 Readings: Deuteronomy 15:1-11, John 12:1-8, The Doctrine of Life #1 (see below)
See also on Youtube Photo by PIXAMD AMX on Unsplash Typical interpretations of our text for today revolve around the idea of choosing to focus on God rather than the world. It is often seen as a warning to not get so caught up in our earthly accomplishments, the “doing” part of us, to the extent that we forget to connect with spirit, with God. This is, of course, good advice. Without practices like Sabbath, like self-reflection, like worshipful reverence, we are vulnerable to burn-out, we are vulnerable to believing ourselves indispensable and all-powerful, we are vulnerable to various savior-complexes. We are vulnerable, like Judas, to seeking our own advantage, even if our actions are outwardly good. Thus, it is vital that we pause and remember the “why” of our efforts, to remember God (and God’s nature) as the ultimate source of our abilities, usefulness and motivation. The down-side of this interpretation, however, is that it can be used to justify apathy, a lack of compassion for suffering, and disconnection from the world. Taken to its extreme, one might argue: If the poor will always be with us, then clearly they are impervious to intervention. Or, if the poor will always be with us, we have all the time in the world to deal with that problem. Or, sure, its good to take care of the poor, but really spiritual folks will focus entirely on God; that’s more pure. Either way, the argument goes, attending to spirit is the higher, better, more useful and ideal thing to do. This is tempting because we all want to do the best, right and higher thing; who wouldn’t? But such an argument seems at odds with much of the bible itself, particularly the prophets and Jesus’ own words. So, another way of looking at this episode is through the lens of the history of Jesus’ own tradition. The story of the Children of Israel tells us that, over a thousand years before Jesus, they initially entered Egypt as welcome guests, but that over a couple of hundred years, they had been reduced to slavery within that nation. New pharaohs sought to take advantage of the Children of Israel, feared them, and so kept them oppressed. They cried out, and God saved them from slavery, and led them to their own land, where they could be free. God also gave them some commandments and some laws, to help them exist in community with each other, in such a way that no one had to experience hardship like in Egypt again. We see some examples of these laws in our Deuteronomy reading for today. For example, The forgiveness of debts every seven years prevented the run-away accumulation of wealth by some, and the spiraling poverty of others. Every seven years there was a reset of sorts, to keep the playing field more even, to prevent the consolidation of power and wealth, which always leads to the domination of some over others. There are lots of laws in Deuteronomy that sound strange to us now, but the general thrust was always to promote good-faith and steadfast relationships within the community of God’s people, in which no one found themselves outside of the circle of relationship, and all were lifted up and included. Over time though, Israel wished for a king, and God granted that wish. In establishing a monarchy, however, Israel became vulnerable to the concentration of power and wealth in a ruling class. One of the biggest temptations that human beings are vulnerable to is the creation of what the author Marcus Borg calls “domination systems.”(1) Over time, with a very few exceptions, the succession of kings in Israel and Judah leaned in hard on the domination and accumulation side of things. Life got harder and harder for the ordinary people. Prophets rose up to give voice to this disparity. We hear, for example, in the book of Amos: Thus says the Lord: For three transgressions of Israel and for four, I will not revoke punishment. Because they sell those who have done no wrong for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample the heads of the poor into the dust of the earth, and push the afflicted out of the way. (Amos 2:6-7) That which God had freed the children of Israel from: the domination system of slavery in Egypt, was being replicated within their own nation, in the many ways by which the poor were oppressed. Eventually, Israel and Judah fell under the control of new domination systems, first Assyria, then Babylon, then Persia, and then (after a few hundred years of precious self-rule), Rome. So, we now find ourselves back in Jesus’ time, with the Jews under the boot of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was a machine, guaranteeing peace throughout the empire via an iron fist. Local monarchs, such as Herod, worked within that system, mirrroring that system, in order to consolidate their own power. Religious elites also consolidated power and wealth, using the temple to enrich themselves to the detriment of the poor. We see Jesus acting against this system when he turns the money-changers out of the temple in Matthew. On Jesus’ level, in our reading for today, sitting as he was in the house with Lazarus and Mary and the disciples, the ordinary person was under layers and layers of domination systems. Through Jesus eyes, the history of his people was a story of domination and slavery perpetuating itself, and God calling for freedom and enacting liberation. Through Jesus eyes, the story of his people was the story of all people. Domination systems are the primary temptation of the human race. “You will always have the poor among you,” says Jesus…and why is that? Because that is what human beings do. We consolidate power and accumulate wealth to the detriment of others. We give in to hellish influence, which propels us toward greed and selfishness. So, Jesus came to us, to the human race, one in a long line of prophets preaching about social justice, about what we owe to each other, about what the kingdom looks like. In this moment from our text, the disciples and Mary hover in the space of seeing and understanding this truth in Jesus’ presence. All human beings will be drawn into domination structures; it is our primary sin. We will be separated from God and what God wants for us. Mary anoints Jesus in recognition of this, in recognition that Jesus will die, that —momentarily— domination systems will prevail, that the kingdom will be buried under all of our failings. This is an ongoing problem: there were thousands of years of domination systems before Jesus, and thousands still to come after. This is why it is written in Deuteronomy that we are to keep an open and generous heart towards those who are in need…because we keep forgetting. Sure, some of us forget because we are greedy and like to dominate, but we also forget because we are distracted, we forget because we want to remain pure, we forget because we are overwhelmed, we forget because we are afraid. One way to resist this forgetting is to be real about it, to mourn what is true about humanity, to pour out that cannister of perfume and anoint what is lost in our forgetting. Jesus died because we human beings cling so tightly to that which gives us power and that which gives us means. At the Easter season especially, we remember what happened to Jesus, we anoint him with our precious precious attention and love and acknowledge how he dies in each of our hearts when we give in to avarice and domination. We mourn the suffering that has happened and will still happen. “You will not always have me.” Yes, we will forget. And yet, in that anointing lies our guidepost. Swedenborg writes that the anointing of the Lord’s feet signifies a recognition of the Lord’s natural divinity.(2) “Natural Divinity.” Two words that seem like they are opposites but are in Jesus they are connected. In Jesus, God’s Divine nature became the opposite of remote, became embodied, became earthly, became one and present with the world, with our humanity. Our lives and God’s life united forever. “You will not always have me”…but we will always have a God who came to us. We will always have a God who resurrected love from the tombs of our domination systems. So we keep our eyes on what brought God here, what brought God close to us. Keep our eyes on what anchored Jesus to the world, what carried his soon-to-be-annointed feet from town to town. Keep our eyes on what it was about God that paid the ultimate sacrifice, this earthly-divine God that the prophets kept telling us was broken-hearted by the suffering of the poor. And so we daily anoint healing, service, sacrifice and love, we annoint these things as primary in our hearts. We mourn that these things are sometime destroyed and buried by the worst tendencies inside of us, the worst aspects of human society, but in that mourning we cling to what actually truly defines Jesus. As Mary wipes Jesus feet with her hair, so too will Jesus wipe the feet of the disciples after washing them, in the very next chapter. He tells them “You call me Teacher and Lord and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I , your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” (John 13:13-14) The most famous and beloved of Swedenborg’s quotes is this: All religion is of life, and the life of religion is to do good.” (4) Mary is calling us to really see Jesus, to see the life of Jesus and the good he sought to do, to mourn when that life and goodness is diminished, and to recognize that Jesus cannot be seen, worshipped or revered apart from that life. Instead of taking us away from the world, this text today takes us even deeper into what Jesus was striving for: a just world, a world in which all people are valued, a world in which domination is relinquished and resurrection embraced. Let us breathe deeply the fragrance of Mary’s annointing; it calls us to mourning but also to hope. Amen
Readings: Deuteronomy 15:1-11 1 At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. 2 This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel any loan they have made to a fellow Israelite. They shall not require payment from anyone among their own people, because the LORD’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed. 3 You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your fellow Israelite owes you. 4 However, there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, 5 if only you fully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today. 6 For the LORD your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you. 7 If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. 8 Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need. 9 Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. 10 Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. 11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land. John 12:1-8 1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages. ” 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” The Doctrine of Life #1 Religion Is All about How We Live, and the Religious Way to Live Is to Do Good. Everyone who has any religion knows and acknowledges that people who lead a good life are saved and people who lead an evil life are damned. That is, they know and acknowledge that if we lead a good life we think good things not only about God but also about our neighbor, which is not the case if we lead an evil life. What we love constitutes our life, and whatever we love we not only do freely but also think freely. So we say that life is doing good things because doing good things is inseparable from thinking good things. If this doing and this thinking are not working together in us, then they are not part of our life.
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