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John 12:3b
Outrageous that such a waste of resources should be allowed let alone
encouraged. Outrageous that a household member, a woman from a
respectable family, should pour out ointment over the feet of a dinner
guest. Outrageous that any respectable woman would appear in public
with her hair unbound. This was a sign of an immoral woman.
Outrageous that God incarnate should assume the role performed by a
slave by removing his own garments and, wrapped in a towel, wash his
disciples' feet. Outrageous that Jesus would need to demonstrate none
can be part of God without sharing in service and humiliation.
Outrageous the topsy-turvy role-reversal love implores, that the master
becomes the servant, that the sinless one becomes sin for humanity.
Outrageous that Christ on the cross, in the agony of death, should
approach God asking for forgiveness for his tormentors.
Mary of Bethany loved Jesus with a passion that was outrageous. To her,
the opinions of others regarding her behaviour toward Jesus meant
nothing. She had heard his words "I am the resurrection and the life"
spoken during an earlier visit, on the occasion of Lazarus' death and
resurrection. Through the eyes of faith, she alone determined that he
who was already the resurrection could be anointed for his burial while
he was still with his friends. In this act, she witnesses to Christ's
unique relationship to life and death.
During the events of Holy Week, three figures stand out graphically.
These are Judas, Peter and Mary. Of Judas and his betrayal, and Peter
with his denial we hear much. So much, so that at times we clearly
identify with these two disciples. For we all have betrayed and denied
Christ. Of Mary of Bethany, there is a vast difference between what we
are taught of her, and the description we hear in the Gospels. Layered
with the veneers of tradition, whose source is the authority of St.
Augustine of Hippo and Pope Gregory the Great, Mary of Bethany has at
times been identified with the "woman who was a sinner" of Luke chapter
seven, and with Mary Magdalene. Search Scripture diligently, I implore
you, you may be surprised that in fact you cannot discern where Mary of
Bethany is described as a hooker who gave up the game as a result of her
love of Jesus! Instead she is portrayed as one whom Jesus loved, and
who chose to sit at his feet, as would any disciple of a learned rabbi.
That she, because of her spiritual insight, should be the one of all
Christ's disciples to provide the only anointing his body would receive,
would later be a cause for reflection. Mary may have found it difficult
to explain her action. Her generosity in pouring out this ointment
marks sharply the difference in attitude compared with that Judas
displays.
Love such as Mary's never calculates. Rather than judging how little
could be expected, outrageous love gives to its uttermost limits, and
even then thinks the gift too small. Such love entails sacrifice, and
the world judges the cost far too great, and so, unaffordable. Love
like this does not wait for more convenient or comfortable
opportunities, but demands immediate action. It regrets no lost
opportunities, for all love's impulses have been acted upon. Such love
does not presume, but instead espouses humility. It is not
self-conscious of the correctness of its actions, the appropriateness of
its presence in social or political arenas. Outrageous love is born in
our interaction with God through Christ.
Jesus asked that we love one another as he loved us - outrageously. Can
the modern world of commerce offer understanding and forgiveness to
those who have violated its perception of financial responsibility? In
the eyes of love, there may be more profit in giving than in the
accumulation of wealth. Love suggests that forgiveness rather than
legalistic demand affords more chances for reconciliation. Our world is
filled with people standing on their dignity when they should be
kneeling in service and prayer. The principal of seventy times seven
can never be weighed in our consciousness until we are prepared to stop
demanding fairness. Life will never be fair while we allow the damaging
actions of fearful people to continue. Jesus' attitude to the woman
caught in adultery demonstrates that the love he advocates removes our
need to judge others. Such love denies the existence of all humanly
constructed barriers, instead seeing all equally as God's children.
Outrageous love replaces our need for recognition, for dignity, and for
worldly comforts, with a passionate love for all of God's creation. We
become like Jesus.
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Is the Homosexual My Neighbor? : A Positive Christian Response by Letha Dawson Scanzoni, Virginia Ramey Mollenkott
Other Writings By Rev. Vera Bourne:
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