March 21st. 2010    Reading:  John 12.1-8

 Theme: The meal at Bethany............

Paul James, the American travel writer, writes of a short trip he and his wife made to Paris earlier this month, staying in the Victoria Palace hotel for a few days. They arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport, and took the bus to the centre of Paris. We probably all know what its like to arrive in a huge city you’ve never been to, and don’t know your way around. It was busy - really busy, so busy, he writes, that:

“We were in danger of losing our lives as we crossed the perilous Place de la Concorde ..... The sheer, horn-honking volume of traffic was enough to make you quite giddy and fall under the wheels of a speeding Renault. All that remained now was to find the 62-room luxury Victoria Palace Hotel in the rue Blaise Desgoffe, just off the rue de Rennes at the Montparnasse end. Little did we know that our gentle stroll down the Boulevards St Germain and Raspail would be such a headache. None of the maps we had to hand gave us an inkling of exactly where the Victoria Palace Hotel was in the bustle of Paris.”

Eventually, he tells us, they found the hotel in a tiny side street, which was, helpfully, unmarked on most maps.

But, he tells us, “it was well worth the effort when we checked into the Victoria Palace. it was an oasis of calm in a desert of madness and chaos — quiet, sombre, gently-lit.........”

Quiet, sombre, gently-lit............. an oasis of calm

In chapter 12 John’s gospel takes us to an evening meal, in a house in the village of Bethany. There are sixteen people present, Jesus Himself, and the twelve disciples, with Lazarus, Mary, and Martha the brothers and sisters whose house it is. And for an hour or two, this house, this room,

is an oasis of calm........in a desert of madness and chaos, quiet, sombre, gently-lit...........

The Lord Jesus, with His disciples have arrived having journeyed from the town of Ephraim twenty miles away to the north. And here they are in Bethany, at the house of the two sisters, Martha and Mary and their brother Lazarus. But there is a reason for that long journey by road from Ephraim.

A few days ago tumultuous days ago

Mary and Martha had sent a message to Jesus from Bethany, asking Him to come quickly. Lazarus was seriously ill, not expected to recover. When Jesus and the disciples arrived in the village, some days later, He was met by Martha, who told Jesus that Lazarus had slipped away four days ago.

Going to the tomb, the Lord ordered the stone to be rolled back, and in a voice of life giving power, calls “Lazarus, come out !”. And Lazarus, , steps out into the presence of Jesus, into the light of day, from the darkness and death of the tomb. The onlookers, we need hardly say, were stunned, and over the next few days crowds began to gather from all the towns around, eager to catch a glimpse of this new celebrity, Lazarus, and Jesus.

The response of the religious authorities, however, was one of alarm. As the crowds continued to grow day after day, the order was given that Jesus should be killed, and, if possible Lazarus with Him. This is why Jesus and the disciples quietly left the town and journeyed north to Ephraim.............

So, they have returned to Bethany, There are sixteen people present, Jesus Himself, and the twelve disciples, with Lazarus, Mary, and Martha the brothers and sisters whose house it is.

Here in this quiet house, in this warm, welcoming room, the guests

rest on the long cushioned benches round the table, in the soft glow of the oil lamps........ waiting for the meal to begin

thankful, perhaps, for these moments of rest and of peace So, you see,

the room in Bethany, Quiet, sombre, gently-lit

provides an oasis of calm,

a moment of peace before the fearful day that is coming............

You see, though the disciples do not know it, now they are into the very last week of Jesus’ ministry on earth, and all is unfolding towards the Cross. From this evening in Bethany, there are six days to go until the great annual festival of the Passover, the next Sabbath. Tomorrow, Jesus and the disciples will set off for Jerusalem. But none in that room, except the Lord Himself know what that those days contain. Five days away is the Cross and His death, when the Son of Man will be lifted up........

But here, for now, the Lord Jesus, rests, Jesus who by the power of the living God has brought Lazarus, the beloved brother of Martha and Mary, back from the dead.

After the meal, Mary appears with a jar of pure nard, the most expensive perfume that could be bought - worth, it seems, many thousands of pounds. She has looked for and found the most precious thing they have in the house, this flask of perfume and out of deep and profound devotion, gratitude and love she pours this perfume on the Lord’s feet, in thanksgiving for her brother’s life restored.

There is a famous Greek icon, about a thousand years old, which depicts this moment, Painted on a gold background in dazzling contrasting colours, the Greek icon shows us the table in the room in Bethany, with the cups and bowls on it. Jesus, is seated, dressed in a cloak of deep, rich blue. Mary, dressed in bright crimson, is kneeling before Jesus, with the flask of perfume in dazzling white.

Martha stands in the background, ready to take away the dishes.

Five of the disciples sit round the table, one of them, has pushed forward his hand in complaint, this is Judas.

It is worthwhile taking some time to look at each of the three here in turn,

Judas, Mary, and Jesus. And what the gospel shows us about them.

First Judas.

When Mary pours out the oil,

Judas says:

"Why wasn't this perfume sold for three hundred silver coins and the money given to the poor?"

Outside in the streets Bethany, and on the country roads - are the poor. They have only the clothes they wear, many travelling the length and breadth of the land trying to find work, to buy something to eat.

And of course, we see Jesus all through the gospels in the company of the poor, the outcasts, that’s why the teachers of the law called him

“the friend of sinners !”

But when Judas says: "Why wasn't this perfume sold for three hundred silver coins and the money given to the poor?"

The gospel makes it clear, that for Judas something deeper is going on,

for him, this in fact is a critical moment.

the awful, the dread moment when his trust in the Lord Jesus seems to falter and fail

Now, of course, we see that in the gospels.........

The father of a sick boy called out to Jesus

I do have faith, then his faith seemed to falter and fail and he cried but not enough !

but then he called out Help me to have more.........

and Jesus did what he asked............

when Peter tried to walk towards Jesus through the water on the Sea of Galilee,

his faith seemed to falter and fail and he sank down,

but Peter shouted out Save me Lord, and we are told that at once Jesus reached out and took hold of him.............

but as his faith faltered and failed Judas seems to have turned away at this point...........

perhaps we have even come to a point like this ourselves in difficult times

we need only call, and Jesus will take hold of us. He never fails........

Look at Mary............

the old icon shows her with the flask of perfume painted in shimmering white, and gazing towards Jesus she pours the oil over Jesus' feet.

And neither the icon nor the gospel leave us in any doubt that this is a most profound moment of - thanksgiving, adoration, worship.

For Mary earthly concerns have fallen away here,

the expense of the perfume,

the threats of the religious authorities,

what others think,

and, in thanksgiving for her brother’s life restored,

eternal things have come to matter above all..............

in deep and profound devotion, gratitude, love and worship, looking to Jesus,

she pours out this perfume.

She has found life in Jesus, both her brother’s and her own,

as we do, when

in deep and profound devotion, gratitude, love and worship, for our life restored,

we look to Jesus and eternal things come to matter above all..............

And finally, look at Jesus,

When we do so, we see His deep, unshakeable trust in the Father,

and His deep unshakeable purpose, His steadfast purpose

in going towards Jerusalem.......

Jesus says: "[It was intended] that Mary should save this perfume for the day of my burial.”

Even though the Lord knows what lies ahead in Jerusalem, the dark night, the trial, the Cross on Calvary, yet still He has set His path for Jerusalem

His words are these, recorded for us in John 16 “I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father."

His death is now only five days away.

Yet we see the deep, unshakeable trust of Jesus in the Father,

and His deep unshakeable purpose, steadfast purpose

in going towards Jerusalem.......

and this is for us ! For our life and our salvation !

His word is this: I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all to myself.

..............so that everyone who believes in me may have eternal life.

This is His deep unshakeable purpose, steadfast purpose

and the deep unshakeable purpose, steadfast purpose of His love

is to give Himself for us,

to open up that great and open, free and gracious way of salvation, of life,

the deep unshakeable steadfast purpose of the love that He has for you and me...............the love that seeks us out.

AMEN.