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SERMON TITLE: Remember Me, and Walk
with Me
Preached by the
Rev. John Young-Jung Lee on March 25, 2007 at
DPUC
12:1 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of
Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
12:2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of
those at the table with him.
12:3 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.
12:4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to
betray him), said,
12:5 "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money
given to the poor?"
12:6 (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.)
12:7 Jesus said, "Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it
for the day of my burial.
12:8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have
me."
Remember Me, and Walk
with Me
We are on a Lenten
journey together. It is almost the end of
the Lenten season. Today’s gospel reading
talks about Jesus burial with an episode with a woman, Mary. This story offers us the
contrast between two very different responses to Jesus by the disciples. In the patriarchal
culture of Jesus' time, Mary is a most unlikely model of true discipleship, but
that is how she is portrayed: Mary understands who
Jesus is and the significance of the events that are taking place. Mary understands,
believes, and acts.
Judas is portrayed as a
self-centred and self-justifying person. He appears unwilling or
unable to appreciate the significance of the moment. This story is part of
the prediction made earlier in this gospel, saying, “there will be many who see
but not understand” (John 1:11, 6:36, 9:39).
Mary's act is extravagant: "A pound of
nard" is a luxury item worth nearly a year's wage. And her action was
depicted as beautiful: the table of food, the
company of friends, the effusion of scent throughout the room, and the locks of
Mary's hair wiping anointed Jesus' feet. Judas raises a logical question about the appropriateness of such an
extravagant gift. Shouldn't the nard have
been sold and the proceeds given to the poor? Jesus affirms the
importance of Mary's gift. In verse 8, Jesus
reminds the disciples of their responsibility to continue to offer aid to those
who are poor after his death. And Jesus upholds Mary's
action of serving him while it is possible to do so.
There was a tension
between the two confronting ideas. One claims that it is
waste. Jesus was contrary to
this idea, and said, "Leave her alone. She bought it so that
she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor
with you, but you do not always have me.”What is this story
about? Jesus is not concerned
about whether it is wasteful or not. It is a discussion about
whether we have Jesus Christ with us or not. It is a very appropriate
theme in our Lenten journey.
Lent is a season for self-reflection and allowing oneself to be drawn deeper
into the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
Let us think again about
what Jesus was saying. “The poor you always
have with you, but you do not always have me.” (John 12:8) At the end of his journey, he was anguished as he
prepared to risk his life. Jesus thought about what it means to have eternal life
of truth. Jesus wanted to invite the disciples to this eternal
life. Jesus wanted to continue to share this life. Remembering Jesus Christ is the answer that he
prepared. The life of remembering him is the life with the
life-giving Spirit of God and Jesus Christ.
Jesus sets the priority in this story not on what to
do, but on who will be doing the work and how. “The poor you always have with you, but you do not
always have me.” As I read this passage again and again, I was reminded of another saying of Jesus.
Jesus said at the table with the disciples, “Eat this
bread, drink this cup. And every time you do this, remember me.” What Jesus says to us is “Remember me all the time” as
I am with you always.
The world is changing. The value system changes when new technology develops.
During the era of ‘enlightenment’, “knowledge is
power” was the truth. But nowadays it is different.
Information and its process have more power than
knowledge. As an example, when a student is given an assignment
on astronomy, the student reads a few books about astronomy and spends a few
weeks to research and write an essay. The other student searched internet and spent a few
days and finished a better quality essay. For the professor, who deserves the better mark is a
serious question.
That’s not all. For a stock broker, information of
world’s power dynamic and detailed information on finances and new product
developments of the company can be the crucial factors that gains or loses
billions of dollars. Our value systems nowadays have become much too
materialistic. We wonder how we can close the gap between the rich and the
poor. Microsoft, Samsung, Sony are increasing their profit in an incredible
amount, but these corporations have nothing to do with the poor.
Most of the workers are professionals of technology. When the Sony company planned to build a multimedia
related product in Texas,
the government gave a fringe tax benefit because they expected the creation of
employment in that area. But the result was that less than twenty new positions
were created from the local town since the factory was fully automatic. It is not unusual that, there, the gap between rich
and the poor becomes wider each and every day.
How can we solve the problem of this world, not only
the problem of rich and poor, but of the many new problems that arise through
these new changes? The development of the world with globalization is so
complicated and uncertain. For this reason, it is hard to find the solution. Voices from the grassroots are hard to be heard by the
power group of top management. The problem is that there were no stock brokers, no
Tim Hortons, in the Bible, and the Bible does not teach us what to do and how
to do it in each individual case when complicated problems arise.
In today’s story, Jesus tells his disciples "the
poor you always have with you." The problems that need solving, we have always had.
But not always the answer. What Jesus give us as an answer is “Keep my teaching,
my sharing with you in your heart.” This is what Paul said, “Have Christ in me.”
This is how we live by the life-giving Spirit of
Christ.
Does the Gospel of John show that Jesus enjoys a
little luxury, willing to put his concern for the poor on hold? No. Not at all.
As we all know, this story is almost at the end of his
journey to cross. It is the summary and conclusion of all his ministry
and teaching. Keep the Spirit of Jesus in your heart. This is the answer. The society evolves and the Bible does not give
specific answer for specific question. The answer is “to have the Spirit of Christ in your
heart.” There is no compensation about it. It is not optional. But it is a must.
It is Jesus’ serious teaching that we always have to
keep the Spirit of Jesus Christ in our hearts.
Perhaps some people raise questions of why and how can
we win over the poverty in the world simply by keeping the Spirit of Jesus in
our heart. Jesus does not explain how but Jesus is so confident that the world
will be in peace and everyone will life for others. May be it is a mysterious
way. But Jesus is confident about this.
Jesus is not saying "forget the poor and pay
attention to me." He is saying, rather, "quit talking about 'the
poor' in general and pay attention to the specific poor, and remember how I
shared life with poor and powerless. In other words, “remember me, whenever you
have problem, remember me.” It is Jesus promise to us that he will be with us
forever.
In the famous musical, Jesus Christ Superstar, there is a message like this:
“Think! while you still have me. Move! while you still
see me." Jesus is not means but the spirit in our hearts that
enables us of an action. The philosophers like Immanuel Kant and Martin Buber
have insisted that we must treat people as ends in themselves rather than as
simply means to end.
We must treat Jesus as an end in himself and not just
as a means to an end. Jesus is not a symbol but the real person who works in
our heart. In other words, “Let Jesus work!” Let Jesus work in the hearts of the workers in the
factory. Let Jesus work in the hearts of the managers and the
CEOs of the companies. Let Jesus work in us. And let Jesus work in myself.
This is our response to Jesus’ invitation to the
eternal life of truth. This is our conviction that we will walk with Jesus
Christ. This is our confession that we trust and believe, “God
is with us always.” Thanks
be to God. Amen.
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