I want to focus this morning on this little house in Bethany. It was obviously a very important little place in the very early traditions of the Christian Church. Three of the gospels include this story of a woman anointing Jesus with expensive perform, and all three agree that it was in a little house in Bethany. Bethany was a small village about two miles outside Jerusalem, and these three gospel accounts seem to agree that it was there, in this little house, that Jesus and the disciples made their last stop before entering the city.
St John's version of this story is markedly different from the other accounts in a number of important respects. St Matthew and St Mark identify the house as belonging to Simon the Leper, and do not name the woman who does the anointing. St Luke has the famous story about Martha and Mary hosting Jesus on another occasion marked by sibling rivalry; but his story of the anointing of Jesus is removed from Bethany, comes much earlier in the gospel narrative, and is performed by a penitent prostitute. Only St John names Judas Iscariot as the one who objects to the scandalous waste of this expensive perfume – St Mark and St Matthew says the disciples complained about it.
But let's not worry too much about these details and differences this morning. Let's enter into this poignant scene and see what it might be telling us this morning. At the centre of the story is Jesus; his public ministry has finished. In St John's timetable it finished at the end of chapter 11, following the raising of Lazarus. Because of the enormous interest that event attracted the authorities were actively conspiring to arrest Jesus. Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews. Instead he withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples. [John 11:54]
But with the Feast of the Passover approaching, Jesus comes to Bethany. There are now just 6 days until his death. In this little house, there is a table set for dinner, a dinner given in Jesus' honour. Who else is present? Well, Martha and Mary are there – according to St John's account it is their home, which they share with their brother, Lazarus. And just in case we have already forgotten, St John reminds us that Lazarus is the one whom Jesus raised from the dead. He tells us something else about Lazarus, too. He says "Lazarus was among those reclining at the table" with Jesus.
Now there's an interesting word – "reclining". We'll hear that word again a little later in the passion narrative when we have the account of the Last Supper. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. [John 13:23] This is one of the little subtle hints that St John is so good at. In everything he writes he reminds us of the things that have happened, and the things that are about to happen. This meal is shared in the house where Lazarus died; it looks forward to the Last Supper from which Jesus will go out to his death.
And, of course, someone also went out from the Last Supper into the darkness – Judas the betrayer. In their accounts St Matthew and St Mark remind us of this by following their accounts of this anointing episode with the story of Judas doing a deal with the chief priests. St John makes the point more dramatically by identifying Judas as present at this cosy little dinner party; and, of course, takes the opportunity of reminding us that this is the fellow who will later betray Jesus. In this account it is only Judas who objects to the anointing; and St John can't resist assuring us that his concern was not genuinely for the poor. As the group's money-man, he was on the take. So Judas was present at this little gathering in this little house in Bethany.
Who else? Well, did you notice how I mentioned the two sisters a moment or two ago, but then immediately started talking about Lazarus? That's the problem with something spectacular – a miracle. It detracts from everything else. This story is not supposed to be about Lazarus, yet in a way his presence continues to dominate. We'll come back to him in a moment. But let's first make some space for the sisters. Mary, of course, is given the starring role, but Martha gets the first mention. It's not a very big mention, however – in fact, just two words: "Martha served".
"Martha served". That's the sort of thing that gets feminist bible commentators very agitated. And yet, what a wonderful thing this is. On the day before Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, he comes to this little house in Bethany for one last meal with his friends, and Martha has the privilege of serving him. Who is this Martha in St John's gospel? She is the one who made the supreme confession of faith in Christ, that's who she is. The other gospels insist that it was Peter who first confessed Jesus as Christ. Not according to St John: we won't find any such confession from Peter in this gospel. Instead we find it was Martha who said to Jesus: "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world." [John 11:27] How appropriate, then, that she should now serve Jesus at this dinner.
And so to Mary. She, too, serves Jesus. Indeed, she takes upon herself the servant's role of tending to his feet. Again, we can get a bit more of the significance of what's going on here if we compare this account with those of St Matthew and St Mark. They say the woman poured expensive perfume over Jesus' head; St John says Mary poured it over his feet. Again, no doubt, we're being reminded of something that is going to happen at the Last Supper: After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with a towel that was wrapped around him. [John 13:5]
Mary doesn't use a towel – she uses her hair. This is a wonderfully sensual image of her tender love for Jesus. It is also a great sign of her humility. Women of status would not (literally!) let their hair down in front of other people; but Mary was not into standing on her dignity. Her devotion to Jesus was complete.
Besides those various individuals, there are two other groups of people referred to in this story. First, there are the other dinner guests, nameless and unnumbered, but nevertheless there, for St John tells us that "Lazarus was among those reclining at table with him". They may have been the other disciples, or simply other friends of Mary and Martha invited to the meal. They take no particular part in the proceedings but they are nevertheless part of the dinner party.
The other group of people in the story are more numerous; they are outside clamouring to get in. There in verse 9: Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. Lazarus had become an object of curiosity, so to speak – a tourist attraction. Hardly surprising in the circumstances, really, but here's another tantalizing hint that St John may or may not be giving us. St John refers to the crowd outside as 'Jews", and by this stage of the gospel he uses the term to signify those who will not accept Jesus as the Messiah – those who oppose Jesus and ultimately conspire with the Roman authorities in his death.
Perhaps we should remember a story from St Luke. Remember the one about the rich man and the beggar at his gate. They both die, and when the rich man finds himself in hell he asks Abraham to send the beggar back to earth to warn his brothers. Abraham refuses: If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced if someone rises from the dead. [Luke16:31] And the beggar's name was – Lazarus.
In this little house in Bethany a meal is shared in Jesus honour. Martha serves; Mary adores; Judas criticises; guests eat; crowds outside are interested to learn more about the one who was raised back to life, but may never be convinced.
It's a great story. And it's our story. Let's take a moment to reflect on it in our own little house to which we have come to share a meal in Jesus' honour. Amen.
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Louise Booth
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