Reading: John 12.1-11, Jesus is Anointed at Bethany

A question that makes its way around seasons like these with alarming regularity is the question of “why?” That is, “Why is this happening?” “Why me?” “Why them, and not me?” The question of “why” is often put towards God in times of suffering and uncertainty. This is to be expected and totally appropriate: we assume, if anyone is to have answers, surely it must be God. And as quickly as difficult questions are asked in a time such as this, so too do we often provide quick and simple answers. In the midst of something as widespread and devastating as the coronavirus, we can rush to blame God, or to defend God; to blame people or to defend people. The question of “why” is a deeply relevant one right now, and I would encourage each of you to sit with it; do not rush to answers, especially those answers which seek not the truth, but only security.

Holy Week walks us into an even deeper whirlwind of “why?”- why did Jesus have to die? Why did Judas betray him? Why was this the kind of death he had to die? Here again, often we are offered a myriad of answers, some deeply matter of fact- Jesus upset the political order; he offended the religious establishment; so on. Some other answers are deeply theological- we often call these “atonement theories”- and some say that Jesus died to absorb the wrath of God against sinners; others say that Jesus died to defeat the power of sin and death; still others say that Jesus died as a demonstration of how far one must go in loving one’s enemies. Here again, my suggestion would be: do not rush to answers. Pray and meditate on the scriptures; talk about them in small groups; come to the Lord with and open mind and heart; study those who have already worked to interpret these texts.

So as you begin the walk towards the cross with Jesus this Holy Week, my encouragement to you would be this: do not rush to easy answers; walk patiently and slowly with the Gospel narratives throughout the week; do not blow past your questions, your own “why?”, but meditate on them, ask God about them, and wrestle with them. Our current moment has shown us plainly that easy answers will not do; neither will easy answers do as we walk with Jesus towards his crucifixion.

Before we rush to these different “why” questions, another “why” I was drawn to in the text above was “why do we worship?” Mary worshiped Jesus for a reason quite simple to understand: Jesus raised her brother Lazarus from the dead in chapter 11. She had experienced the power and compassion of the Father brought together firsthand in the person of Jesus. This extravagant worship, as Mary lavishly pours out perfume on his feet and dries them with her hair, is in response to this extravagant grace that Jesus has shown- in Alex’s words from last night, she has had “an encounter” and this encounter has led to worship. My question to you, then, is this: why do you worship Jesus? What has Jesus done for you that you could not do for yourself? What has drawn you to Jesus? Ask these questions frequently this week; chew on them, and give them time.

 

Questions for reflection from the text:

• Do you identify with Mary? Or does her display come across as “over the top” as it may have seemed in her day? Why or why not?
• Verse 8 can often strike some as harsh; how does it strike you? What follow-up questions would you ask Jesus about this verse? Pray those questions today.
• An echo of the question above: why do you worship Jesus? What has he done for you that you couldn’t do for yourself? Why have you chosen to follow Jesus with your whole life?