love that shames the wise

betrays the heart's deceit and lies

The holy Gospel according to St. Mark the 14th chapter!

Ain’t that always the way?

A woman goes to worship Jesus, and no sooner does she get started, then some guy (and it’s always a guy), reprimands her for doing it wrong. For breaking the rules of good order.

…And, if I’ve ever done that to you, because heaven knows I’m capable; I apologize.

…But, let me lay my cards on the table here; I’m not interested in womanhood, per se. Because, just as being a male doesn’t make you especially holy or anything like that, neither does being female. 

;-)  *Although, let’s be honest; it can’t hurt…

As St. Paul said, "there is no longer male AND female; for all are ONE in Christ.” (Gal. 3:28)

That means for us who are in Christ the real issue is the relationship between women and men, the equality and respect we extend to one another. Regardless of our gender. 

So, given the all too long history of playing up stories about men at the expense of women; spending a little time hearing about heroic women in the Bible can’t hurt. Can it?

Hopefully it’ll engender a little more mutual respect and admiration. 

…Because here’s the truth; male or female it’s never what we think will make us heroic that actually does! 

That woman, when she went up to Jesus that evening, there’s no way she could have known what she was about to do was heroic. 

She just knew she couldn’t help herself any longer…

It’s never our actions that makes heroes out of the likes of us, regardless of how commendable they may seem. 

What makes heroes out of the likes of us is the One who takes UN-likely moments and blesses them! It’s Jesus’ blessing the makes heroes out of the likes of us!

…So, if you think you’re the last person God would choose, you’re probably wrong! In fact, for all you know, God has already done it! God has already make a hero out of you, you just didn’t know it!

Isn’t that the irony of this passage? 

Jesus declared any time the good news would be proclaimed, what that woman had done would be remembered. And, his words have come to pass. Haven’t they?

BUT! 

But, we don’t know this woman’s name. Do we? We know what she did, yes. But we don’t know who she was! And so it will be forever…

And so it was in the moment! That woman wasn’t trying to be heroic, she just couldn’t help herself any longer. 

More than likely, it wasn’t until that night was looked back on, that all who were there could finally see what a hero that woman was. And I bet they wished they could remember the name of the woman who did something so courageous…

So here’s a question, what's so courageous about this woman’s actions?

…I’ll give you a hint, it’s a verb. AND, it’s not anything that looks courageous.

Yes, she BROKE open the jar! 

That little action, breaking the jar, is what this whole encounter hinges on! 

What made that woman’s action so fitting, so right and salutary, so heroic is that she broke something! And she broke it in the presence of Jesus…

Presumably that woman’s jar was just fine. It held its contents well. But, that woman, she just took it all, and broke it before Jesus!

…Turn to someone and tell a story about a time you broke something. 

…Go on! Be brave. We’ve all broken things.

*Mine’s I broke some little glass pig with a die in it.

…Okay, have you shared your story?

Let’s hear some of the things y’all broke. I want to hear them. 

Now, let’s shout out how we felt after we broke something. 

I’ll start; I felt like a heel…

…Are there any exceptions to negative feelings?

Because not all breaking stories are bad, are they? That woman’s story doesn’t end badly, does it? Although she probably felt poorly when she was scolded.

And my story doesn’t end bad, either. The little, glass pig was Dr. Jones. It was sitting on his book shelf, and when I pulled a book off, the weight shifted and the other books tumbled over and pushed the pig off a shelf.

Dr. Jones, sensing I could feel bad, said, “Don’t worry. It’s just a thing. YOU are not a thing, Ryan. It’s alright.”

Not all breaking stories are bad. It’s just that we live in a world obsessed with keeping things together. Don’t we? And in that world, breaking something is always the worst thing that can happen. 

That’s why we fear breaking things. 

That’s what’s so heroic about that woman’s actions! She did something inimitable to the ways of the world! She broke something. Something valuable, no less!

And in the upside-down kingdom Jesus has ushered in, breaking is the BEST thing that can happen!

…And honestly, examples of this are all around us. Aren’t they? There are plenty of things we need to have broken. Like addiction. Shame. Sexism. Fear. Depression. How disparaging we can be of one another and ourselves. Racism. Classism. Suffocating self-consciousness. You name it. But we’re afraid of breaking things. Aren’t we?  

And that woman, for an instant, walked past her fear and did something she couldn’t undo. She broke her jar and poured ALL the contents before Jesus!

…But those watching, they think the woman’s being wasteful. Not woke enough. Don’t they?

Well, that’s how faith ALWAYS looks in a world obsessed with holding things together!

Those who think the path to righteousness lies in self-improvement and repair never understand the FOOLISHNESS of the Gospel!

…Or, the One who embodies the Gospel! The One who goes to the cross and is broken himself! The One who lets his very blood be poured out!

Beloved, Jesus isn’t interested in repair, he’s come for resurrection! 

And that makes Jesus a specialist in broken things. And as far as he’s concerned, the more broken, the better!

That woman, she broke her jar. And for that, we remember her. 

As St. Paul said, though, we are jars, aren’t we? Jars of clay. (2 Cor. 4:7) And our contents are valuable beyond all knowing. 

*Which is why women, as well as men, are worthy of respect. 

Unlike that woman’s jar, though, our’s have cracks in them. Don’t they? 

AND unlike that woman, rather than letting our jars break before Jesus, we’re trying to hold them together for dear life. Aren’t we? And all it’s doing, is hollowing us out. Isn’t it?

So, listen up: Jesus specializes in broken things. Broken people. 

In fact, let me be a little more explicit: Jesus specializes in what’s broken in YOU! And me, too. Because heaven knows there’s plenty broken in me.

Jesus was broken FOR YOU. Jesus’ blood was poured out FOR YOU!

This altar rail right here, a meal’s about to start around it, and you can come to this meal. Don’t have to bust in like that woman. Jesus invites you. 

And as you come forward, put your pretenses away. Stop trying to hold everything together. 

Instead, just bring your broken jar before Jesus, the One who’s broken for you. Pour all your contents before Jesus, the One whose blood is poured out for you!

It can be scary, I know. It’s vulnerable. Isn’t it?

The truth is, we all know how that woman must have felt as she worked up the courage to bust in on that dinner party and break her jar before Jesus. Because we, too worry if we bring what’s broken before Jesus, we’ll be sent away. That we’ll be scolded. 

And Lord knows there’s far too many religious folks out there peddling the lie, faith is about self-repair.

But Jesus specializes in broken things; broken people, broken jars! And Jesus will come to your side, like he did that woman, and say what he said to her: She has done what she could. 
She has done what she could.

What Jesus is looking for isn’t the impossible project of self-repair, it’s just bringing what’s broken to him. Anointing him with it, even. 

You don’t need to fix yourself up before you can come to this meal; Jesus is for broken things! Broken people. Broken jars, be they alabaster or clay. 

Pour everything before Jesus. He won’t send you away. In his brokenness, he will bless yours. Bless your brokenness with his wholeness. His healing. His resurrection!

…It takes courage to bring what’s broken before Jesus, doesn’t it? 

So, to help us work up the courage we’re going to sing. And, if you start to lose your nerve, remember: Jesus isn’t for self-repair, he’s for resurrection! Jesus is an expert in broken things!