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 We have entered our place of worship waving palms and praising Jesus with our hosannas just like the crowd that welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem and hailed Him as their king. The joy of Jesus’ arrival, however, soon turned to betrayal as we joined with the voices of old demanding that this same Jesus be crucified. How quickly the crowd in Jerusalem turned from placing Jesus upon a kingly pedestal to wanting Him nailed to a cross. Although we joined with these voices of old in the reading of the Passion, we want to cry out like Peter and believe that we would never deny our Lord. Let alone cry out for our beloved Jesus to be crucified.
Like Peter we want to say to Jesus, “Even though all become deserters, I will not.” Yet, Peter denied Christ three times before the next morning dawned. Instead of standing up for Christ and admitting that he was one of Jesus’ followers, Peter became frightened and refused to acknowledge knowing Him.
Before we convince ourselves that we would never deny our Lord, how often have we kept our silence when given an opportunity to share the good news of Christ with someone else? Or even worse, are we talking the talk, but not walking the walk? How often have we joined in the laughter over an off colored joke that belittles another person for their sex or color of their skin? Have we been the bold witnesses that Christ has commanded us to be in proclaiming His teachings and modeling our lives to conform to the ways of Christ and not to the world’s?
It is to our own shame that we have not shared the good news of Christ to all whom we meet both in word and deed. Whether our actions have been out of fear of reprisal or concern over lack of acceptance by others, we have denied our Lord by our silence and our actions. I know this, because if each and everyone of us had shared the love of Christ with the people in our communities, then the churches would be standing room only every Sunday. People would be lining up to get through the doors to worship our Lord. The name of Jesus would be in the news media and in text messages across this nation as the greatest story ever told. People would not be able to stop talking about Him.
Instead, the prophet Isaiah proclaims that we have all been judged and found to be guilty. In chapter fifty-three, verse six, Isaiah writes, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Like Peter, we have all failed our Lord. We have not followed the Way that leads to the cross, the only death that can free us of our silence and set us free to share the news of Christ.
The unknown woman who anointed Jesus with the expensive ointment of nard with her actions spoke volumes of her love for the Messiah. She brought Jesus her best and gave it to Him freely without even His asking - a sign of her devotion to Him. The alabaster jar alone that contained the ointment was worth much money.
Mark writes, “While Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table a woman came with an alabaster jar and poured the ointment on his head.”
For her public show of affection, she was scolded by those present, who complained, “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.”
This failure to think of Christ’s mission in only terms of money is what has caused the Church much grief. Instead of supporting worship and devotion to our Lord, we first want to make sure we have enough funding to do it and if the funding is being handled properly. Now I am all for a balanced budget, fiscal responsibility and helping the poor, but our top priority needs to be in putting Christ first.
Of the bystanders complaints and scolding of the woman who poured out her love upon Him, Jesus had these important words to say, “Let her alone; why do your 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.”
The story of Peter’s denial and the story of this woman are both in the scriptures for our edification. Yet, the story of the woman with the alabaster jar has been handed down to us as a remembrance of this woman’s act of devotion and love for Jesus. None of her words are recorded in the gospels. No great speeches given to win others to Christ. Instead, an act of worship for which she was scolded by others is recorded for all to read.
How will others remember us when we are gone from this earth? Will we be remembered as a Peter who talked a good game, but denied the Lord in public? Or will we be known by countless generations for our actions of generosity and love for Christ like the woman who gave Jesus her best and was not ashamed to let others see and know of her love for Him.
The reading of the Passion on Palm Sunday sums up for us the events of Holy Week. There are many roles depicted in this reading. While some of us may see ourselves in only one or two roles, most of us have a smattering of several roles that play out in our living the Way of Christ. We don’t always stay on the right path, but wander off away from our Lord’s way for our lives. We can decide to let this Holy Week be a new beginning for us by drawing us closer to Christ or we can just treat the following days like any other week in the calendar. It is up to each and every one of us to decide. Will we deny this carpenter from Galilee or show the world our love for Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews?
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