In Seminary, I had a 10 week class on just Communion. Strangely, for a week of it, we watched the movie Babette’s Feast. Babette’s Feast is about a woman named Babette, who is one of the most talented chefs in Paris. One day authorities kick Babette out of Paris, and she moves to a Danish fishing village. In this village is a small religious community that is full of hardhearted people. The community is marked by and lives by one word – get: get ahead, get back, get even, and whatever you do, get revenge. The community takes Babette in and she serves as their maid and cook. They only want her to serve bland food because that is all they know. That is what happens when people are driven by the word get: life becomes very bland, very boring.
One day, another word broadsides the community. Babette wins a lottery in Paris and she decides to cook a feast with the winnings. She decides to treat the religious community to a meal of rare delicacies, excellent wine, and some of the best gourmet food that world has to offer.
With her meal, the community is restored. Old arguments are dropped and past sins are forgiven. When the evening is finished, they all join hands under the stars and sing the Doxology.
Babette replaces get with what word? Give. Babette gives freely. Babette gives extravagantly. Babette gives joyfully. Later, though, the community discovers what Babette had really done. She had spent all of her lottery money on the feast and not just a portion of it as they assumed. In doing so, Babette closes the door to her future. She can never return to Paris and take up a post as a chef at one of the world’s most prestigious restaurants. And why is that? Babette gave it all.
As we continue our midweek services on the places of the Passion, today we walk with Jesus to Bethany. In Bethany, we meet Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha. And who is Mary? Mary is the Babette of the Bible!
Matthew begins our text by giving us the context: “Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper….” Bethany is just a mile east of Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives. The Jewish Passover is about to begin and Jesus is in Bethany. Why is He in Bethany? It is because there were no empty hotel rooms in Jerusalem. Jerusalem’s population at the time of Jesus was about 30,000. During Passover, it would balloon to roughly 180,000. The city’s population would increase six-fold! This is why Jesus stays in Bethany during the Passover week: it is on the outskirts of Jerusalem. It would be like staying in Roseville for an event in St. Paul.
And who is in Bethany? Simon the Leper lives here, and his home is where these events take place. Jesus is there in Simon’s house, and so are His disciples. Mary is there, too. Normally, women didn’t join men in public events like this, so it is a little shocking. However, Mary is there, the Babette of the Bible, and she is ready to teach us about one of the greatest words in the world: give!
So we have the context: Bethany. Now we see the cost: “A woman [John tells us her name is Mary] came up to Him with an alabaster flash of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table.” How expensive is expensive? We’re told in John’s Gospel that it was worth a year’s income! Can you imagine that? The average American makes $56,000 a year. Could you imagine dropping $56,000 just like that? Can you imagine spending that much money on perfume?
As everyone in the room watches, Mary does two remarkable things. First, Mary pours out the expensive perfume with total abandon. It is the most valuable thing that Mary has, but she will not keep it. She will not worship it, or hoard it. She opens it up, and empties it out to the very last drop.
Second, Mary pours it on Jesus’ head, which is significant. In the Old Testament, do you know the only people whose heads were anointed? The answer? Kings! See her point, and the beauty of her act? Jesus is a king. In fact, He is the King of kings. And that is the main message of Matthew’s Gospel, too. Matthew 2:3 calls Him the “King of the Jews.” Matthew 21:5 refers to Jesus with these words on Palm Sunday: “See your King comes to you.” Matthew 27:37 records the sign that was above His head during the crucifixion. What did it say? “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” Because Jesus is the King, Mary replaces get with give.
Let’s review. The context? Bethany during Passover week. The cost? Everything. The comparison? It is between Mary and the disciples. Mary is extravagant, excessive, and she goes way over the top. And the disciples? Matthew admits: “When the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, ‘Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.’” The disciples are threatened and their entire world comes crashing down. The disciples were angry, mad, upset, and indignant. Why? It is because Mary lives by one word – give.
The comparison couldn’t be more black and white, could it? Mary is generous while the disciples are greedy. Mary gives with abandon while the disciples are misery to a tee. Mary sacrifices financially while the disciples won’t give a nickel. Mary shows her faith with actions while the disciples talk a good game – “giving money to the poor” – but we know they don’t mean it. Judas speaks for them all in John when he complains it should have been sold. He said what they were all thinking. Mary loves the word give, but all the disciples can do is get: get more, get ahead, and get out on top. Throughout the Gospels, they argue multiple times about who is the greatest, who should be the leader, and who should be top dog. After Jesus gives them the greatest act of love and service in Communion, Luke tells us they argue about greatness, and who should get the top spot.
So, context: Bethany. Cost: everything. Comparison: all vs. nothing. Matthew next shows us the cross. Matthew 26:10 and 12 say, “But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, ‘Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial.’” Beautiful? He means the cross? His betrayal? His suffering? His death? Yes, all of it! It is part of the plan.
Matthew 1:21 proclaims, “She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 20:28: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 26:28, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Jesus says in our text, “In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial.”
“Burial.” That, of course, implies what? Death! And what a death it would be! He is betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter, sentenced by Pilate, scourged by soldiers, mocked by the crowds, and abandoned by His Father. Christ’s death pays for all sin, for all people, for all time. It is for all sin, for all people, for all-time. Mary gives Jesus everything she has. Mary prepares Jesus to give everything He has. And the room is filled with the smell of costly perfume!
Smells are powerful, aren’t they? The smell of a rose catches your nose and suddenly you are reminded of a dance in High School. Perhaps the smell of a Ham brings back spring and Easter memories. Maybe the scent of our grandmother’s perfume brings back memories of her. While words go to the thinking part of our brain, smells go to the emotional part of our brain. That is why a whiff of Grandma’s perfume brings back our emotions for Grandma. Smells can stir in us some very powerful emotions.
That’s also true for Jesus. Mary’s strong perfume lingers with Jesus throughout Holy Week as He makes His way to the cross, marking Him with one word: give. And give He would. On the cross, Jesus gives it all for us: His body, His blood, His life, His perfect obedience, everything. He gave it all for us so we could be wholly His.
It’s actually Jesus, and not Mary, who is the Babette of the Bible, isn’t it? And our Lord is a great and generous Giver, isn’t He? He gives us all we need to support our bodies and lives: house, home, jobs, income, family, friends, food, drink, clothes, health care, and hobbies. He gives us all we need for our souls, too. At His Supper, He gives us the best and choicest of foods, His body and blood that forgives every sin and unites us together. It covers all our wrongs, pardons each guilty conscience, and strengthens us for life in this world. In our baptism, He daily works in us, reforming, reshaping, and renewing us to be like Him. There, He gives us life, His Holy Spirit, and a new family, the Church. And now, we see the change. What Jesus gives us changes us. What Jesus gives us today in body and soul motivates and empowers our giving. It empowers and motivates the giving of ourselves to God, our families, our church, and neighbors through love and service. What Jesus has done for us empowers and motivates us to use our time, talents, and treasures in ways that are God pleasing and serve the Gospel. By the power of the Holy Spirit, He works to replace the word get with give. What He gives to us: life, salvation, and forgiveness, that is what empowers and motivates our giving. That is where it all flows from, just like it did with Mary. In His name, Amen.