Family Dinner: Can You Smell It?

Lent 5

Year C

6 March 2025

Isaiah 43:16-21

Psalm 126

Philippians 3:4b-14

John 12:1-8

Creator God,

you prepare a new way in the wilderness

and water the desert.

Help us to recognize your hand

working miracles beyond our imagining.

Open our hearts to be transformed

by the new thing you are doing,

so that our lives may proclaim

the extravagance of your love for all,

and its presence in Jesus Christ. Amen. 

________________________________________

“1Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2There they gave a dinner for him.” (Jn 12:1-2)

In all of the ways that we think about life, how many of us are able to recognize the diversity of the qualities of a life of faith that we are able to find, in the gospel before us today?

Today we see a family, and we see them gathered around the dinner table.

Around this table, we see the presence of the Trinity, we see loved ones, and we see the past, the present and the future, all right here in this room around this table.

The gospel tells us: “1Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, ... 2There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him.” (Jn 12:1-2)

But like most family gatherings, there is so much more happening than we see on the surface.

On the surface, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus have put together the kind of a seasonal family meal my grandmother would have put on the table when we were all in attendance.

There would be turkey, and stuffing. There would be mashed potatoes, gravy, and three different kinds of vegetables, and two varieties of salads.

The rolls would be fresh baked that day from the bakery two blocks away, there are at least two kinds of pickles. The butter would be rock hard because she stored it in the refrigerator.

And then there’s dessert: at least three different kinds of pie, and maybe a pudding. The tea is hot and strong enough to dull the sweetness of the dessert because it’s been steeping since dinner was laid out on the table.

You can almost see the table groaning under the weight of all of those dishes, and the table is set for all to be seated.

But aside from the fact that Lazarus will be washing dishes late into the night, there is so much more taking place in Bethany, tonight.

While Lazarus is playing host and Martha is serving, Mary comes into the room with a jar filled with Nard. The gospel tells us: “3Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” (Jn 12:3)

In Mark’s gospel (14:3), the location is different, the woman is unnamed, and the jar is described as alabaster. But in John’s gospel, the focus is on the effect of the ointment not only on Mary and on Jesus, but on all who breath in the almost overwhelming scent of the perfume and so much more.

Can you see it? Lazarus is standing at the head of the table, a carving knife in his hand as he prepares to carve the turkey.

Mary comes into the room and she’s suddenly shy. She’s clutching the jar of perfume to her chest.

As she approaches Jesus, who is reclined at the table, she opens the jar and begins to pour it over his feet. And as she pours the ointment, as the scent spreads throughout the room, she weeps.

She weeps as the perfume overflows his feet and onto his couch, over the sides of the couch, and onto the floor.

While she’s weeping, Mary falls to her knees at Jesus’ feet, she’s now kneeling in the overflowing puddle of perfume, and she begins to wipe his feet with her hair

All the while, the rest of the room is both in shock at her actions and they’re inhaling the scent of the perfume deeply.

Can you smell it?

We’re told: “The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” (Jn 12:3b)

As she does this, no one moves, and all are surprised at her actions, but not Jesus.

By now the scent must be an overwhelming overlay to the fragrance of Martha’s cooking, and it overlays each of our lives as well.

Can you smell it?

In this anointing, as she pours the perfume, as she weeps over his feet, and wipes the ointment with her hair, there are a lot of things going on.

The fragrance of the perfume is wafting through the space and we all breathe it in deeply in the same way that the Holy Spirit comes into our lives.

Mary is anointing Jesus for burial a week ahead of the passion and the crucifixion. She may be doing this on instinct, on the urging of the Holy Spirit, but it foreshadows what’s to come.

Can you smell it?

At the same time, Judas is the only one who objects to her actions, again foreshadowing the events of the next week.

“7Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial.” (Jn 12:7)

And then there’s wiping the perfume with her hair, such an intimate gesture, but one that equally honours his sacrifice on our behalf, as well.

As you know I love to watch movies, and one of the newer movies on Netflix is the latest installment of the Fast and Furious franchise.

The main character Dominic Toretto, early in the movie, says, “I don’t care about dying, I care about protecting the people that I love.”

And we’re able to see this in what’s happening around the dinner table, as well.

So much of Jesus’ prayer on Maundy Thursday, is for the strength of each of us, of the disciples and apostles to be able to get through the trials of the next few days.

We can see this as Jesus washes our feet, as he he gives us the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper his aim is to encourage our faith, our spiritual fortitude in the face of the actions of the passion and crucifixion because at this point the resurrection isn’t even a consideration in the minds and hearts of the family who is gathered around the table, tonight.

And we can see this echoed in today’s gospel, as well.

Today, Mary washes the feet of our Lord and Saviour.

Today, Martha has cooked a meal that has everyone’s belly rumbling with the sights and the scents of the food.

Today, we see that although he isn’t the host,

Jesus is surrounded by those whom he loves, and they, we love him in return.

As Mary anoints him for what is to come, Jesus’ love for all who are there, who are here, is at the forefront of it all.

I recall reading such authors as Eli Weisel, when I was in university. Weisel’s famous work is called “Night”, and he wrote about the experiences of Auschwitz and Buchenwald.

What was clear in his writing was that those who managed to hang onto their faith in the face of such atrocities, even if only by a fingernails grip, these were the ones who likely would survive the experiences of the camps.

Today, is six days before the Passover. Today the Holy Spirit wafts through the room on the scent of the perfume filling all who inhale deeply of the scent, of the Spirit.

All of us who breathe in deeply are filled with faith to be able to endure what is to come.

Today, as Jesus enjoys a quiet moment with the family he has made, he equally prepares for what’s to come.

Even as he rebukes Judas’ claim that this perfume could have been used to benefit the poor, Jesus reminds us all that although his love remains in the world, he needs to take these steps toward the cross and to fulfill the will of God for all who believe.

So, what does this mean for us, here, today?

How does this anointing at Bethany before the Lord’s Supper, before the betrayal, before the passion and the crucifixion affect you and me, here, today?

After all, we’re at the table with our hosts. We’re inhaling the delectable scents of supper, and now the scent of the perfume.

Can you smell the supper? It’s all your favourite dishes.

Can you smell the perfume? Such an intoxicating scent as it fills our nostrils and encourages us to inhale deeply, bringing the Holy Spirit anew into our lives and hearts.

How will the Holy Spirit invigorate our lives of faith? How will that help us to grow into our lives of faith even in the dark periods of life? Cling to our faith when we can’t see what tomorrow will bring?

Will we, like the Jews who survived Auschwitz, Birkenau, and the other camps hold that mote of faith in our hearts, like the flame of a candle on the darkest of nights?

Will we like those around the table approach the Passover, the Passion, and the Crucifixion with dread and fear?

Or will we bring the hope of the resurrection with us into the experiences of Holy Week?

Today we sit at the table, in the home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha, and we experience the will of God in the hospitality, in the meal, and in the scent of the perfume. We experience the Trinity.

God’s abundance all around us fills us, and it encourages us to breathe deeply, to invite the Holy Spirit into our hearts, and to hold it there as we face the time to come.

We are able to share this feast with those who aren’t with us at the table, so that they, too, can feel the love of God’s abundance, experience the scent of the Holy Spirit, and know that Jesus’ love is present for all who believe.

Amen.