"The Supremacy of Love" - John 12:1-8 - March 28, 2004

Here in Sidney there are huge piles of stuff stacked everywhere in the city along the curbs. Its our annual "bulk trash pickup week." Once a year the city of Sidney gives all the residents an opportunity to clean out your attics, garages and basements and dispose of those things that can’t normally be picked up during the weekly trash cycle.

Its quite unsightly, at least until everything is removed and taken to the land fill. I remember the first year we lived here, the bulk pickup fell on Easter. I thought it was some local tradition where everyone gave things away. That was my perception since you see folks with vans and pickup trucks sifting through the stacks and helping themselves. I would guess that Wal Mart sales must really fall off this week since everyone seems to do their shopping at the curb.

Over the years I have found the bulk pickup event to be a healthy catharsis. It has become more than just an opportunity to get rid of your big trash items. It has become an event where items get redistributed amongst the citizens. Some people are surprised that items placed on the curb actually have value. Others complain that people help themselves. But if you’ve thrown it away, what difference does it make where it goes?

I have some items in my garage that I have been holding on to. I’m waiting for the day I have a garage sale so I can make some money. You know what they say, "waste not, want not." Why throw away a perfectly good item when you can make some money on it, right? A friend said to me, "Why don’t you just set it out. Someone will surely come by that can use it. Then you will have more room and be free of something you really don’t need."

My friend was right. We have a habit of holding on to things that might have value. Giving away something that we could turn into cash would be unthinkable. It wouldn’t make any sense.

Does love have to make sense?

In a relationship love is a paradox. On the one hand it is an absolutely uncontrollable emotion. On the other, it is absolutely essential to keep a couple together.

The act of Mary anointing Jesus with the expensive oil is a paradox also. She is using something quite extravagant on Jesus’ feet. She was also violating the tradition of the times since women were not allowed to touch men in public. On the other hand she is displaying her devotion to Jesus, an act of true love.

When we do acts of love for others we do them because we value a particular relationship. We make sacrifices as an expression of our devotion. They are acts of giving and symbolic of the unique bond that exists between the other and ourselves.

When Mary anointed Jesus with the precious perfume, Judas objected. He said that Mary was wasting something that was precious. He said the oil should be sold and the money given to the poor. However, consider the source. We are talking about Judas here, the disciple that would betray Jesus in the end. Do you think that he is really concerned about the poor? Even the scripture includes an editorial comment to this end. Judas didn’t care about anyone but himself. Judas sees only waste where Mary sees love.

The Church is often criticized because we spend money on things like stained glass windows, pipe organs or sanctuaries that are only used one hour a week. I believe the Church is an expression of our love for God. Think how dull our society would be without the presence of beautiful churches.

We express love in many ways that defy logic. My wife and I take our grandchildren to see the Nutcracker at Christmas time. I know others who have taken their entire families on cruises. This morning we are baptizing two children. Baptism is a another way we show our love for them and for the God who created them.

Patricia Long, pastor at First United Church of Christ, Berkley, California said it best. "Performing acts like the one Mary did are acts of extravagant caring that remind us we are called to be in equal partnership with each other, and that we all ought to be humbled as we come together before God." She says "acts of humility and love are empowering! They remind us that though power, control and domination are the ways of the world, there are some places where simple gestures of kindness and caring still count, still make a difference."

Rev. Long says that Mary’s act of anointing Jesus was not unlike Rosa Park’s act of moving from the back of the bus to the front. Whenever a person stands up for love, the world notices. It can also be changed for the better as the oppressed are liberated or the presence of God becomes more visible.

If love has to be extravagant to help the world come closer to God than so be it. To give God our very best is to show God our gratitude. To give our love to others means we have to make a sacrifice.

Mary did not hold back. She not only gave her very best, she took a tremendous risk by anointing Jesus in public rather than private. To this Jesus responds by saying, "Leave her alone. She bought it (costly perfume) so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me."

When we witness acts of love for others we never forget them. My grandparents weren’t wealthy but I will never forget the check they handed me when I went off to college. They wanted me to have a quality education and since 4 other grandchildren preceded me I know this was a real gift for them.

I believe that gifts of love are never extravagant as long as the giver is making a sacrifice. But there are other gifts of love that are just as important as giving money. The nurture that these young parents will give their children is a true gift of love. Whenever anyone goes out of their way to show their love, I believe that God is honored.

Some are reluctant to show their love because they might be embarrassed. Others withhold love because it was withheld from them as a child. Candace Goldapper tells her story about her father who wanted a boy. He was disappointed when she was born and devastated since her mother was unable to have any more children. He never hid his disappointment. He was brutally honest. The family lived on a small farm in Iowa and her father wanted a boy to help with the chores. She tried everything to please her father, but her father never seemed to notice. She could throw a ball farther than any boy her age and climb trees with the best of them. She would bring home straight A’s and achievement awards but her father was unmoved by her accomplishments.

Candace was determined to win her father’s approval no matter what. She worked twice as hard doing chores on the farm, milking cows and gathering eggs before going to school. Her mother told her that her father would come around some day. When Candace turned 13 it was the same year their little town was celebrating their 100th anniversary. The families in the area were asked to submit pictures of their children and grandchildren in order to select a young woman to sit on the float that led the parade. Candace’s mother sent in her daughter’s picture without her knowledge. She was selected but her father still showed no interest.

The day of the parade came and Candace wore a beautiful white dress. She felt awkward since most of her life she was sort of a "Tom boy." But for this occasion she felt like a princess. As the parade passed down Main street, her mother and father were standing along the curb. Her mother was waving a flag and her father, well, he just smiled like he had never smiled before. Candace could see tears in his eyes. For the first time in her life she could tell her father admired her, not as the boy he never had, but the young lady she really was.

That act of curbside love my Candace’s father made all the difference in the world.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio