Old Words for a Modern World
Posted on Apr 04, 2019 by
One of my favorite things I do each spring is meet with our second-graders and teach them about Holy Communion. This year, we have nine students and their parents attending the three-evening First Communion classes, where they are learning about this incredible gift God gives us. Then, on Maundy Thursday, they will receive their First Communion.
This week we learned about forgiveness and how, in this meal, God reminds us that we are forgiven. I noted that forgiveness is about “letting go” and not letting the actions of others dictate our lives. After I said this, one parent said, “So Elsa was singing about forgiveness in her song ‘Let it Go’? You know, Elsa, from the Disney movie Frozen.” And, you know what, she is absolutely right. That particular song that Elsa sings can be heard as a song of forgiveness. I love looking at nonreligious lyrics and movies and seeing theological implications; I do it all the time. But you can also look at our world and the issues that we are facing and then look to scripture to see what God might be saying to us about our current issues.
Our Gospel text for Sunday is John 12:1-8, and, as I read it, I hear God speaking to some of our most current social issues, specifically, the #MeToo movement and poverty. In a modern world that treats women as sexual objects and the poor as a nuisance, God has much to say to us.
In the ancient world, women were usually considered property and they were to be seen and not heard. They were to raise babies and cook. They were not even considered legal witnesses if they saw a crime. But times have changed, haven’t they? Heck, in the 1960s, we went through the “sexual revolution,” and as a result women are considered equal today, right? Well, then why are so many still sexually harassed and abused? Why are women, for the most part, still only earning at a rate of about 82% of what men earn for the same job? Could it be that there is still inequality in our world?
In regards to the poor, in the ancient world, they were considered cursed by God. They were suffering for their sins or the sins of their ancestors. But we don’t think that way today, right? Well, why is poverty still growing? Is it because those of us with much still believe that one is poor only because of their own actions or inactions? Is it because we still believe in the old, “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” mentality?
I don’t know why these issues are still so prevalent in our modern world, but Jesus has much to say to us today about them. In our Gospel story, Mary does two unthinkable things: she touches Jesus and she lets her hair down. She should have been kicked out for those two actions alone. But for Jesus, women are more than sexual objects and children-rearing machines. That’s why Jesus does not have a problem with being touched by women, seeing them with their hair down, talking to men, or being active in this world and alive in their senses. In short, in the Reign of God, women are equal at the intellectual level, at the spiritual level, at the salary level, and at all levels.
But it doesn’t end there. Mary used costly perfume on Jesus that apparently was valued at what would have been about a year’s salary. That was a very wasteful act, according to Judas. She could have sold it and given the money to the poor. What a noble gesture on his part. But that was the problem; just like today, we love to use the poor as an excuse to do or not do things, but we rarely give to their needs abundantly.
Yes, Jesus said, “you will always have the poor with you” but he wasn’t saying not to worry about them. What he literally was saying was that you should always keep the poor with you; that is, you ought to always care for them abundantly. Jesus was “poor,” and in this act Mary cared for him with generosity and without hesitation. That is how we ought to care for the poor.
I know the Bible was written thousands of years ago, but it has much to say to us about the world today, if we will only take the time to listen and be willing to change.
Have a blessed week and Shalom, Pastor Dave