Gospel text for Sunday 19 February 2017

Matthew 5:38-48        Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

 Reflection         Jesus is turning up the heat, inviting us to be honest, ethical and trustworthy -  as he is. Those words, honest, ethical and trustworthy, sound good but when we put them on they may itch, set us apart from the ways of the world. 

“An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” “The best defense is a good offense.” “Drastic times call for drastic measures.” “God helps those who help themselves.” Do we not appear inept, inadequate or just plain foolish in the eyes of the world when we choose instead to “Turn the other cheek?” “Refuse to mount a retaliatory attack?” “Put our trust in God rather than ourselves?”

Then we remember, like Jesus we are baptized. By our baptism we make a promise to God and God’s people, to “persevere in resisting evil,” to “proclaim by word and example the Good News” that God is with and for all people, to “love our neighbors as ourselves,” to “strive for justice and peace,” and “respect the dignity of every human being.” Essentially we are promising to be honest, ethical and trustworthy.

By our baptism we die to our ‘world defined’ selves and are born into our ‘God defined’ selves. When the priest anoints our forehead saying, “You are marked as Christ’s own forever,” she is saying, “you are distinguished, you are not like the rest of the world that proclaims, “The man who dies with the most toys wins,” “The only things you can count on are death and taxes.”

By our baptism and anointing we are born as people freed from the shackles of social, political and religious conditions that pit us against one another. By our baptism and anointing we are born as people freed to express our deepest truest self, our inherent goodness. By our baptism and anointing we are freed to love our neighbors, our enemies and those who persecute us. By our baptism and anointing we promise to be honest, ethical and trustworthy, with God's help. 

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Gospel text for 13 March 2016

John 12:1-8       Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary 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. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?" (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, "Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me."

Reflection        As a priest given the privilege of anointing let me just say this. Whether I am placing a frankincense scented sign of the cross on an infant’s pristine forehead or anointing an elder person’s  furrowed brow and curled feet on their deathbed, the confluence of touch, and smell, and prayer arouses Divine Presence and reaches beyond time. This is truly holy ground. I believe this is what Jesus’ disciple Mary recognized. She was meeting Jesus on holy ground. Mary could see beyond external appearances to something more, to the spiritual dimension. Mary recognized Divine Presence in and of and with Jesus. 

By contrast, Judas was locked into worldly affairs. He could not see beyond external appearances and so he took advantage of Jesus’ situation for his personal gain. Because his heart was hardened he did not recognize Jesus nor could he recognize himself. The deepest truth of Judas’ self, that he too was a beloved son of God, was hidden from him.  Judas could not recognize divine presence with him. But the heart of Mary, the true disciple, was broken open with love. Putting her faith in something more than external appearances, love poured through her extravagantly, like expensive perfume released from a bottle permeating the air and infusing the holy ground. 

This week I had a glimpse of what extravagant love looks like when a woman shared with me her experience as a caregiver. The person given to this woman’s care is not what we would describe as a docile dying woman. She tends to be querulous and wearing. She has been dying for a very long time. Nonetheless the caregiver sees beyond the unpleasant external appearances  and veritably glows when describing sitting with this woman, ministering to her every need and demand, often at great physical and emotional personal expense. What I saw in the face and heard in the words of the tireless caregiver was extravagant love, poured through her like expensive perfume, recognizing the holy ground hidden in plain sight.

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