What fragrance fills your house?
Commentary
How can the world be a safe place? Last fall during the second week of October, I was cleaning up the sacristy and came across the globe that had been used for World Communion Sunday. The secretary noticed me taking it into my office and started singing, "He's got the whole world in his hands." Then, she asked me what I was going to do with it. Reflecting on what had just been happening in the news (a hole had just been blown in the mid-section of the USS Cole by a suicide attack team of terrorists and the streets of Jerusalem were on fire with angry Palestinian citizens threatening to collapse all talk of peace), I replied, "I'm going to put the world away until it is safe to come out again."
The smell of death reeked off the pages of the newspapers that week, exacerbated by a local series on domestic violence and crime in response to October being Domestic Violence Awareness Month in the United States. At the end of this week in my town, seven high school youth lost their lives in two separate accidents on Homecoming weekend. How can the world be a safe place -- whether viewed as a global village or a neighborhood community? Is any week really any different than another? The long and the short of it is that the world is not a safe place. Yet, in the midst of the odor of carnage there is a fragrance that permeates the atmosphere if we but perceive and focus on what God is doing, even if only with one life at a time. No foolin'.
Isaiah 43:16-21
Isaiah expresses a post-exilic exhilaration because of what he sees God doing. Next to Egyptian bondage, Babylonian exile was the most traumatic event in the life of God's people. The promise of heir, nation, and blessing (Genesis 12:1-3), that had taken on legendary proportions under the reign of David and Solomon, had become but a faint whisper (if that!) echoing down the corridors of time over the past seven decades in Babylon. But with the emergence of Cyrus and the Persian empire, hope was on the horizon. Isaiah saw in this turning of history the hand of God shaping a new freedom for his people.
In a daring comparison, Isaiah invites his listeners to set aside their longing for "the good old days," when God was stirring things up in Egypt. The God who dealt with Egypt decisively at the Red Sea is present and acting in a new way to deliver his people from their present predicament. "You think the Exodus was great? Wait until you see what I have in store for you now!" God seems to be saying through Isaiah. "Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing" (43:18-19a), God declares. Perceive it! Take note in the midst of all the upheaval to see how God is shaping his promises for his people in real terms in real time.
Looked at from a purely socio-political point of view, it is just the falling of one empire and the rising of another. There is more than enough bloodshed to go around in the transition. Peoples are displaced. Policies change and migration opens up. Make no mistake about it, however; here is a new taskmaster to whom to account, even if he is more benevolent. Total freedom for God's people? A time of nation-building and new glory to surpass the legendary age of years ago? No! That was not going to happen; yet, there is a euphoria in the air, a joy that rises out of the perception that in and through the actual events of history, written between the lines of human analysis, God is doing a new thing that will bring his purposes closer to fulfillment. The drink for the people is the sweetness of a renewed hope, which has the fragrance of a spring meadow breeze. The wilderness itself will reveal a purposeful path and the desert will gush with water. God has not forgotten the people he had formed for himself. Redeemed from the lion's den and plucked out of the crematorium, the people will once again discover how to praise God.
The prophet Jeremiah on the front side of the exile could anticipate these things happening. "Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, 'As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,' but, 'As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them' " (Jeremiah 16:14-15a). It was Isaiah's joy to announce that those days have come! "Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" (43:19a).
The people can once again rejoice. No longer will they have to despair, "My way is hid from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God!" (Isaiah 40:27). God has not forgotten his people. He will nourish them to keep them alive and keep them as his chosen people. With the eyes of faith, God can be seen shaping Cyrus as his messiah for the day to accomplish his purposes. The events that will unfold will speak themselves of the praiseworthiness of God. Not only the creation declares the glory of the Lord, but also the storyline of history. The eyes of faith can see this clearly and take delight in focusing on the present happenings instead of simply casting nostalgic glances backward.
Philippians 3:4b-14
Paul lifts himself up only to set himself aside. He catalogues his accomplishments "in the flesh" by reciting his traditional, religious, cultural, ethnic, tribal, Pharisaic upbringing. Here is a man with pedigree -- top dog in town. His point, however, is not to gloat in these things; he mentions them to accentuate their uselessness (skubalon, refuse, rubbish; the only time Paul uses this word). He is willing to count these human achievements as loss compared to the gain in knowing Christ Jesus.
In Acts 22:3-5, Paul gives a bit more autobiographical detail "as to zeal a persecutor of the church" (3:6). Here he describes his role in how the religious establishment tried to deal with the followers of the Way, considered a renegade sect by the high priest and the council of the elders. Although we have no other eye-witness accounts of his presence at the death of Christians than the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:54-8:1), we are led to believe by his own admission that Paul was -- responsible for the death of many Christians early on. His conversion and zeal for the faith must have been all the more astounding to the religious leaders who then targeted Paul as among those to be disposed with.
Paul contrasts his former "righteousness" (kata dikaiosunjn tjn en nam, genamenov memptov, 3:6) with his new-found righteousness (tju ek qeou dikaiosunjn, 3:9). "The from God righteousness" (as distinct from any other source) depends on faith, not on works. It is not a man-made achievement; it is a gift from God. (See Ephesians 2:8.) This righteousness is grounded in God's love and work through the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah (Crivtav is a title, remember, not a personal name.). "He has accomplished for me what I could not accomplish for myself, despite all my efforts in what seemed like the right direction," Paul is saying. The result of his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus is that he "has made me his own" (3:12). Another way to express this for Paul is to say that in true religion we do not possess the truth; the truth possesses us. We do not hold the truth; we are held captive by the truth. Academic hubris is replaced by existential humility. The response to this is simple faith, trusting the experience and the one who brought it. For Paul, this righteousness of God (it is accomplished by Jesus!) is from God; that is, it is revealed. He expresses this clearly in Romans 1:17 and again in 3:21f. "But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law."
Paul, like Isaiah, seeks to move beyond the past. Isaiah spoke about "remember not the former things" (Isaiah 43:18); Paul, about "forgetting what lies behind" (3:13). For Isaiah, the past still reflected the glorious activity of God in delivering the people from Egyptian bondage; now, however, the people were to focus on what God was doing in the present for them. Paul is laying aside (forgetting) his former grounds of self-
righteousness and his misguided zeal in persecuting the faithful, whom he now considers his brothers and sisters in Christ. He is able to set this aside, like leaving baggage with the baggage handler rather than carrying it on board oneself, because Jesus has taken the burden onto himself. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 Paul writes, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew so sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (Can we loosely translate the Greek word here for sin, "martia, as "baggage"?)
Paul has renewed zeal, not for the persecution of the faith, but for the prize of the faith. He has been given a new calling in life, which is to proclaim the faith. This faith not only boasts what God has already done in Christ on Calvary and through the empty tomb, but also what God will do in Christ in the future; namely, "when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power" (1 Corinthians 15:24). Paul presses on with subject obedience toward this goal, in which he will share. Although his journey is imperfect now, he still travels with confidence because already "Christ has made me his own" (3:12).
John 12:1-8
The scene is at once tender and abrasive. Mary provides the tenderness; Judas, the abrasiveness. Jesus' words seem to stand astride them both, yet a step ahead.
"Six days before the Passover...." It was not a perfect time, nor was the timing perfect. There is a sense of coming-up-
short here. It is possible to do too much with numbers, especially in our scientific age. But, it is fun to play with them nonetheless, especially recognizing the importance of numbers in the minds of those who wrote the Bible. Letting the number six simply be suggestive in a literary sort of way, the scene into which we are introduced produces a foreshadowing of a more perfect fulfillment yet to come.
On the one hand, Mary takes some costly ointment and gives Jesus a tender treatment of honor. She anoints his feet and wipes them with her hair -- a loving gesture from one who has been loved so deeply and in turn loves deeply. Jesus uses this act and the ointment itself as an occasion to speak of his impending death. He will need the gesture again then; and the fragrance will not just cover the stench of death, but will also release the sweetness of what the death means for the life and salvation of the world. In one sense, Mary's anointing is premature, although appropriate. In another sense, it rightly foreshadows what is to come and it is good to be reminded of that.
On the other hand, Judas reminds Jesus and the others that their mission is for the poor, as Jesus himself announced at the opening of his ministry (Luke 4:18). Jesus certainly does not refute that, nor does he change the mission. He admits with candor that there will always be the poor to provide for. Yet, he says that the poor will simply have to wait at this point in time. The church, as his body in the world, will tend to them later and continually in his name. For now, it is fitting that Jesus be given the focus of attention, because "you do not always have me" (12:8).
Since this scene occurs after Lazarus' miraculous return from the dead, there is obviously some interest for folks to gather at his house. But, the real center of attention here is Jesus. The supper is for him. He is anointed. The poor are to be cared for by his mandate, expressed in his own words and by his own deeds. Still, Jesus is so important, that at this time it is right to pay attention to him even at the expense of the poor. This almost sounds heretical. The value of the oil, in fact, could have provided some tangible means of relief for the poor! Jesus says, "It is all right to indulge me in this way, for it reflects the need of your heart to honor me. You have the unbelievable privilege to do so in person. The future church will only be able to do it through service to the poor. Do what only you can do now." What a dramatic moment, that can be characterized as "a teleological suspension of the ethical" on the order of Kierkegaard's description of Abraham with Isaac on the day of offering.
The gospel writer John sets this scene in the context of Passover and the plan of the chief priests and the Pharisees to arrest Jesus on sight. The stage is set. The one whose body will feed the world and whose blood will quench the thirst for God now takes time himself to eat earthly food for strength and to drink in the adoration that rightly belongs to him -- the one who is about to die. (Remember the gift of myrrh that was offered by the magi as they adored him at his birth. This precious ointment, used in the anointing of the dead, was a foreshadowing of events that were now unfolding.)
Application
Headlines in the paper can be stunning at times. Editors work hard to come up with a catchy phrase that will draw the readers' attention to buy and read the paper. What would Isaiah's headline be for today's text? "God not satisfied with past!" Or "What's God up to now?" Or "Desert Floods as God Surprises His People!" The article would go on to describe how God is working in the historical events of the day to bring about his purposes. His purposes would be identified as relationship building rather than history manipulation. God indeed works in history to accomplish his purposes. But, it would be wrong to interpret God's purposes as manipulating history with the rise and fall of empires to achieve some pre-determined outcome, like on a chess board. The purpose of God's activity in history is to garner the attention of his people and draw them into deeper relationship with him, and through them the entire world. The key to the activities of God is found in his desire to draw near to his people and have his people draw near to him. That is why Isaiah can encourage the people to let go of the past ("Remember not the former things ...") and pay attention to what God is in fact doing for them in the present ("Behold, I am doing a new thing"). God is concerned with each and every generation and will manifest himself to them for their sake, that they may know they have a loving God and that they are indeed his people.
Today, we can look carefully at our own lives and see ways in which God is "doing a new thing." This gives us assurance that our faith is not an ancient relic, but a living testimony to the on-going relationship that God is building with his people. What we discover is that it is the same God who called Israel out of bondage and released the exiles from Babylon, who calls us today out of our sinful past to live in the power of the forgiveness of our sins and the promise of new life in the name of Jesus. In Jesus, after all, we are introduced to the true heart of God most clearly. He brings about a qualitatively different stage in the revelation of God in history (the Incarnation). Paul is right when he speaks about a new age dawning in Jesus, even though this new action of God is consistent with all that has gone on before, especially with the Exodus and the Exile.
The AARP magazine, Modern Maturity, describes many ways for seniors to enjoy their retirement years in the fruits of their labors. Paul would not be a good editor of this magazine, because he would be far more interested in resting in the work of Jesus for us. Paul would have us look beyond the prize of human attainment and rewards "toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14). It is important at every stage of our human growth to guard against a materialism that can distract us from our spiritual purpose, as God expresses it in Isaiah 43:21, "that they might declare my praise." As we mature in the Christian life, we discover that true wisdom is to know Jesus and that more and more our blessings prove to be signposts to draw us closer to our loving God through Jesus, as the writer of Hebrews exhorts us, "Consider Jesus" (Hebrews 3:1).
These blessings are in turn to be poured out upon the Body of Christ as a thank offering and an act of praise, like Mary anointing his feet with costly ointment. The Body of Christ can be seen both as the church itself, manifesting his on-going love and care, and the suffering world around us, which is crucified daily with injustice. What fragrance fills our houses? Is it the fragrance of greed, where our libations are poured upon ourselves (as Paul would say, "their god is the belly" Philippians 3:19); or is it the fragrance of generosity, where our libations are poured upon the Body of Christ to the glory of God? In so doing, we are caring both for God's house and the people gathered therein and for the poor in the community, who are his house on the street. Church budgets consist of line items pertaining to both brick and mortar (and staff) as well as programs and outreach. These line items are sanctified when they are supported to praise his name.
Often a distinction is made between being task-oriented or people-oriented. As Christians we are to find a balance between the two, which are both important. We are oriented to people as the beloved of God, who are called into a deepening relationship with God and with one another. We are oriented to tasks insofar as we have a mission (which involves strategies) to share the good news of God's revelation in Christ Jesus that all may know him and come to the knowledge of the truth. Whatever "costly ointment" we have to offer is to be poured out to these ends, so that its fragrance may fill the Lord's house, our houses, and the entire world. Such a fragrance is a reminder that it is only as the whole world is truly in the hands of God that it is safe.
FIRST LESSON FOCUS
By Elizabeth Achtemeier
Isaiah 43:16-21
This passage forms part of the first stanza or strophe of the long announcement of salvation that begins in 43:14 and that extends through 44:5. It is addressed sometime between 550 and 538 B.C. by the prophet known as Second Isaiah to the Israelites of Judah and Benjamin who have languished in Babylonian exile since their three deportations in 597, 587, and 582 B.C. The Lord of history used the armies of Babylonia to bring his judgment on his covenant people for their faithlessness toward him.
When the Second Isaiah utters this oracle, he speaks directly to the predominant mood and thought of the exiles. They think God's acts of salvation are all in the past, and as we read in 40:27, they are saying, "My way is hid from the Lord,/ and my right is disregarded by my God."
To be sure, the Israelites are aware of God's mighty deeds of salvation on their behalf in the past, just as we are aware of the forgiveness of sin and the assurance of eternal life given us by the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thus, Second Isaiah can use terms familiar to the Israelites when he speaks on behalf of God.
God is the "Redeemer" of Israel (43:14). A "redeemer" throughout the Bible is one who buys back a family member out of slavery (cf. Leviticus 25:47-49), and the Lord is the one who bought back the forbears of Israel out of their bondage in Egypt. That exodus event is vividly recalled in 43:16-17, and the total defeat of the Egyptian forces who pursued Israel at the Sea of Reeds is emphasized by the repetitions in those verses.
That redemption, that delivery into the "glorious liberty of the children of God," is God's central act of salvation in the Old Testament, just as the redemption given us by the death and resurrection of Christ forms God's central and parallel act of salvation in the New Testament. Thus, God is called Israel's "Redeemer" nine times in Second Isaiah, but significantly the title is most often joined with the appellation of God as "the Holy One of Israel," as in 43:14. God's "holiness" in the Bible refers to his absolute uniqueness, his total difference from anything or anyone in creation (cf. Exodus 20:4), his unmatchable might, his incomparable love, his unsearchable wisdom (cf. Isaiah 55:8-9). Who directed the Spirit of the Lord, asks Isaiah 40:13, and to whom will you liken him (Isaiah 40:18)? Nothing and no one is comparable to God, and he has shown that absolute uniqueness in his deliverance of Israel from the house of bondage in Egypt.
As a result, the Lord is also Israel's "Creator" (43:15), for it was his deliverance of that ragtag bunch of slaves from Egypt that first made Israel a people. They were just a motley "mixed multitude" (Exodus 12:38) of semi-nomadic semites and strangers when they were set free in the exodus. But when the Lord redeemed them and then guided them through the wilderness and entered into covenant with them at Mount Sinai, they became a people, sharing a common history and obligation. They had one thing in common: They had all been redeemed together. And that is our story too, is it not? We in the Christian Church are a very mixed multitude, of every race and background and status. But we have all been joined together into a universal community by God's salvation of us. We have all been redeemed together. And now we are one people, sharing a common past and obligation.
The One who rules our life is the Lord, our King, as Second Isaiah names God the King of Israel in 43:15. And, bound to our God by the new covenant with Jesus Christ every time we celebrate the Lord's Supper, we promise to serve the Lord alone, as Israel also promised in her covenant with God at Mount Sinai (cf. Exodus 19:8 and 24:7). Who is the Ruler of our life? The Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the King and Creator and Redeemer of his people Israel.
All of that in her past history was proclaimed to Israel there in exile in Babylon. And she remembered it all -- all the deeds of love and power that the Lord had worked on her behalf through seven centuries of history. Similarly, we remember God's deeds of love and power that he has worked for us in our past lives. In this sacred season of Lent, the liturgy of the church is designed to help us in that remembrance -- to help us vividly recall the teaching and healing, the suffering and death and rising again of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But now our text for the morning tells Israel -- and us -- "Remember not the former things;/ nor consider the things of old./ Behold I am doing a new thing;/ now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" (43:18). In other words, those exiles in Babylonia, who think that all of God's deeds of salvation are in the past and that their way is hid from their God, are given the glad announcement that God is not through acting to save his people. Instead, he will deliver them once again from bondage, this time from exile, and lead them once again through the wilderness, and take them once more to their promised land. God's plan for his people is not done. He has yet more to do in their lives, for he has created them in the first place in order that they may continue to praise him. And God is not done with us either, good Christians. He has yet more deeds of might and mercy, of succor and salvation to work with us, in order that we may go on praising his name for his present acts in our lives.
So, yes, in this season of Lent, remember all that God has done through Jesus Christ in the past. Remember his redemption of you by his cross and resurrection. Remember his suffering for our sake and his incredible love in order to forgive us. Remember all that he said and did when he walked this earth and shared our life and bore all our humanity, even unto death. But listen carefully to our prophet. God is doing a new thing in your life. Keep your eyes wide open to perceive it. Open your heart and mind to receive it. The God of Israel and of Jesus Christ is still Redeemer, Holy One, Creator, King, who can work powerfully in your life and mine to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think. By his work in us and in this church we can still continue to grow up into the measure of the fullness of the stature of Jesus Christ. We can still run the race that is set before us, bringing praise to his name. And, yes, at the end, we can still be those to whom he says, "Well done, thou good and faithful servants." By the grace of the Lord, you and I can be those new persons in whose lives and church God will do new things.
The smell of death reeked off the pages of the newspapers that week, exacerbated by a local series on domestic violence and crime in response to October being Domestic Violence Awareness Month in the United States. At the end of this week in my town, seven high school youth lost their lives in two separate accidents on Homecoming weekend. How can the world be a safe place -- whether viewed as a global village or a neighborhood community? Is any week really any different than another? The long and the short of it is that the world is not a safe place. Yet, in the midst of the odor of carnage there is a fragrance that permeates the atmosphere if we but perceive and focus on what God is doing, even if only with one life at a time. No foolin'.
Isaiah 43:16-21
Isaiah expresses a post-exilic exhilaration because of what he sees God doing. Next to Egyptian bondage, Babylonian exile was the most traumatic event in the life of God's people. The promise of heir, nation, and blessing (Genesis 12:1-3), that had taken on legendary proportions under the reign of David and Solomon, had become but a faint whisper (if that!) echoing down the corridors of time over the past seven decades in Babylon. But with the emergence of Cyrus and the Persian empire, hope was on the horizon. Isaiah saw in this turning of history the hand of God shaping a new freedom for his people.
In a daring comparison, Isaiah invites his listeners to set aside their longing for "the good old days," when God was stirring things up in Egypt. The God who dealt with Egypt decisively at the Red Sea is present and acting in a new way to deliver his people from their present predicament. "You think the Exodus was great? Wait until you see what I have in store for you now!" God seems to be saying through Isaiah. "Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing" (43:18-19a), God declares. Perceive it! Take note in the midst of all the upheaval to see how God is shaping his promises for his people in real terms in real time.
Looked at from a purely socio-political point of view, it is just the falling of one empire and the rising of another. There is more than enough bloodshed to go around in the transition. Peoples are displaced. Policies change and migration opens up. Make no mistake about it, however; here is a new taskmaster to whom to account, even if he is more benevolent. Total freedom for God's people? A time of nation-building and new glory to surpass the legendary age of years ago? No! That was not going to happen; yet, there is a euphoria in the air, a joy that rises out of the perception that in and through the actual events of history, written between the lines of human analysis, God is doing a new thing that will bring his purposes closer to fulfillment. The drink for the people is the sweetness of a renewed hope, which has the fragrance of a spring meadow breeze. The wilderness itself will reveal a purposeful path and the desert will gush with water. God has not forgotten the people he had formed for himself. Redeemed from the lion's den and plucked out of the crematorium, the people will once again discover how to praise God.
The prophet Jeremiah on the front side of the exile could anticipate these things happening. "Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, 'As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,' but, 'As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them' " (Jeremiah 16:14-15a). It was Isaiah's joy to announce that those days have come! "Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" (43:19a).
The people can once again rejoice. No longer will they have to despair, "My way is hid from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God!" (Isaiah 40:27). God has not forgotten his people. He will nourish them to keep them alive and keep them as his chosen people. With the eyes of faith, God can be seen shaping Cyrus as his messiah for the day to accomplish his purposes. The events that will unfold will speak themselves of the praiseworthiness of God. Not only the creation declares the glory of the Lord, but also the storyline of history. The eyes of faith can see this clearly and take delight in focusing on the present happenings instead of simply casting nostalgic glances backward.
Philippians 3:4b-14
Paul lifts himself up only to set himself aside. He catalogues his accomplishments "in the flesh" by reciting his traditional, religious, cultural, ethnic, tribal, Pharisaic upbringing. Here is a man with pedigree -- top dog in town. His point, however, is not to gloat in these things; he mentions them to accentuate their uselessness (skubalon, refuse, rubbish; the only time Paul uses this word). He is willing to count these human achievements as loss compared to the gain in knowing Christ Jesus.
In Acts 22:3-5, Paul gives a bit more autobiographical detail "as to zeal a persecutor of the church" (3:6). Here he describes his role in how the religious establishment tried to deal with the followers of the Way, considered a renegade sect by the high priest and the council of the elders. Although we have no other eye-witness accounts of his presence at the death of Christians than the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:54-8:1), we are led to believe by his own admission that Paul was -- responsible for the death of many Christians early on. His conversion and zeal for the faith must have been all the more astounding to the religious leaders who then targeted Paul as among those to be disposed with.
Paul contrasts his former "righteousness" (kata dikaiosunjn tjn en nam, genamenov memptov, 3:6) with his new-found righteousness (tju ek qeou dikaiosunjn, 3:9). "The from God righteousness" (as distinct from any other source) depends on faith, not on works. It is not a man-made achievement; it is a gift from God. (See Ephesians 2:8.) This righteousness is grounded in God's love and work through the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah (Crivtav is a title, remember, not a personal name.). "He has accomplished for me what I could not accomplish for myself, despite all my efforts in what seemed like the right direction," Paul is saying. The result of his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus is that he "has made me his own" (3:12). Another way to express this for Paul is to say that in true religion we do not possess the truth; the truth possesses us. We do not hold the truth; we are held captive by the truth. Academic hubris is replaced by existential humility. The response to this is simple faith, trusting the experience and the one who brought it. For Paul, this righteousness of God (it is accomplished by Jesus!) is from God; that is, it is revealed. He expresses this clearly in Romans 1:17 and again in 3:21f. "But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law."
Paul, like Isaiah, seeks to move beyond the past. Isaiah spoke about "remember not the former things" (Isaiah 43:18); Paul, about "forgetting what lies behind" (3:13). For Isaiah, the past still reflected the glorious activity of God in delivering the people from Egyptian bondage; now, however, the people were to focus on what God was doing in the present for them. Paul is laying aside (forgetting) his former grounds of self-
righteousness and his misguided zeal in persecuting the faithful, whom he now considers his brothers and sisters in Christ. He is able to set this aside, like leaving baggage with the baggage handler rather than carrying it on board oneself, because Jesus has taken the burden onto himself. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 Paul writes, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew so sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (Can we loosely translate the Greek word here for sin, "martia, as "baggage"?)
Paul has renewed zeal, not for the persecution of the faith, but for the prize of the faith. He has been given a new calling in life, which is to proclaim the faith. This faith not only boasts what God has already done in Christ on Calvary and through the empty tomb, but also what God will do in Christ in the future; namely, "when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power" (1 Corinthians 15:24). Paul presses on with subject obedience toward this goal, in which he will share. Although his journey is imperfect now, he still travels with confidence because already "Christ has made me his own" (3:12).
John 12:1-8
The scene is at once tender and abrasive. Mary provides the tenderness; Judas, the abrasiveness. Jesus' words seem to stand astride them both, yet a step ahead.
"Six days before the Passover...." It was not a perfect time, nor was the timing perfect. There is a sense of coming-up-
short here. It is possible to do too much with numbers, especially in our scientific age. But, it is fun to play with them nonetheless, especially recognizing the importance of numbers in the minds of those who wrote the Bible. Letting the number six simply be suggestive in a literary sort of way, the scene into which we are introduced produces a foreshadowing of a more perfect fulfillment yet to come.
On the one hand, Mary takes some costly ointment and gives Jesus a tender treatment of honor. She anoints his feet and wipes them with her hair -- a loving gesture from one who has been loved so deeply and in turn loves deeply. Jesus uses this act and the ointment itself as an occasion to speak of his impending death. He will need the gesture again then; and the fragrance will not just cover the stench of death, but will also release the sweetness of what the death means for the life and salvation of the world. In one sense, Mary's anointing is premature, although appropriate. In another sense, it rightly foreshadows what is to come and it is good to be reminded of that.
On the other hand, Judas reminds Jesus and the others that their mission is for the poor, as Jesus himself announced at the opening of his ministry (Luke 4:18). Jesus certainly does not refute that, nor does he change the mission. He admits with candor that there will always be the poor to provide for. Yet, he says that the poor will simply have to wait at this point in time. The church, as his body in the world, will tend to them later and continually in his name. For now, it is fitting that Jesus be given the focus of attention, because "you do not always have me" (12:8).
Since this scene occurs after Lazarus' miraculous return from the dead, there is obviously some interest for folks to gather at his house. But, the real center of attention here is Jesus. The supper is for him. He is anointed. The poor are to be cared for by his mandate, expressed in his own words and by his own deeds. Still, Jesus is so important, that at this time it is right to pay attention to him even at the expense of the poor. This almost sounds heretical. The value of the oil, in fact, could have provided some tangible means of relief for the poor! Jesus says, "It is all right to indulge me in this way, for it reflects the need of your heart to honor me. You have the unbelievable privilege to do so in person. The future church will only be able to do it through service to the poor. Do what only you can do now." What a dramatic moment, that can be characterized as "a teleological suspension of the ethical" on the order of Kierkegaard's description of Abraham with Isaac on the day of offering.
The gospel writer John sets this scene in the context of Passover and the plan of the chief priests and the Pharisees to arrest Jesus on sight. The stage is set. The one whose body will feed the world and whose blood will quench the thirst for God now takes time himself to eat earthly food for strength and to drink in the adoration that rightly belongs to him -- the one who is about to die. (Remember the gift of myrrh that was offered by the magi as they adored him at his birth. This precious ointment, used in the anointing of the dead, was a foreshadowing of events that were now unfolding.)
Application
Headlines in the paper can be stunning at times. Editors work hard to come up with a catchy phrase that will draw the readers' attention to buy and read the paper. What would Isaiah's headline be for today's text? "God not satisfied with past!" Or "What's God up to now?" Or "Desert Floods as God Surprises His People!" The article would go on to describe how God is working in the historical events of the day to bring about his purposes. His purposes would be identified as relationship building rather than history manipulation. God indeed works in history to accomplish his purposes. But, it would be wrong to interpret God's purposes as manipulating history with the rise and fall of empires to achieve some pre-determined outcome, like on a chess board. The purpose of God's activity in history is to garner the attention of his people and draw them into deeper relationship with him, and through them the entire world. The key to the activities of God is found in his desire to draw near to his people and have his people draw near to him. That is why Isaiah can encourage the people to let go of the past ("Remember not the former things ...") and pay attention to what God is in fact doing for them in the present ("Behold, I am doing a new thing"). God is concerned with each and every generation and will manifest himself to them for their sake, that they may know they have a loving God and that they are indeed his people.
Today, we can look carefully at our own lives and see ways in which God is "doing a new thing." This gives us assurance that our faith is not an ancient relic, but a living testimony to the on-going relationship that God is building with his people. What we discover is that it is the same God who called Israel out of bondage and released the exiles from Babylon, who calls us today out of our sinful past to live in the power of the forgiveness of our sins and the promise of new life in the name of Jesus. In Jesus, after all, we are introduced to the true heart of God most clearly. He brings about a qualitatively different stage in the revelation of God in history (the Incarnation). Paul is right when he speaks about a new age dawning in Jesus, even though this new action of God is consistent with all that has gone on before, especially with the Exodus and the Exile.
The AARP magazine, Modern Maturity, describes many ways for seniors to enjoy their retirement years in the fruits of their labors. Paul would not be a good editor of this magazine, because he would be far more interested in resting in the work of Jesus for us. Paul would have us look beyond the prize of human attainment and rewards "toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14). It is important at every stage of our human growth to guard against a materialism that can distract us from our spiritual purpose, as God expresses it in Isaiah 43:21, "that they might declare my praise." As we mature in the Christian life, we discover that true wisdom is to know Jesus and that more and more our blessings prove to be signposts to draw us closer to our loving God through Jesus, as the writer of Hebrews exhorts us, "Consider Jesus" (Hebrews 3:1).
These blessings are in turn to be poured out upon the Body of Christ as a thank offering and an act of praise, like Mary anointing his feet with costly ointment. The Body of Christ can be seen both as the church itself, manifesting his on-going love and care, and the suffering world around us, which is crucified daily with injustice. What fragrance fills our houses? Is it the fragrance of greed, where our libations are poured upon ourselves (as Paul would say, "their god is the belly" Philippians 3:19); or is it the fragrance of generosity, where our libations are poured upon the Body of Christ to the glory of God? In so doing, we are caring both for God's house and the people gathered therein and for the poor in the community, who are his house on the street. Church budgets consist of line items pertaining to both brick and mortar (and staff) as well as programs and outreach. These line items are sanctified when they are supported to praise his name.
Often a distinction is made between being task-oriented or people-oriented. As Christians we are to find a balance between the two, which are both important. We are oriented to people as the beloved of God, who are called into a deepening relationship with God and with one another. We are oriented to tasks insofar as we have a mission (which involves strategies) to share the good news of God's revelation in Christ Jesus that all may know him and come to the knowledge of the truth. Whatever "costly ointment" we have to offer is to be poured out to these ends, so that its fragrance may fill the Lord's house, our houses, and the entire world. Such a fragrance is a reminder that it is only as the whole world is truly in the hands of God that it is safe.
FIRST LESSON FOCUS
By Elizabeth Achtemeier
Isaiah 43:16-21
This passage forms part of the first stanza or strophe of the long announcement of salvation that begins in 43:14 and that extends through 44:5. It is addressed sometime between 550 and 538 B.C. by the prophet known as Second Isaiah to the Israelites of Judah and Benjamin who have languished in Babylonian exile since their three deportations in 597, 587, and 582 B.C. The Lord of history used the armies of Babylonia to bring his judgment on his covenant people for their faithlessness toward him.
When the Second Isaiah utters this oracle, he speaks directly to the predominant mood and thought of the exiles. They think God's acts of salvation are all in the past, and as we read in 40:27, they are saying, "My way is hid from the Lord,/ and my right is disregarded by my God."
To be sure, the Israelites are aware of God's mighty deeds of salvation on their behalf in the past, just as we are aware of the forgiveness of sin and the assurance of eternal life given us by the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thus, Second Isaiah can use terms familiar to the Israelites when he speaks on behalf of God.
God is the "Redeemer" of Israel (43:14). A "redeemer" throughout the Bible is one who buys back a family member out of slavery (cf. Leviticus 25:47-49), and the Lord is the one who bought back the forbears of Israel out of their bondage in Egypt. That exodus event is vividly recalled in 43:16-17, and the total defeat of the Egyptian forces who pursued Israel at the Sea of Reeds is emphasized by the repetitions in those verses.
That redemption, that delivery into the "glorious liberty of the children of God," is God's central act of salvation in the Old Testament, just as the redemption given us by the death and resurrection of Christ forms God's central and parallel act of salvation in the New Testament. Thus, God is called Israel's "Redeemer" nine times in Second Isaiah, but significantly the title is most often joined with the appellation of God as "the Holy One of Israel," as in 43:14. God's "holiness" in the Bible refers to his absolute uniqueness, his total difference from anything or anyone in creation (cf. Exodus 20:4), his unmatchable might, his incomparable love, his unsearchable wisdom (cf. Isaiah 55:8-9). Who directed the Spirit of the Lord, asks Isaiah 40:13, and to whom will you liken him (Isaiah 40:18)? Nothing and no one is comparable to God, and he has shown that absolute uniqueness in his deliverance of Israel from the house of bondage in Egypt.
As a result, the Lord is also Israel's "Creator" (43:15), for it was his deliverance of that ragtag bunch of slaves from Egypt that first made Israel a people. They were just a motley "mixed multitude" (Exodus 12:38) of semi-nomadic semites and strangers when they were set free in the exodus. But when the Lord redeemed them and then guided them through the wilderness and entered into covenant with them at Mount Sinai, they became a people, sharing a common history and obligation. They had one thing in common: They had all been redeemed together. And that is our story too, is it not? We in the Christian Church are a very mixed multitude, of every race and background and status. But we have all been joined together into a universal community by God's salvation of us. We have all been redeemed together. And now we are one people, sharing a common past and obligation.
The One who rules our life is the Lord, our King, as Second Isaiah names God the King of Israel in 43:15. And, bound to our God by the new covenant with Jesus Christ every time we celebrate the Lord's Supper, we promise to serve the Lord alone, as Israel also promised in her covenant with God at Mount Sinai (cf. Exodus 19:8 and 24:7). Who is the Ruler of our life? The Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the King and Creator and Redeemer of his people Israel.
All of that in her past history was proclaimed to Israel there in exile in Babylon. And she remembered it all -- all the deeds of love and power that the Lord had worked on her behalf through seven centuries of history. Similarly, we remember God's deeds of love and power that he has worked for us in our past lives. In this sacred season of Lent, the liturgy of the church is designed to help us in that remembrance -- to help us vividly recall the teaching and healing, the suffering and death and rising again of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But now our text for the morning tells Israel -- and us -- "Remember not the former things;/ nor consider the things of old./ Behold I am doing a new thing;/ now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" (43:18). In other words, those exiles in Babylonia, who think that all of God's deeds of salvation are in the past and that their way is hid from their God, are given the glad announcement that God is not through acting to save his people. Instead, he will deliver them once again from bondage, this time from exile, and lead them once again through the wilderness, and take them once more to their promised land. God's plan for his people is not done. He has yet more to do in their lives, for he has created them in the first place in order that they may continue to praise him. And God is not done with us either, good Christians. He has yet more deeds of might and mercy, of succor and salvation to work with us, in order that we may go on praising his name for his present acts in our lives.
So, yes, in this season of Lent, remember all that God has done through Jesus Christ in the past. Remember his redemption of you by his cross and resurrection. Remember his suffering for our sake and his incredible love in order to forgive us. Remember all that he said and did when he walked this earth and shared our life and bore all our humanity, even unto death. But listen carefully to our prophet. God is doing a new thing in your life. Keep your eyes wide open to perceive it. Open your heart and mind to receive it. The God of Israel and of Jesus Christ is still Redeemer, Holy One, Creator, King, who can work powerfully in your life and mine to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think. By his work in us and in this church we can still continue to grow up into the measure of the fullness of the stature of Jesus Christ. We can still run the race that is set before us, bringing praise to his name. And, yes, at the end, we can still be those to whom he says, "Well done, thou good and faithful servants." By the grace of the Lord, you and I can be those new persons in whose lives and church God will do new things.
