The Anointing at Bethany
While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head. But some were there who said to one another in anger, “Why was the ointment wasted in this way? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor.” And they scolded her. But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has performed a good service for me. For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish, but you will not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.”
~ Mark 14:3-9 (NRSVUE)
It is awe-inspiring to think of all that has happened here in Oldtown over the last three hundred and twelve years. Imagine this, my friends: our church began sixty-four years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence; therefore, our founders were British citizens! Since our church began, the steam engine was invented, let alone cars, airplanes, and rockets that can reach the moon and beyond! Our members lived through the American Revolution and the Civil War, they saw the abolishment of slavery, the invention of electricity, and the telephone; and they survived the Great Depression. Through it all, our church has been a place of safe sanctuary and a beacon of support and inspiration for the Attleboro area. Our church has been served by thirty-five settled pastors, and our doors have been open for worship on more than sixteen thousand Sundays! Our church family has lived through good times and bad, experiencing plenty and want, and through it all, we have stood firm on the gospel, striving to love our neighbor and to bring the light of Christ to the world!
Folks, that being said, it was our plan today to do a little dreaming. Just like those early settlers who dreamed of a church here in Oldtown and worked hard to make it happen, we were going to do some dreaming of our own to think about and envision where we see our church going, who we are as a church, and what we as the members and friends of the 2020s here in Oldtown want to be remembered for.
I’ve been excited for weeks to do this work with you. And when Rev. Patty Kogut surprised us with a visit last week and told us about all the wonderful things she saw happening here I thought to myself, “The planets have aligned! The Holy Spirit is in the house! And there is no time like the present to begin this journey and to do this exciting work.”
But (and there is always a “but,” isn’t there?) as we walked through this past week, preparing for the fair, working on the fair, cleaning up after the fair, and walking with neighbors and family and friends, many of whom were feeling overwhelmed and anxious and confused by our recent election results, and as I kept receiving messages and having conversations with many of you as you told me how tired and weary and uneasy you felt, I thought to myself, “What are we doing? Why are we racing ahead to start a new project and dreaming about new directions when we really need to do is rest and breathe and have a moment to simply be.”
As I sat with the scripture this week and thought about the woman who had anointed Jesus with the expensive ointment, doing what her heart told her was the right thing to do, my original plan was to talk about following our hearts and doing what feels right, and not letting others steal our dreams by telling us what to do and how to do it. I was hoping that would help us to begin to figure out who God is calling us to be as a church and what God is calling us to do. I was imagining what future generations of Oldtown members and friends might look back and think of when they talked of our generation.
But then I read the scripture again, and I realized that the important part of the story was that the woman was not trying to make history, solve the world’s problems, or impress the crowd. She was simply being kind and helping Jesus slow down and take a deep breath in the midst of his busy, overwhelming, and difficult journey.
Friends, some of you may have come to worship this morning filled with joy and excitement, and that is wonderful. Others of you might be feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and exhausted, and that’s okay too because back in 1712, this church came together to be a beacon of light but also to be a sanctuary, a safe place for people to come as they are, a place to find solace and comfort in difficult times, direction and encouragement in times of confusion, and wonder, joy, and delight in times of celebration. But most importantly, a place to find kindness and rest when it’s needed.
Friends, I read a quote this week–I don’t know who wrote it–but it stopped me in my tracks for a few minutes when I read it. It said, “I lied today and said I was busy. I was busy, but not in a way most people understand. I was busy taking deeper breaths. I was busy silencing irrational thoughts. I was busy calming a racing heart. I was busy telling myself I am okay.”
Friends, the people of Oldtown have been known for generations as a “pull up your bootstraps” and “do what you need to do to get the work done” kind of people. And yes, there is a sense of pride and accomplishment in that. But sometimes, it’s that mentality that also says, “Why is the ointment wasted when it could have been sold for so much more?” or “Why should we take time to rest, when there is so much to do?”
Friends, we all know that Jesus turned the world’s understanding upside down. So why do we feel so uncomfortable when we take a break? Why is it so hard for us to take care of ourselves? Why do we feel as though we’ve failed if we don’t accomplish something extraordinary?
Next week, we’ll start dreaming and planning and imagining about the future, but this week, I invite you to just be. I invite you to feel the pew cushion below you and the presence of God all around you. Close your eyes if you’d like, and just take a deep breath. Don’t worry about meetings or responsibilities or opinions or fears. Just take a moment to sit and to be because you don’t need to be busy to be loved. You don’t need to be right to be loved. You don’t need to be in control to be loved. Because friends, God loved you before you were even born, and God will continue to love you forever! No matter what you accomplish or what you do. No matter how many mistakes you’ve made or how hurt you feel. No matter how clean your house is or how much money you have in the bank. No matter who you voted for or who you love. No matter how many hours you work or how many vacations you go on.
Friends, in our story today, the woman anointed Jesus with expensive oil as a sacred gift. She was being kind. She was reminding Jesus that he mattered, and she was helping him to understand that, no matter what was happening in the world around him, he was beloved!
Friends, the act of anointing is an act of hospitality. It’s a blessing given to remind the anointed that they are beloved. Anointing is also used as an act of healing and restoration. When we anoint someone, we offer a sacred welcome, a reminder that they are seen, valued, and accepted. Now, anointing is not often a ritual that we practice in Oldtown, but today, because nothing is wasted, not time, not oil, not a sense of humble honor, I’m going to invite you to come forward for an anointing, if you would like to.
Now, just in case it sounds scary, all that is going to happen is, as you come forward, I place a tiny bit of oil on your forehead or the back of your hand in the sign of a cross, and I’ll remind you that you are a beloved child of God! Now, the oil that we are using today does have a slight scent of Frankincense to it, just in case you are sensitive to smells. Friends, this is merely a gift of blessing to assure you that, no matter what happens in the world around you, you are a beloved child of God.
(the congregation is invited forward for Anointing)
Brothers and sisters in Christ, now that we have been blessed and assured that we are beloved, let us take this sense of sanctuary out into the world, remembering that time is never wasted when we care for ourselves. So don’t ever be too busy to remember that you are beloved!
My friends, may it be so. Thanks be to God.
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