Missing Mary’s Eyes (John 12 & 20) Chris Altrock – 5/10/15

 

Here is a recurring event in the Altrock household:

Let’s say that it’s Saturday afternoon. I’m hungry. I want a snack. So, I walk over to our pantry. I open the door and I look inside. I’m looking for one particular snack. I’m drooling for the bright red box of Chips Ahoy Chewy Chocolate Chip and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup cookies. I look top to bottom, left to right, but I do not see the bright red box of Chips Ahoy Chewy Chocolate Chip and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup cookies. So, I say,” Kendra? Do you know if Jacob ate all of the cookies? I don’t see them anywhere in the pantry.” And, Kendra says, “They are right there in the pantry.” And I respond, saying,” I’m standing at the pantry. I’m looking in the pantry. And I do not see any Chips Ahoy Chewy Chocolate Chip and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup cookies. We must be out.” Then, Kendra walks over and immediately puts her hand on a full box of cookies on a shelf in the pantry. I was looking right at them. But I did not see them.

Something like that happens more often that I’d like in my household.

Men, help me out here. Raise your hand if that same thing ever happens to you.

Now, it’s one thing to fail to see a box of cookies. But there are times when we fail to see things far more important. For example, some of you have shared stories with me about family or friends who failed to see important things about their lives. They got into drugs. Or they kept putting off school. Or they made poor financial choices. And you could clearly see what that decision was going to do to that person. But they don’t seem to be able to see it, even though they are looking right at it. Living right in it.

This same thing happens with our faith. Sometimes we fail to see significant things about faith. [PP Sometimes we fail to see significant things about faith.] For example, I remember receiving a letter many years ago. Highland was involved in ministries to the poor at that time, just as we are today. And a critic wrote this in his letter: “Where in the Bible does it say that we should care for the poor?” Well, the Bible is filled with commands and examples that compel us to care for the poor. This man had been looking right at his Bible but was unable to see those commands and examples. Sometimes we fail to see significant things about faith—even when we are looking right at them.

It seems that Jesus knew we would struggle with this. Perhaps that’s why, during his lifetime, Jesus recruited two special groups of people: the Twelve and the Women. An author named Rachel Held Evans helped me to see this strategy adopted by Jesus. [“The Women of Holy Week,” Rachel Held Evans, http://rachelheldevangs.com/blog/women-holy-week-1 ]

One group that Jesus recruited is called in the Gospels “the Twelve.” We also know them as the disciples or the apostles. This group consisted of the 12 men whom Jesus chose to follow him and carry on his ministry.

But there is another, less-known, group that Jesus also recruited. In the Gospels, this group is sometimes called “the Women.” This group consisted of a handful of women. Some were family members, like Mary the mother of Jesus. Some were Jesus’ friends, like Mary and Martha. And others were women ministered to by Jesus, like Mary Magdalene.

This group of women fulfilled many important responsibilities. And among those responsibilities was a very critical one. Several times the Women helped the Twelve to see something significant they had failed to see about faith. There were times when those Twelve men were looking right at something that had to do with who Jesus was or what it meant to follow Jesus, and they completely missed it. And one or more of the Women had to step in and help them and see what they had failed to see.

Here are a couple of examples from the final week of the life of Jesus.

The first appears in John 12. This story is told in other gospels such as Matthew 26. And when we read this story in Matthew, we learn that something important preceded it. Again and again, before this event, Jesus has been trying to get the Twelve to see something. Again and again, Jesus has been telling the Twelve this: “This movement, this thing that we are all now part of, is not going to end with the death of our enemies. This is not about me marching into Jerusalem to bring about the death of the Romans. This is not about us finally winning over all those who have made our lives miserable. We’re not going to wipe out Islamic terrorists. We’re not going to beat down Russian leaders. This movement, this thing that we are all now part of, is going to end with the death of…me. Because this is all about learning to love even the unlovable, in ways that are immeasurable.” And every time Jesus tried to get the Twelve to see this, he was met with resistance. In fact, one time after Jesus gave a similar speech, Peter took Jesus aside and said something like this: “Jesus, you have been drinking crazy juice. You don’t know what you’re saying. You are not going to die.” And Jesus said to Peter, “Get away from me Satan!” That’s how it important this issue was. But the Twelve, the men, simply could not see this.

And it is surprising how many people still fail to see this today. It is especially disturbing how many men still fail to see this today.  That this, this thing we are a part of, is not about us ridding the earth of our enemies. It’s about us dying for our enemies.

So, one of the Women has to step in in to help the Twelve see what they are missing:

1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.” (John 12:1-8 ESV)

Jesus is in a town called Bethany. This is the hometown of three of Jesus’ friends: Lazarus, Mary and Martha. The trio is throwing a dinner party. Mary discerns this is the perfect opportunity to help the Twelve see what they have failed to see. So, Mary takes a container filled with an ointment. The fragrant oil inside was so expensive that it would take an average person about a year to save up enough money to purchase it. Matthew tells us that Mary takes that ointment and pours it on Jesus’ head. That might seem strange to many of us. But in the ancient world that was a very appropriate action, especially if the one receiving the anointing was a king. In the ancient world this is how you anointed a king. You poured oil on his head. That is what Mary does first with Jesus.

And as some of the the Twelve watch that, they may be thinking, “That’s great! Mary sees what we see. Mary sees that Jesus is the king. And not long from now King Jesus will take that city of Jerusalem over!”

But, John tells us, Mary then moves from Jesus’ head to Jesus’ feet. And she begins pouring the ointment on Jesus’ feet. Now the Twelve may be saying to one another, “What is Mary doing? Doesn’t she know cleaning feet is the job of the servants? Why is she pouring that expensive oil on his feet? She should’ve just stuck with his head!” In fact at least one of the men gets so worked up about what Mary is doing that he finally makes one of those irrational kind of critiques you so often hear from certain religious people: “We could’ve sold that expensive ointment and used it to fund our outreach programs so that more people would join our movement to topple the evil regime!”

But Jesus knows what Mary is doing. John says that Jesus says, “Leave her alone so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.” Matthew says that Jesus says, “Why do you trouble the woman? In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial.” In other words, Jesus says, “Mary did this to show you what you have been missing. Mary sees what you do not see. Mary sees that this is all about me dying because of my love for all people. Mary sees this is all about humble sacrificial service to others. She has prepared my body for burial.”

         Without Mary, one of the Women, the Twelve would have missed one of the most significant elements of who Jesus is and what it means to follow Jesus.  It took Mary to help them begin to see that Jesus is about dying and that following Jesus is about dying.

We find a second example later in the last week of Jesus’ life, in John 20: 

1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.

¹¹ But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. ¹² And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. ¹³ They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” ¹⁴ Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. ¹⁵ Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” ¹⁶ Jesus said to her,“Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic,^[b] “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).¹⁷ Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” ¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her. (John 20:1-18 ESV)

Jesus is risen from the dead! But the Twelve, at least all but John, do not see this. John looks at the empty tomb him and believes. But no one else among the Twelve believes. The Twelve remain huddled in a scared pack in a dark enclosed room.

And, at least at first, Mary Magdalene doesn’t see either. She is looking right at the empty tomb, and she doesn’t see that Jesus is raised. Next, Mary is looking right at Jesus, but she still doesn’t see that Jesus is raised. But finally, Mary sees that Jesus is raised. She sees what most of the Twelve do not see. In fact, Luke tells us that when Mary and the other women go to the Twelve to tell them what they have seen, the men do not believe the women. They tell the women, “You must be drinking crazy juice. There is no way Jesus is raised.” But Mary sees what most of the Twelve do not see.

And, as an important aside, notice what leads Mary to finally see. It is only after Jesus speaks Mary’s name that Mary sees Jesus. Until now, the risen Lord has only addressed Mary by the more general term “woman.” But the moment Jesus speaks Mary’s name, she recognizes that this is Jesus. Why? Let me read you a quote by Dorothy Sayers [from Rachel Held Evans’ blog]:

“Perhaps it is no wonder that the women were first at the Cradle and last at the Cross. They had never known a man like this man–there never has been such another. A prophet and teacher who never nagged at them, never flattered or coaxed or patronized; who never made arch jokes about them, never treated them either as “The women, God help us!” or “The ladies, God bless them!”… Who took their questions and arguments seriously; who never mapped out their sphere for them, never urged them to be feminine or jeered at them for being female; who had no ax to grind and no uneasy male dignity to defend; who took them as he found them and was completely unselfconscious.”

In other words, Mary lived in a culture where women were often undervalued and overlooked. And it just may be that Jesus was the first man in Mary’s life to say her name without an ounce of irritation, without any touch of superiority, without any sense of sexism. It may be that Jesus said Mary’s name like no other man had ever said her name. Thus, when the resurrected Lord finally said “Mary,” she knew exactly who it was.

And thus Mary saw, one of the Women saw, what most of the Twelve did not. Mary had to help the Twelve see that Jesus is raised, and that this movement, this thing they were all now part of, could never be stopped, not even by death.

Can you imagine what the Twelve would have missed without the Women? Can you imagine how shallow their perspective of Jesus would be without the Women? Can you fathom how superficial their understanding of what it means to follow Jesus would be without the Women?

Scott McKnight is the author a book called A Fellowship of Differents. He makes a thought-provoking claim in the book. Scott says there is a biblical way to measure success in church. According to him, here is how the Bible describes a successful church:

“The success of the church is first determined by how many invisible people become visible to those not like them.”

Scott says that there are many groups of people who are somewhat invisible. Undervalued. Overlooked. And the church must be the one place where those invisible people finally become visible. Where the undervalued become valued.  Scott goes on to describe groups who are often invisible in the culture today or in churches today.:

• Widows.
• Children.
• Minorities.
• The poor.
• People who struggle with faith.
• Those who do not have university educations.
• Those who struggle with same-sex attraction.

And, Scott says, women are often invisible. In some places in our own culture, women are overlooked. And inside some churches women are undervalued.

What a contrast that is to what we see taking place in John 12 and John 20. Without the Women, the Twelve would have missed so much about who Jesus is and what it means to follow Jesus. Women were invaluable. They were essential. It turns out that the church desperately needs women because they help all of us to see significant things we may have failed to see about who Jesus is and what it means to follow Jesus.

I think about my own faith development. To be sure, there have been many men who have helped me to see significant things about who Jesus is and what it means to follow Jesus. We recently celebrated one of those men. Dennis Calvert, a former elder at Highland, passed away a few weeks ago. And we spent his memorial service hearing testimonies of the way in which people came to see Jesus more clearly through him.

But I also know that if it had not been for women in my own life, I would have missed a great deal about faith:

• God used women at Highland like Beverly Ralston and Ann King to teach me the value of prayer and the discipline of prayer.
• God used women like Mendy Breeden to teach me the importance of serving children in under-resourced schools.
• The first Bible I ever received came from my step-grandmother.
• Some of the most important lessons I’ve ever learned about ministry came from a woman named Barbara Brown Taylor who writes extensively about church ministry.

Many of you on this Mother’s Day, can point to a mother or a grandmother who has been absolutely essential to opening your eyes to the person and way of Jesus. Some of you can hardly even imagine what your faith would be like today with out that faithful mother or grandmother.

It turns out that the church desperately needs women because they help all of us to see significant things we may have failed to see about who Jesus is and what it means to follow Jesus.

But, so what? What does this mean, specifically? If you are a woman, it means you should look for opportunities to share your faith. You have a spiritual insight needed by the rest of the church and by all those whom God has placed in your life. Look for ways to share what God’s put in your heart and in your life. Take advantage of opportunities to show Jesus to others. You may see something significant that others have missed.

If you are a man, this means you should look for opportunities for women to shape your faith. Here are four ways to do that:

1) Read a faith-forming book by a female author (see your Link);

2) Ask a woman to share her faith story;

3) Encourage a woman to share her perspective in your small group or class;

4) As a family/couple, watch one of the DVD studies in the Reflections Resource Room in the Bride’s Room (email lawana.maxwell@highlandcc.org).