The place of piety (Jn. 12:1–8)

Lent is a good a time as any to think about our piety and how it fits into our lives as Christians. If we describe someone as “pious” or “reverent”, we can sometimes mean it in a negative sense.

In my experience at Australian Lutheran College as a pastoral student, I noticed a particular phase that many of my fellow students went through. After being immersed in daily chapel services, learning about church history from the early church to Lutheranism in Australia, countless conversations with world-class lecturers about all kinds of topics, and exposure to theologians of the past, students quite often come out with an enhanced appreciation for Christian piety. I’ve noticed it in my fellow students and other graduate pastors. You might notice it in me.

What do I mean by “piety”? I’m talking about reverence – a deep respect – for God and the things of God. When you spend five years talking about the sinfulness of humanity and the graciousness of God every day, the importance of God’s saving work starts to really sink in. When worship services are a part of your daily schedule, it becomes a part of who you are and how you view the world.

Piety can reveal itself in all kinds of ways, but the most obvious one is how someone holds themselves in worship. Some people like to hold out both hands for the bread at Communion, for example, because of how precious it is. Some people like to bow to the altar when they come and go from the sanctuary. Some of us close our eyes when the Bible is being read to try to sharpen our focus. Some of us cross ourselves whenever the pastor makes the sign.

These practices are a matter of personal choice. Some of us have feel that these things help us to hear God speak and remind ourselves of what’s going on in worship. Some of us are more relaxed, knowing that God is speaking and acting without any requirement on their part. Just sitting, listening, and participating is its own form of piety.

Whether you think you’re a pious person or not (or whether you think that other person is too pious or not), God still speaks and acts. He loves you and speaks to you in precisely the same way as the next person. Outward acts of piety are purely a matter of personal choice, and they are between us and God.

Mary’s devotion

I would describe Mary as a particularly pious person. At the dinner table, in front of everyone, she went ahead and worshipped her Lord in the way she felt was appropriate. It’s hard to know exactly what came over her that night – had she saved this perfume for this moment? Had she always intended to use it for this, or was it an impulse that she just had to act on?

John tells us that it’s six days before the Passover, which Jesus and his disciples would soon celebrate on Maundy Thursday, making this the Saturday before Palm Sunday. So the very next day, Jesus will enter into Jerusalem and the cross is very much in view. Jesus and his disciples stop at Bethany for one last Sabbath dinner with his dearest friends: Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.

Jesus and Lazarus are at the table while Martha is in the kitchen getting dinner ready. It’s a normal Saturday evening at a friend’s house. But then Mary does this strange thing.

This perfume is described as pure nard, which is a way of describing its sheer value. This is the most expensive Dior or Chanel. Top shelf. It’s worth almost an average year’s wage. She anoints Jesus’ feet with it. He’s reclining at the table, so it would be easy for everyone to see.

What she does next is even stranger. She unravels her hair, which is culturally inappropriate for any woman to do in public. It’s basically as suggestive as a woman with a long skirt lifting it up to her thighs. You can imagine the tenseness in the room now – the men are probably embarrassed, trying to look away. Mary wipes Jesus’ feet with her hair.

She is worshipping her Lord in the most reverent, respectful way she knows how. She is honouring her Saviour. She has no consideration whatsoever of the others in the room. She is fully aware of the cultural norms and expectations, but she can’t help but worship Jesus. This is an example to us of worship without shame. All that matters is her and Jesus.

Judas’ reaction

The tense silence is broken by none other than Judas Iscariot. “What a waste! You should’ve sold it and given the money to the poor.” This seems a bit of a random suggestion to make, but it actually makes a lot of sense.

Jesus regularly taught on the practice of giving to the poor (almsgiving). Even on the night of the Passover, when Judas was ducking out to hand Jesus over to the Romans, the disciples thought he was off to give some money to the poor or something. The two reasons the disciples had a stash of money were to pay for their own expenses on the road, and to give money to the poor. Judas, who was effectively the treasurer, knew that this made sense to suggest.

John, the author of this gospel, makes it very clear to us that this suggestion isn’t as good as it seems. His motives are greed and selfish gain. John tells us that Judas used to help himself to the money box from time to time. He sees right through it.

We seem to have a natural tendency to distance ourselves from Judas. As the betrayer, he is the worst of the worst. No way would we be at his level. Sure, we can associate with Peter and his three denials of Jesus, or the other disciples who scatter with fear. But Judas is in his own league.

What Judas does here is cover up his selfish ambitions with fake piety. We can agree that giving to the poor is always a good thing to do. Not a bad idea, Judas. Only, we know what you’re really up to. We do exactly the same thing, disguising our self-serving ideas with fake selflessness. We shouldn’t be so quick to distance ourselves from Judas.

Jesus’ direction

How does Jesus respond? He could very easily pull Judas up in front of everyone – he surely knew what he had been up to. But his focus is elsewhere. His focus is on his death and burial. He knows what’s coming in under a week’s time, and he is willingly going down that road.

“Leave her alone,” he says “so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.” This is a particularly difficult phrase to translate, which is probably because John struggled to understand what Jesus meant.

It sounds like Jesus expects Mary to save a bit of this perfume for his burial. Traditionally, dead bodies were wrapped and treated with spices and perfume, so that thinking makes sense. Only, it’s too late. She’s already used it on his feet.

What Jesus is really saying is that Mary is preparing Jesus’ body for burial. She is anointing his body in preparation for his imminent death and burial. Mary doesn’t know it, but what she is doing is prophetic. She is foretelling what Jesus is about to do. Amazing.

Keep in mind that Lazarus is also in the room. He is a lingering reminder of the reality of death. Even he will die a physical death, despite being raised by Christ once already.

And then Jesus says, “You will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.” Jesus is well on the way to the cross. He isn’t going to be physically present with them for much longer, at least not in this way. Mary is treasuring every moment she has left with Jesus, which he commends. Jesus honours the one who honours him.

Is he disregarding the poor? Or, is he saying we should prioritise him over those in need? There will always be need in the world – that’s just the way it is. When one war ends, another one starts. When one flood recedes, another one comes. There will always be people who need support in tough times. Our calling as Christians is to respond to the need we see, but not at the expense of worshipping our Lord.

At that moment, when Mary is worshipping her Lord, that’s all that matters in the world. She’ll get up tomorrow and get on with responding to the needs around her in Christian love, but right now, Jesus is the sole focus of her life.

As Christians, we need to first be fed to feed others. As Luther says, “We are all beggars telling others where to find bread.” Our weekly and daily routines of worship and prayer are crucial if we are going to have the spiritual capacity to serve others.

Jesus came into this world not to be served, but to serve. But even Jesus himself often spent time up on a mountain, away from others, in solitary prayer to his Father in heaven. Even he needed to refill his tank to keep on going.

Jesus practiced piety in his own way, as did Mary, as do we. We make the effort to spend time in God’s presence because he will feed us. We make the point of establishing good, pious practices to help ourselves engage in worship and make ourselves as open as possible to receiving God’s good gifts. Don’t let anything get in the way of your worship of God – not your own guilt, not what other people might think.

Imagine a place where people come together to all worship God, hear his Word and be fed by him without fear of what others think. Imagine a group of Christians who have no shame in their piety because their sole focus is on the one we worship. Imagine a community that was open to learning from the practice of others. Let’s pray that we would be a church like that...