LENT 5, YEAR C

April 3, 2022

St. Uriel’s, Sea Girt, N. J.

 

Isaiah 43:16-21

Psalm 126

Philippians 3:4b-14

John 12:1-8

 

All four Gospels record some version of the story we’ve just heard of a woman anointing our Lord’s feet with costly ointment at a gathering for a meal at somebody’s house, although they differ on the details. In today’s Gospel, from Saint John, it takes place in the house of Lazarus in Bethany, a village located on the Mount of Olives a mile and a half outside Jerusalem, and the woman is identified as Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha. 

 

In Matthew and Mark, it also takes place in Bethany, but in the house of Simon the Leper, and the woman’s name is not mentioned. In Luke, a similar incident takes place, but in an unnamed village, with the woman a notorious but repentant sinner—traditionally identified as Mary Magdalene, although without a shred of scriptural evidence.

Biblical scholars tend to agree that the existence of such slightly differing versions of the same story attest to its basic historical reliability. Some actual underlying event was memorable enough to get repeated over and over in such a way that these differences in detail crept in before the various Gospel accounts were written down in their final form.  

 

In any case, since the lectionary gives us the account in John’s Gospel, that’s what we’ll engage with today. The key point is that this episode of the anointing of our Lord’s feet by Mary of Bethany takes place in the context of the rising tension that follows directly upon his raising of Lazarus from the dead. 

 

According to John’s Gospel, this wonderful miracle is what precipitates the decision to have Jesus put to death. The members of the Jewish ruling Council, the Sanhedrin, frantically ask one another: “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on thus, everyone will believe in him and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.” To which the High Priest Caiaphas responds: “It is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish.”

 

So, when today’s Gospel begins, Jesus is already a marked man. The authorities are trying to track him down and catch him away from the crowds so they can arrest him and hand him over to the Romans for execution. 

 

Amidst this rising tension, Mary of Bethany lovingly anoints the Lord’s feet with precious and costly oil and wipes them with her hair. The Greek title “Christ” and the Hebrew title “Messiah” both mean the same thing: “the Anointed One.” Mary’s action thus has enormous significance as symbolically identifying Jesus as the Messiah of Jewish expectation: God’s Anointed One, the Christ.

 

It seems to me that in the Gospels Jesus receives three different anointings. The first is at his baptism in the River Jordan. In a later sermon recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, Saint Peter proclaims that “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, [and] he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.” The second anointing is that described in today’s Gospel. And the third, at least in John’s Gospel, takes place after our Lord’s crucifixion, when Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus bring “a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight” to prepare his body for burial.

 

Now, what I’m about to say may be a bit of a stretch, but these three anointings could be read as corresponding to what are known as our Lord’s three offices of Prophet, Priest, and King—the three roles for which one was anointed in ancient Israel. The Holy Spirit’s descent in the likeness of a dove at his baptism anoints Jesus for his prophetic office of preaching and teaching in Galilee. His anointing by Mary of Bethany points to his priestly office of offering himself upon the Cross as the one, full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. And the anointing at his burial by Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea identifies his kingly office as Lord of heaven and earth, soon to be made manifest in his Resurrection and Ascension.

 

All these different meanings are implied whenever we name Jesus as the Christ. In this context, several details of today’s Gospel assume special significance. If Mary of Bethany had poured the oil on his head, the symbolism would have been that of a coronation—anointing a king about to enter upon his reign. But anointing the feet is characteristically done in the Jewish rites of burial. This detail tends to confirm the symbolism of Mary’s action as pointing to our Lord’s coming crucifixion, where he offers himself as both priest and victim. Moreover, the costliness of Mary’s offering, her loving extravagance, anticipates the infinitely greater cost that Jesus will bear on the cross as the expression of God’s extravagant love for all creation. 

 

Finally, when Mary anoints Jesus’ feet, “the whole house [is] filled with the fragrance of the ointment.” Similarly, our Lord’s approaching death on the cross is a sacrifice of sweet savor that brings life, health, and salvation to the whole world.

 

So, today’s Gospel identifies Jesus as the Anointed One, the Messiah, or Christ of God. A point not to be overlooked, however, is that as Christians we’ve all been anointed too! In the Church’s sacramental life, we’re anointed with the oil of chrism at our baptism, and sometimes at our Confirmation as well. When we get seriously ill, we can be anointed with the oil of the sick in the Sacrament of Unction. At their ordination, priests receive an anointing of the hands to set them apart for handling holy things.

 

These various sacramental anointings point to our common Christian calling, whether lay or ordained, to participate in the exercise of Christ’s prophetic, priestly, and royal offices in a manner appropriate to our circumstances and station in life. We share in the prophetic office by bearing witness to the truth of the Gospel and giving an account of our faith as the opportunity presents itself. We share in the priestly office by joining faithfully and regularly in the Church’s worship, its continual offering of the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to God. And we share in the royal office by taking responsibility for our part in the stewardship, care, and governance of the wider world in which we live. 

 

Most of all, today’s Gospel suggests that the authentically Christian life is marked by radical self-giving born of love. We’re called to give it our all. Mary of Bethany enacts this extravagant generosity in her anointing of our Lord’s feet, just as Jesus will soon offer himself for the whole world in his self- sacrifice on the cross. And it’s precisely this same quality of costly, all-outpouring love that we’re called as the Church to make manifest in the world today, as we seek to follow Christ, and serve God and our neighbor in his name.