It was the
summer of ’89 at Lutheran Camp Edgewood.
It was the year that fellow counsellor TJ Woods and myself each had a
plantar wart. This meant that every
evening after supper we had the pleasure of a 20 minute break --- we would go
off to the camp nurse to soak our feet in salt water for 10 mins, pick away at
the skin, re-doctor the spot with acid cream and clean gauze. The best part of
the evening was the conversation while we sat on the picnic table waiting. We shared a lot of intimate things about
ourselves – we were after all picking at our feet; we knew things about each
other that no one else found out about during the summer, and it was all
because we sat and commiserated and listened.
In the 6th
century Pope Gregory took the stories of women from the Gospels, like the one
we read this morning of Mary anointing Jesus’ feet, and conflated them. The various stories were seen to be the tale
of one woman and her encounters with Jesus:
the wild woman demon possessed and cured of 7 spirits, Mary sitting at
Jesus’ feet, Mary anointing Jesus feet and so on. To make matters worse Pope
Gregory identified Mary - Mary Magdalene- as a reformed prostitute. And as is so often the case, art followed
suit, the women who anointed Jesus’ feet is identified with Mary Magdalene;
painted with fiery wild hair, an off the shoulder blouse, and jar of ointment. Within Christian tradition two stereotypical
kinds of women were born: pure like Mary the mother of Jesus or as Mary
Magdalene had been, sexually sinful.
The reading of
scripture has changed dramatically in some circles since the time of Pope
Gregory. Scholars have taken the time to
study the stories and separate them out into individual units; individual
experiences of women and Jesus’. Each woman – each Mary- has a story.
Consider the
stories of the characters portrayed in scripture: the Marys, the other women,
those healed. I have wondered about the perspective of the lesser known
disciples, Bartholemew, Judas not Iscariot, Nathaniel, Andrew -what stories did
they tell, sitting by the side of the lake while washing and picking at their
feet; as they sat, commiserated, and listened. How would they have spoken about
their encounter with Jesus? How did they reflect on Mary anointing Jesus’ feet?
So sad we only get the insight of Judas.
Today’s
reading gives us a small window into the world of Jesus’ close friends. Jesus’ is at the house of his friend Lazarus,
and his sisters Mary and Martha. In a
bedroom community of Jerusalem, the location is ideal as a place to relax
either coming or going to the big city. The biblical record has given more than
one account of the hospitality shown by the family and the intimacy of the
relationship with Jeus. One can only imagine what has been shared among the
characters – the least not being Lazarus raised from the dead.
There is very
little that I wouldn’t have done for my friend TJ over the summers we spent
working together at camp: giving each other part of their time away from the
cabin at night to blow off steam or relax, sharing portions of the dinner meal;
covering for them; smuggling contraband; sticking up for each other. I was thankful for our understanding of each
other, mutual respect for our leadership styles when working together,
accepting each other for who they were---
neither of us raised anyone from the dead--- yet, we would have
sacrificed greatly for the other if the need had arisen.
I think of
Mary figuring out what she was going to offer as a thank-you for the intimate
friendship, Jesus going beyond friendship and raising her brother. I’m sure that you have been in relationships
where you love, respect, are thankful – so much so- that you want to gift the
person with something special.
Mary has found
a way to honour her friend. She uses what to most in her day was a costly jar
of ointment; Lazarus and his sisters were fairly well off… ; to find an
appropriate gift, not a token, but a gift from the heart -
And that is
it, it is not about the cost of the ointment, but, rather, the anointing of the
feet.
How many of
you like your feet to be touched? Or do
you like to touch the feet of others?
Not so much
from my perspective, people touching my feet.
I wonder what
Mary was thinking. I would like to hear
her story, not just the story that John records. John is so matter of fact ---
each action symbolized an important point that his passion narrative was trying
to impart: Jesus was at the house to remind everyone that Lazarus had been
raised from the dead, the ointment was used to foreshadow Jesus’ death, a death
that Jesus knows about, Mary prepares the body for burial – while the disciples
are still wandering in the dark. What would Mary tell us about this intimate,
grace-filled, overflowing thankful heart, encounter with Jesus?
Recently I
have heard a lot of people mention how the church has significantly changed
over the past few decades. The change
has happened since women have been ordained as pastors. Now I am not suggesting that the change in
the church has come solely at the hands of women priests, however, something
happened over this time and I believe it started in the pulpit. Women craft and
tell stories differently. Women preachers changed how experiences with God were
expressed, relying more on intimate story rather than doctrinal truths- This reformed the way everyone told God’s
story. People, men and women, were given permission to share emotion, intimate
details, one’s feelings and understandings.
Theological reflection was put into everyone’s hands and the tools were
given to craft one’s own story.
Giving voice
to the vastness of God through the ages, in our time, and in time to come is
the point of our Lenten journey. During
the 40 days of Lent we have been told stories of hope, redemption, salvation
--- the texts are pointing us to the Greatest Story ever told- the discipline of Lent has been about sitting,
commiserating, and listening (as if sitting beside the person telling the story);
intimately getting to know God through the exchange of peoples’ experiences of
God. Lent is a time in the desert, so to speak, where we gather manna- the
pieces of bread, story, that have been shared from the past to move us in this
time and place, into hopefully a brighter future.
When pieces of manna are not picked up, when
they melt in the sun or blow away in the wind – when we loss a person’s story
or heaven forbid a peoples’ story – their experience of God- of Christ in our
midst - then we loss a piece of the
truth. Perhaps we do not fully
understand God because we either have lost or silenced or failed to listen to
pieces of the truth.
This week
Kairos is pleading with church communities to sign a petition that has had
little hype. It is a petition to support
recommendation #62 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission – education for
reconciliation. The recommendation is
for age appropriate school curriculum across the provinces which includes the
stories of First Nation’s people and that of their land or territory. It means
telling stories from both sides (and all the stories in between) of residential
schools, reservations, and treaty making.
I wonder: why
do we not fully understand God? What truths have been lost, silenced, or failed
to be listened to…
At Progressivechristianity.org –
the
Greatest story ever told is told in a unique way. This Lent one of the stories presents the
Stations of the Cross with a twist. The stations of the Cross are interpreted in ways that
connect each station with the universal human experiences of condemnation and
suffering, grace and mercy. To walk these stations and contemplate them
actively is to retrace the steps that lead to destruction of ourselves and
others. It is also a chance for us to see that at every station, we could take
a different turn, choosing life instead of death. The stations are a
confrontation with the very worst of our human nature, but in squarely facing
suffering and evil within and among ourselves, we can transcend it, and experience
the life on the other side of the cross
Each station offers a scene
from Jesus’ final days and invites the reader to enter it via an intimate
telling of a story. For instance:
At the station where Simon carries Jesus’ cross – the
question asked, What crosses or burdens do you carry
for others?; At
the station where: Jesus falls- What hurts have you
experienced?; Jesus crucified – when have you lost God.; Jesus dies – what part
of you has died?
The idea is
that our experiences in life connects us to God’s story. It is important that we share our pieces of
manna, our part of the story; we are to tell our stories because if we don’t
the whole truth about God isn’t revealed.
The world will only continue to see in part.
Palm Sunday –
the Three Days -Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter- best story ever told – is
going to be shared here starting next Sunday. You are encouraged to share it.
Invite others to hear the story as in the Gospels and through hymns; in
greetings and cards; and through your articulation of life and death and life
-including suffering, vulnerability, times when you are weak. And most
importantly articulate the pieces that have carried you though; remember the
intimate experiences – those pieces you share when washing and picking at feet
– from these intimate moments grow great stories of resurrection and
thanksgiving.
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