JOHN 12:1-8

12:1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table.

3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said,

5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”

6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.

7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.

8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

9 When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.

10 So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

It is more blessed to receive than it is to give. Now I know that that isn’t what Jesus said.  Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than it is to receive.”  However, even Jesus would say that sometimes you need to allow yourself to be on the receiving end of a gift. Consider if you will the mother who woke upon one morning to the sounds of chaos in her kitchen. I’m not sure who the mother was but the description of what happened sounds like something that Irma Bombeck might have written. It’s Mother’s Day and your children have decided to serve you breakfast in bed.  You brace yourself though when you hear a crash followed by the sound of a barking dog and a voice that hollers, “Get his paws out of there.  Mom has to eat that you know!”  A couple of minutes later another voices hollers, “Dad!  Where’s the chili sauce?”  You’re tempted to climb out of bed and investigate when another voice whispers, “Don’t you dare bleed on Mom’s breakfast.”  You resist the temptation though and a few minutes later your children appear with a breakfast that consists of a glass of watery juice, five pieces of blackened bacon that disintegrate when you breathe on them, a mound of scrambled eggs that would feed a division of Marines and four pieces of dry toast.  Your children line up beside the bed to watch you eat and from time to time ask why you’re not drinking your Kool-Aid or touching the cantaloupe with black olives lined up on top to spell the word M-O-M.  Later in the morning, after you have decided it would be easier to move to a new house than clean the kitchen, you return to your bed where, if you’re wise, you’ll reflect on this day.  For the first time, your children have given instead of received.” 

And I’ll add this.  That grace filled moment occurred because you allowed yourself to be on the receiving end of their gift. Yes, sometimes it is more blessed to receive. 

That’s what Jesus did that day in Bethany.  Jesus allowed himself to be on the receiving end of a wonderful gift.  While just about a week to go before the Crucifixion Jesus was at the home of his good friends, Mary, Martha and Lazarus. While they were eating Mary walked over to Jesus with an alabaster jar of expensive ointment and poured it on him.  Then she wiped his feet with her hair.

Mary may have done to express her gratitude since Jesus had just raised her brother Lazarus from the dead.  It was a powerful gesture of love, but it didn’t go over very well with Judas. He criticized Mary and pointed out that the ointment could have been sold and the money could have been used to help the poor. Jesus didn’t scold Mary though.  Jesus praised Mary. Mark tells us in his gospel that Jesus told all of the disciples to, “Leave her alone.” Then he asked them a question. “Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me… she has anointed my body beforehand for burial.  And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.” (Mark 14:6-9)

Jesus graciously and gratefully received the gift that Mary gave him that day. How are you when it comes to receiving gifts like that?  Now we’re not talking about the Christmas presents and birthday gifts that you’re supposed to get every year.  What we’re really talking about are those unexpected gifts that come to you out of the blue.  For example, you wake up after a snowstorm and discover that your neighbor has plowed your driveway.  A friend offers you a ticket to a sold out football game.  Someone you work with offers to stay late and finish up your work so you can go to your daughter’s dance recital. Someone from church offers to do your grocery shopping because you’ve gotten to the point where you really shouldn’t drive anymore.

Do you receive those gifts graciously and gratefully or do those gifts leave you feeling awkward and uncomfortable? Maybe you feel you don’t deserve the gift or you feel that someone else deserves the gift more.  Maybe you find it accept the gift because you don’t want to feel indebted to the person. Or maybe you find it hard to accept the gift because you don’t want to feel like you’re a burden to anyone.  That’s happens a lot as you get older.  So, instead of accepting the gift you politely say, “Thank you, but no thanks.”

Jesus didn’t have any trouble accepting the gift that Mary gave to him that day. Sometimes it is more blessed to receive than it is to give. Now this isn’t meant to suggest that it’s okay to be a taker or that it’s okay to let people take advantage of you. After all, Jesus doesn’t want us to end up like the brothers who got into an argument one morning while sitting at the breakfast table.  While their mother was busy cooking pancakes 5 year-old Kevin and 3 year-old Ryan started arguing over who should get the first pancake. The mother saw a teaching opportunity in the dispute.  “Now boys,” she said, “if Jesus were sitting here, he would say, ‘Let my brother have the first pancake. I can wait.’ At that point Kevin promptly turned to his younger brother and said, “Okay Ryan, you be Jesus.”

Jesus wasn’t being selfish when he let Mary anoint him.  He was simply letting her give him a gift that she needed to give and that he needed to receive.  It brought the two of them together and the result was a beautiful and wonderful grace filled moment.  If you want to experience a little bit of heaven here on earth then you have to do more than give to others.  You have to and graciously and gratefully receive the gifts that others have to share with you.

One of my favorite stories is about a man who died and when to heaven.  Before he passed through the Pearly Gates however, the man asked Saint Peter if he could spend a few moments in hell to see what it was like.  His request was granted.  When the man got there though he was surprised to see a long table piled high with all kinds of delicious and delectable foods.  The people seated around the table though were starving and miserable.  The man couldn’t understand why until he noticed that the only utensils they had to eat with were four foot long forks.  That image haunted the man as he returned to heaven.  When he got to heaven though he was even more surprised to see an identical table piled high with all the same delicious and delectable foods. The people around the table in heaven, however, we’re all well fed and happy even though they also had to use the same four foot long forks.  The man was puzzled and asked St. Peter about it.  “How come everyone in hell is starving and miserable,” he asked. “while everyone in heaven is well fed and happy even though they all have to use the same four foot long forks?”   St. Peter smiled.  “It’s really very simple,” he explained.  “In heaven they have learned to feed each other.”

A couple of weeks ago a young man showed up here at the church who allowed himself to be fed.  I was in the middle of our Tuesday night Bible Study.  Now I have to say that God works in mysterious ways.  I say that because I had just told the class that most of the requests for help from people outside the church really aren’t legitimate.  In fact, I said I could count the requests for help that aren’t scams on less than two hands. About ten minutes after I said that one of our bell ringers poked her head into the classroom and said, There’s a young man out here who needs to see you.”  Well, It turned out to be a young man who had been living on the street for two months.  He was walking from Bradford to the train station in Reading and had gotten lost. He only had $4.50 in his pocket but he didn’t ask for food.  He didn’t ask for money.  He just wanted to know which way he had to walk to get to the train station in Reading.  As I talked with him I learned that he was originally from Texas and that moved up here about 7 years ago.  He had been married but was now divorced and his wallet had been stolen.  He was heading into Boston so he could get a new picture ID.  After talking with him I realized that this was a person who really needed a little help.  Because of everything going on here at the church I couldn’t drive him to the train station myself.  So, I got him a taxi and paid the fare. As he climbed into the taxi someone gave me $20 to give to him for a train ticket and food.  He was very gracious and grateful. In the receiving of those gifts there was a grace filled moment and I will add that I can now count on two hands the number of people who have come to me and really needed the help.  Yes.  God does work in mysterious ways. 

If you want to experience a little bit of heaven here on earth just remember that you have to do more than feed the people around you. You also have to allow the people around you to also feed you.  In doing that you will discover that there is a difference between being needy and accepting the fact that we really do need each other.  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

March 21, 2010