FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT Year C 3rd April 2022
What is
your faith worth to you?
Do you
consider yourself to be a practical person?
Do you balance your books and budget well? Do you seldom allow yourself the luxury of
physical delights? Certainly, in the
season of Lent we strive to exercise self-control and limit our luxuries. Lent is a time of identifying with the poor
and exercising self-control through some kind of abstinence. A time of prayer and reflection. In contrast we have a lavish act occurring in
the telling of our Gospel story, of what seems to be pointless exuberant
indulgence.
In fact,
our first reading seems to be in contrast with the season of Lent. There is a sense of joyful expectation of
something great happening- a sense of victory.
In the end, we know that victory is coming to this Gospel story. We know that Jesus rose from the grave,
conquering death and sin, but at this point in our Lenten journey we are still
looking grimly at the cross and at the suffering to come.
In our
world, we are looking at inflated petrol prices. Things seem grim. We feel pain for those in
Ukraine, praying and wishing that the Russians would have mercy and cease their
onslaught. It seems like the whole world
is in a season of poverty and hardship…. Much like our Lenten journey, a season
of hardship. Lent is the season that
leads us to the cross… - but the cross isn’t
pointless… it ends with victory and resurrection.
In this
life, more hardships are yet to come, there is no doubt. Life on planet Earth is fraught with
pain. If we come down to personal
levels, we find friends struggling with cancers, daughters with broken hearts
because they can’t fall pregnant, financial hardships, natural disasters like
the floods impacting such that any sense of home is lost – and it is probably
about now that many of those are feeling the full impact of that loss.
We are on
the road to the cross. We are in a
wilderness of grief and loss. We are in
a desert where the things that should come easily to refresh us are missing,
and we still can’t plan a night out without considering if all of our invitees
are double vaccinated.
In the
midst of this we have a word from God through Isaiah declaring; “I give water
in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the
people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.” In the midst of our hardship there is a way
of refreshment – but it only comes from Jesus.
In Lent we
take up some kind of abstinence. We
focus on our faith and we pray and we give.
Sometimes when we fast and pray we expect that because of these actions
that God will act with blessing. Almost
like, “Hey God… if I do this, then you should do that for me.” I doubt that we would put it in those words,
but we all can, and do naturally tend towards thinking; “Hey I do what is
right… why are these bad things happening to me?” “Surely God knows how much I try to do good
and should be rewarding me.”
In stark
contrast to our very natural way of thinking, we need to reflect on the words
of Saint Paul. Saint Paul, was brought
up to be a righteous man. He studied
diligently and was an A student. He was
brilliant. He was also a particular
personality type that was fastidious and particular. He ensured that he did everything correctly
according to God’s law. He fasted and
prayed and gave sacrifices and he didn’t stop there. He was so zealous for the law of God that he
set out to persecute the Christians. He
put his faith into action. Surely, this
was a man who was going to be welcomed by God.
If one could be welcomed into the
kingdom by their good works and adherence to their own form of Religion, God
would surely have left Paul alone.
Paul
believed that he was God’s right-hand man.
He was a person of position and influence. It was Paul who gave the authority for the
stoning of Stephen, the first martyr of the church. Paul, then called Saul, believed he was acting
righteously – how can we hold this against him?
You can believe in God and be zealous in your faith and still get it so
wrong.
But Paul
knows better than any of us, that our good intentions, if they are not done
through Christ, are worthless. Paul
knows better than any of us that our righteous acts, if they are not done
through Christ, are worthless. Paul
completely and thoroughly understood that there is no salvation apart from
Christ and, most importantly, this is a salvation by faith in Jesus and HIS
actions and God’s grace and NOT by anything that we do to earn that favour. Jesus is the key!
Saint Paul declares
that he strives to attain the heavenly goal by sharing in Christ’s suffering,
but make no mistake, he is aware that his own salvation is nothing to do with
his works, but by the grace of God, yet he presses on toward the goal. Note his words; “For his sake I have
suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I
may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that
comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the
righteousness from God based on faith.”
Compared to
this gift of God, all else is incomparable.
How much is this gift of God worth?
Sharing in suffering for the Gospel message? A whole jar of perfume?
There are
many Christians who don’t believe we should have anything but the bare
essentials for our Churches…. Or would
much rather be practical stewards by investing in programs or practicalities,
than in beautifying a church. For the
most part, most would agree. But Jesus
accepts the expensive perfume (about a year’s wage worth), simply to wash his
feet. Can you imagine that? A year’s wage! Think of that in today’s terms, apparently
about $66000, and understand what extravagance was given to wash those feet.
In the
heart of Mary there was no doubt she was washing the feet of the Messiah. Notice that neither her brother or sister stopped
her from doing this. They had all
experienced the resurrection of Lazarus and this act was an act of love and
worship and gratitude. Yet Jesus shows
us that it is more than that, it is a prophetic act. Jesus is going to die and she has anointed him
for his death.
Martha and
Lazarus knew what the gift of God was worth….. and they approved of Mary’s
giving. Have we considered how much the
gift of God is worth to us? We are a
practical people. We give what we can,
but I wonder what we would give if we had our eyes opened to the same vision of
the gift of God, as Mary and of Saint Paul.
While many
will condemn the riches of the churches in Rome, Michelangelo painted the
masterpiece ceiling of the Sistine chapel as a commissioned art work, yet still
as an expression of his own devotion and commissioned by the devotion of
another. In our devotion to God, we
might give to the poor, perform acts of hospitality or other works. We are all different and the painter will
paint a master piece, the song writer writes a song, and the architect might
design an intricate building. None of
these will win our way into heaven, but I hope that we are not like Judas,
discouraging an act of extravagant worship.
Mary’s worship
was extravagant but Jesus declared it right that she should use this for the
day of his burial. And suddenly the room
becomes solemn with the realization that Jesus was on his way to the cross.
Jesus knew
where he was going.
From my own
observation, when a person is dying with cancer, perspectives change. Some things are really important and other
things are not.
Jesus knew
he was on the journey to the cross.
Jesus knew the priorities of God the father and the gift that he was
about to bring about for the world. A
gift that only he could pay for… a price too dear for us. Only a person without sin could die to save
us. Us, in all our self-righteousness
could never be so perfect so as to attain eternal life. We could not die to save ourselves let alone
the whole world. We can not do it! We, without Jesus, are separated from God…
loved, but in our imperfection, separated.
If Saint Paul’s perfect living was not perfect enough then we can rest
assured that there are none who are perfect enough…. Only Jesus and this is our
Gospel message. The Good news of the Gospel is that through Jesus, God see us as his perfect son.
Only Jesus
could save us. He was born the son of
God, God incarnate. He is the truth, the
life and the way and none can come to the father, but through him. Our Gospel message is vital, and it is vital
that we understand it because without it there is no eternal life. Life is only through Jesus. How much is this worth to us?
We take it
for granted and we complain about things that in the light of eternity are so
insignificant. But rest assured, he does
care for us and all those little and big things that cause us grief. But just for this week, as we journey with
Jesus to the cross, reflect on the enormous consequence of this Gospel. Jesus knowingly went to Jerusalem to die so
that we might be saved for eternity. In
his dying he imparts the power of his eternal life to us all.
In this
life there is pain, but remember the words of Isaiah who declares that God
makes a way in the desert. Rivers do
sometimes flow in the desert, but it isn’t the normal thing. God makes a way for us. In the desert of our pain and grief and even
confusion, God brings us the waters of eternal life through the gift that Jesus
bought with his blood and his broken body.
Eternal life… what is it worth to you?
Jesus brings us into a renewed relationship with God the father. What is that worth to you? A year’s wage? No…. it is worth our whole life. Let us offer ourselves to God …...our whole
self.
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