Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.  There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him.  Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped them[a] with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said,  “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?”  (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.)  Jesus 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.” (John 12: 1-8)

“Live and Let Live” (AA slogan)

When I was at Queen’s doing my M.Div, we heard through the grapevine that someone had bequeathed a large sum of money for renovations to the Theological College.  A really really large sum of money.  There were strings attached to this donation that included keeping the space dedicated for theological education.  All of us were abuzz.  Could this keep our beloved school afloat?  What a great thing to have happen!  All of us started discussing the renos and what it would look like to keep the school open for another 50 years.  It was sooooo exciting. 

Until one of our classmates stood up, yelled at all of us “can you just for a moment see how much good this money could do out in the community?” and then flounced out of the classroom in a flurry of righteous indignation.

Now this classmate was prone to righteous indignation and we were all quite used to them flouncing out of classrooms mid-discussion.  So we just continued.  It turns out that the money given to the school was not enough to renovate the building, or to keep the programming afloat and so Queen’s turned down the offer.  And this whole thing got me thinking about what exactly we are being called to in terms of stewardship of our resources.  

I have the same ponderings years later when I saw a downtown church in our area move out of their borrowed space and into a big warehouse space in the ‘suburbs’ of my small town.  They had had a really robust ministry in the downtown that included a meal program and a welcoming space for people who were unhoused.  I, personally thought that if there was a room I could flounce out of with righteous indignation over this decision, I would.  It seemed like such a waste, and such a turn around from their ministry.  In turns out that they are doing just fine as a community and still do a lot of outreach in our town.  Even though they now spend money on space. 

Same wrestling with righteous indignation when I saw another church do a massive renovation.  Or other communities worship in buildings built for 500, even though they struggle to get a dozen together on a Sunday morning.  And so on and so on. 

And I realize that I have huge opinions on how we should be spending our resources.  And that I think I’m absolutely right and justified in those opinions.  And that I would choose to flounce out of rooms yelling my opinion if I thought I could get away with it. 

And so this week when I read the Gospel story about Mary anointing Jesus with expensive perfume, and hearing Judas say “what the h-e double hockey stick”, I found myself sympathizing with Judas, much to my chagrin.  Even though the story told us that Judas was not a good person.  And even though we’ve always been taught that ‘being Mary’ was the way to go. 

And so I wonder, why it was the Judas was scolded for his attitude.  And I wonder if its because;

We have this pesky tendency to do things for ourselves rather than to really think about what is the best for God’s kingdom. 

I wonder if Judas was not necessarily scolded because he was wrong about service and outreach, but just because he said what he said because he wanted to look like a better disciple than Mary.  I wonder if Judas was scolded because he was getting ready to flounce out of the room rather than stay in his discomfort and really listen in community and equity to others.  I wonder if Judas was scolded because he was more concerned with appearing ‘right’ than appearing devoted.  I wonder if Judas was scolded because he turned the act of service into an ego trip, instead of simply ensuring that all of God’s creation got what they needed to. 

Because, really, most of the time when I’m getting ready to flounce out of a room in righteous indignation its because, well, as painful as it is to admit it, I want to look better than the other; more enlightened, more spiritual; you know “holier than thou”. 

So my dear Bethel friends, I’m not sure what I need to say to you today because I’m thinking that you all are further along this continuum of grace than I am!  Maybe just hold me to account and help me let others make decisions with their resources that they have discerned is God’s call for them and their community.  And maybe we all need to recognize that the choices we would make, are not necessarily the best for everyone and we need to hold respect for others regardless of whether or not we believe we are right.  (And maybe, just maybe, we are more like Judas than we are like Mary). 

And flouncing out of the room in righteous indignation really only buys us eye rolls from the rest of the community. 

Blessings today, and remember you are Loved.

~Rev. Lynne