sure puts things into perspective, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah,” said the other. “It really brings home how important it is to have a strong financial portfolio.” And the first man nodded his agreement.

Perhaps that father worked like he did because he loved his family. Perhaps those men felt the same way about their own families. Or maybe they got swallowed up in the voracious appetite of this world that convinced them that the meaning and value of their lives could be measured by how hard they worked and how much money they made.

It is so easy for us to assign value based on the wrong criteria.

What gives meaning to your life? What gives value to the things that you do?

Judas had a very articulate and practical argument. But Jesus cuts beyond this to the heart of the question -- which is the motive in the heart of the person.

Mary and Martha and Lazarus show us that our actions -- any actions -- from service to worship or even just being present -- take on meaning when they are rooted in faith and offered in love.

Actions rooted in faith and offered in love. That is what Jesus is interested in with you and me, too.

So, what IS the answer to the question for you? How much is enough for you to put in the offering plate or give to the poor? How many times are enough for you to attend worship each month? How much is enough forgiveness for you to give? Or enough kindness to show to strangers?

For Mary, Martha and Lazarus, it wasn’t a matter of “how much,” or even of “what.” They couldn’t help but do what they did because they were caught up in the joy of being with Jesus.

And today, we are in the presence of Jesus, too.

He comes to us in this meal to do for us what he did for them.

He comes to us in the forgiveness of sins and in the sharing of peace. He comes to us in the proclamation of his Word.

And even more than these -- for he promises, “wherever two or more are

gathered in my name, I am there.

His Spirit is with you wherever you go.

And in this season of Lent, you are invited to get caught up in the joy of being in his presence.

What gives meaning to your life? Going through the motions of living makes no sense when it is done just to be doing it -- that’s like pouring ointment on the ground or drowning worms.

Why do you do what you do? There must be a reason. Jesus gives us that reason.

He comes to be with you.

He comes to give you new life.

He comes to reconcile us with each other.

He comes to give you joy -- and joy can’t be held back.

Why do you do what you do?

Mary, Martha and Lazarus had an answer for that:

“Why do I do what I do? . . . I do it because I love him.”

What is your heart telling you to do?

AMEN