Lent 5

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be always acceptable in your sight, oh Lord our strength and our redeemer. 

We’re almost there.
Almost to the climax of this Lenten journey:
We’re approaching Holy week and the walk of sorrows. 
Almost to the point of Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion. 
And so there’s no better time to think about suffering.

And this is why the highly poetic words of the psalmist,
So filled with joyful images are also jarring on this particular day.

“Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
Our tongue with shouts of joy.”

And later, the psalmist sings,
“Those who sowed with tears 
Will reap songs of joy. 
Those who go out weeping,
Carrying the seed,
Will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves.” 

This is one of my favorite Psalms.
And there’s a musical rendition of this:
That has gotten me through many hard times.
(If I was technologically advanced, I’d play it for you.. but…)


Listen to the Psalm being sung HERE
It goes like this:
“Our mouths they were filled,
Filled with laughter,
Our tongues they were loosed,
Loosed with joy.

Restore us oh Lord.
Restore us oh Lord.

Although we are weeping,
Lord help us keep sowing,
The seeds of your kingdom,
For the day you will reap them.
Our sheaves we will carry,
Lord please do not tarry.
All those who sow weeping,
Will go out with songs of joy.”

Such a comforting picture on a day when we know suffering is inevitable. 

In the Gospel story,
Jesus has set his face toward Jerusalem.
We know what that means
He knows what is coming,
Even though those who are closest to him refuse to see or even acknowledge it.

“Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where Jesus was should let them know, so that they might arrest him.”

He had just brought Lazarus back from the dead,
Revealing a power and authority that threatened their own religious and political control,
“so from that day on they planned to put him to death.”

It was that stark.

Jesus, knowing this, starts on his way to Jerusalem,
But first, he stops in Bethany to visit his dearest friends.

We don’t know why Lazarus, Martha, and Mary had become his close friends,
But we do know that their love for one another was great.
And we also know that when we are in danger and pain,
We long for someone to sit with us,
To accept us as we are,
To comfort us by just being there;
Someone who will not argue by telling us all will be all right,
But someone who will share in our apprehension, without even having to speak.
Such was the friendship between Jesus and these three siblings. 

We already know that they loved having him visit,
With Martha anxious to feed him, and Mary anxious to listen to him.
In that previous meeting when the two sisters argued,
His visit to them was for their sake.
And when their brother died from illness,
His coming to them was for ALL their sakes.

But now, a few days before his arrest and immense suffering,
Jesus comes to them for himself.
He needs human companionship and human comfort.
And they give it to him.
They call other friends to come join them at a festive dinner.

The siblings don’t know what is about to happen to Jesus,
They simply know that he needs to be near them.
Martha, as is her habit,
Does what she is used to doing:
She feeds the people she loves.

Mary, who probably had known more of the world than Martha did, does something different.
Food is not enough for Mary.
Only the most precious gift will do. 

In her symbolic act of pouring the costliest perfume on Jesus’ feet,
She honors him and reveals her deep love and gratitude,
Because he has indeed made her life worth living with his words and actions. 

It’s a lovely moment at that banquet of love.
The whole house fills with an exquisite aroma of thanksgiving 
A lovely moment spoiled with pettiness by the one who has stopped loving his teacher.
Judas claims that beauty and gratitude are a useless extravagance when there are poor people around.
Whether he truly cared about the poor or not does not matter here.
What matters is Jesus’ response.
“Leave her,” Jesus says. 

When a heart is filled to overflowing, don’t quench it.
When a throat sings of love and praise, 
Don’t silence it, just because others are weeping.
Jesus is telling them:
An expression of love that rises beyond the absolute necessities of life is acceptable.

This is a special occasion.
He knows that he will not be seeing his friends again.
He will carry with him the aroma of their love and devotion.

As he stumbles with the cross on his back, the stink of the crowd,
Of blood and sweat and ugliness all around him,
He will remember this moment of overwhelming gratitude. 
His earthly life has not been easy and comfortable.

This dinner with friends, their laughter, Martha’s good food,
And Mary’s gift of love are the last reminders of what is good in this earthly life.
A last gift, of being among dear friends. 

This story gives us permission, to cherish these good gifts:
Love of family and friends:
Food for the body,
And beauty with all its appeal to the senses. 

And now, After enjoying all of that,
Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem,
Toward suffering and death. 

Jesus:
More than anyone understand these words of the Psalmist:
Knowing what’s about to come:
Knowing all the tears that will fall:
He takes a moment to experience the small and simultaneous extreme joys of life.


Listen again
“Our mouths they were filled,
Filled with laughter.
Our tongues they were loosed,
Loosed with joy.”

“restore us oh Lord.
Restore us oh Lord.”

“Although we are weeping,
Lord help us keep sowing.
The seeds of your kingdom,
For the day you will reap them.
Our sheaves we will carry, 
Lord please do not tarry,
All those who sow weeping,
Will go out with songs of joy.”

Next week,
We will walk with Jesus in his suffering and death.
There will be weeping,
But as we continue to sow the seeds of God’s kingdom,
Together:
Not alone:
But among friends:
There will also be songs of joy. 

Amen. ​