On Line Bible Study - For the week November 2-8, 2009

Lesson 412

Mark 14: ¹Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him. ²"But not during the Feast," they said, "or the people may riot."

There is an interesting article today (November 28, 2009) in the NY Times by Columnist Judith Warner. (http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/palin-goes-gracious/?ref=opinion). Ms. Warner speaks of the graciousness of Sarah Palin's willingness to have Levi Johnson over for Thanksgiving Dinner. The main point has to do with the lack of civility in our country in recent years. In one of the comments that follows the article, a woman who grew up with Scottish and British blood in her veins reminisces about the expected decorum and behavior at family holiday gatherings.

All this makes me think about the text before us today - What is the proper way to behave during the feast? At the very least, should we be willing to behave so as not to cause a riot? Is public behavior a true indication of deeper motives? Can it be used to camouflage sinister intent?

People who attribute little or no value to this life care less about the chaos they create; in fact, as far as some are concerned, the more chaos the better. Scholars tell us the population of Jerusalem could be as much as quadrupled during the Passover Feast - Like Lake Placid over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. But the sacred nature of the Feast was more than enough to put a "charge" into the crowds that made them all the more volatile. And people could be counted on to do strange things ... For example, look what happens next:

Mark 14: ³While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

This is an extravagant deed by an un-named woman. It creates unrest in the gathering of guests - some observe: "Why this waste of perfume? ⁵It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor."

It's always easier to criticize someone else' extravagance than our own. How "extravagant" was the Thanksgiving feast you just enjoyed? How "extravagant" was the dinner they were enjoying that day in Bethany? Did it ever occur to the people criticizing the woman that they, too, could give generously to the poor?

So ... the undertow of the plot to arrest and kill Jesus; the extravagant action of the woman; Mark presents us with one more unusual situation:

Mark 14: ¹⁰Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. ¹¹They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

As the woman comes to Jesus to anoint him, one of his own takes leave of Jesus to betray him. All this in the first 11 verses of the chapter! In Mark's inimitable style, things are happening fast. In this particular sequence, the "happenings" are conflicting, churning, stirring things up, creating the kind of chaos that was intentionally being avoided. One is reminded of Psalm 23: You set a table before me in the presence of my enemies ... Indeed.

We are being catapulted toward the crucifixion, the death that Jesus predicts three times in this gospel. It will happen in an atmosphere of religious zeal, of political unrest, of social chaos. What will it mean? One thing we might see is the accuracy of Mark's description insofar as we, too, welcome Jesus, question Jesus, betray Jesus, worship Jesus, claim Jesus is our king, then treat him as if he is irrelevant. Sometimes all this happens within the time it takes for us to enjoy a good meal.