Year B Passion Sunday 2024 Extravagance

 Year B Passion Sunday, 24 March 2024

St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“Extravagance”

Collect: Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Mark 14:1-15:47

It was two days before the Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him; for they said, “Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.”

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.”

Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. When they heard it, they were greatly pleased, and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.

On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?” So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.” So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.

When it was evening, he came with the twelve. And when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, “Surely, not I?” He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowl with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.”

While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. And Jesus said to them, “You will all become deserters; for it is written,

‘I will strike the shepherd,

and the sheep will be scattered.’

But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter said to him, “Even though all become deserters, I will not.” Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, this day, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.” But he said vehemently, “Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And all of them said the same.

We have stopped the narrative of the day. It has become a tradition around here, halting before Gethsemane. We start with the readings for the Passion Week, but we are still in the story. We stop it because this is where we are in our service today. Somewhere between preaching/learning, and remembering Jesus’ last supper.

Do not worry, before we go out this day we will finish the readings from Mark that go through Golgotha. We do that as we go out into the week that was, our week that will be…

We embrace the details of this most holy week each and every year. And every year we see them differently, because, I trust, you are different. Water has gone under the bridge. You are older. Are you better? Am I? We will see. And as we have changed the view of these very familiar events change as well.

This year, the thought of Extravagance was what kept echoing in my brain. Over and over again, extravagance is given.

The woman, in Mark unnamed, performs an act of unswerving beauty and unimagined extravagance. Her bottle of perfume, in today’s hourly minimum wage is looking at about $36,000 for a few moments of unimagined Grace.

I like to think that no matter how horrible the events are that come about the rest of this week, Jesus did have this one thing lingering with him. The scent of this gift showered on him would not go away. Even in the cell at Caiaphas’ house, the perfume would remain. A gift amidst so much horror.

We also see the Seder meal that celebrated that night, where Jesus takes the simple elements of reminding God’s people of redemption, and transforms them to symbols of Salvation and Grace.

Jesus taught the disciples, and us, this:

While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”

Friends, we may not be able to comprehend the meaning, purposes, or outcomes of these elements on us and for our lives, but we cannot argue this. If Jesus is who we say he is, and the bread is his body, and the wine his blood, metaphorically, symbolically, or literally, could there be anything more Extravagant than that?

That the Son of God, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, says that this is his body and blood, taken, broken, blessed, and given for each and every one of us, what could be more extravagant than that? I cannot think of a thing.

When we come to the Altar, Christ’s table for all of us, think on that. The simple bread, the sip of wine, is costly, and precious, and good. This extravagance would be for you if you were the only person who ever lived. Sometimes with the children, who are often confused by the body and blood language, and maybe even scared, I sometimes say, “This is just for you.” That’s Gospel. That’s Extravagance. That’s Grace.

But not all the extravagances of that night were of any value. Jesus made a prediction of what was to come in the wee hours of that night. He was forthright. But the disciples with Peter as the Ring Leader said ‘“Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And all of them said the same.’ Extravagant promises, promises unfulfilled. They all walked away. They all let it happen.

Jesus knew it would. He knew they would let him stand alone. He does not condemn them for it. He says it plainly and matter-of-fact-ly. Their extravagance came to mean nothing. But even then, EVEN THEN, his forgiveness and grace extended to them even at this lowest moment of his life. Alone. Scared. Forlorn. And still his loved flowed. 

There is a reason why we call this the Passion. Only love could do this. Only Jesus could do this. For God so loved the world that God gave his only Son that whoever of us believes in him won’t be condemned but shall live forever. Jesus came into this world, not to condemn us, but that each and every one of us could be saved in him, through him, and for him.

Extravagance, friends. From Gethsemane to Golgotha, from Canterbury to 815(hq for the Episcopal Church), from St. James the Less to your Home. The love flows out. While shrouded in heartbreak and bad intentions, God’s love will win out. It always has, and it always will.

Extravagance! Amen