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A Dinner Party With Jesus - Anne Alexis Harra
Listen to this week's sermon from LIFT Worship from Anne Alexis Harra for the Fifth Sunday in Lent, April 3, 2022
Learn more about LIFT, Living in Faith Together, at stmartinec.org/lift
Today's Readings:
Joshua 5:9-12 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 Psalm 32Readings were taken from God's Word, My Voice: A Children's Lectionary
Good morning, my friends. Today, we heard about a dinner party. Who has ever been to a dinner party? Or a big family dinner? Raise your hand. Wonderful. What are some things you experience at a dinner party? What happens there?
That's right. You can usually expect lots of food. Sometimes the tables are set really nicely with flowers or something fancy in the middle. You usually talk to a lot of people - sometimes you're catching up with people you haven't seen in a while. On the count of three, I want all of you to share your favorite dinner party food with me, okay? *count* I'll remember ALL of those! I promise!
So now that we've established the "norms" of a dinner party, let's think about the dinner party that our good friend John told us about, shall we? In fact, just for a few moments, let's pretend we're at a dinner party with Jesus. Here are some things you all should know about this dinner party we are attending. ONE. It is occurring six days before Passover. Does anyone know what Passover is? (It's a Jewish holiday that celebrates God freeing God's people out of slavery in Egypt and into freedom.) Passover is a big deal for Jesus and his friends. TWO. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus are siblings who live in a big house. THREE. This is when we learn about Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus' disciples who would later betray him. There is a lot going on just this one evening, folks!
This is a great story because it highlights hospitality: welcoming people into your home was a sign of deep respect and friendship in the ancient world. By throwing this dinner party, we know that Mary, Martha, and Lazarus have fond feelings for Jesus, and vice versa. We know that Martha will serve the food tonight. What do you think she'll serve for dinner? Martha will probably serve a lovely dinner of fish, bread, figs, and wine, if I had to guess. Those are pretty much the staple foods of the ancient world.
Now, here's where I need some help from you guys. We talked about the norms of a dinner party, right? But can you tell me what happens after you're done eating at a dinner party? The evening is still young, you're hanging out, right? What else? You probably help clean up, some people do the dishes, there might be dessert. Right. Okay, something we may not expect to see is someone wiping perfume on someone else's feet, right? Especially not with her hair. I wouldn't call that a dinner party norm, would you?
So, our sweet friend Mary has just wiped very expensive perfume with her hair onto Jesus' feet. Does anyone want to guess how expensive the perfume was? It says it was worth a whole year's salary, which is around $50,000 in today's dollars. It was worth a lot of money! Mary, our sweet, faithful Mary, did not view this interaction between Jesus and her as a transaction. The perfume suddenly lost its monetary value because Jesus' love and ministry was worth everything. Mary knew and experienced how important Jesus is - remember, he raised her brother, Lazarus, from the dead. So even though Judas tried to reprimand Mary, she did the right thing. Jesus knew how much he meant to Mary. Jesus truly valued the people in his life. His love and respect of all of us - you and me and your mom and dad - is worth everything, just like Mary taught us.
Friends, thank you for coming to this dinner party with Jesus. It's been lovely being with you. Amen.
Permission to podcast/stream music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-701187 and CCLI with license #21234241 and #21234234. All rights reserved.
Video, photographs, and graphics by the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Episcopal Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 8000 St. Martin's Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19118. 215.247.7466. https://www.stmartinec.org
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By St. Martin-in-the-FieldsListen to this week's sermon from LIFT Worship from Anne Alexis Harra for the Fifth Sunday in Lent, April 3, 2022
Learn more about LIFT, Living in Faith Together, at stmartinec.org/lift
Today's Readings:
Joshua 5:9-12 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 Psalm 32Readings were taken from God's Word, My Voice: A Children's Lectionary
Good morning, my friends. Today, we heard about a dinner party. Who has ever been to a dinner party? Or a big family dinner? Raise your hand. Wonderful. What are some things you experience at a dinner party? What happens there?
That's right. You can usually expect lots of food. Sometimes the tables are set really nicely with flowers or something fancy in the middle. You usually talk to a lot of people - sometimes you're catching up with people you haven't seen in a while. On the count of three, I want all of you to share your favorite dinner party food with me, okay? *count* I'll remember ALL of those! I promise!
So now that we've established the "norms" of a dinner party, let's think about the dinner party that our good friend John told us about, shall we? In fact, just for a few moments, let's pretend we're at a dinner party with Jesus. Here are some things you all should know about this dinner party we are attending. ONE. It is occurring six days before Passover. Does anyone know what Passover is? (It's a Jewish holiday that celebrates God freeing God's people out of slavery in Egypt and into freedom.) Passover is a big deal for Jesus and his friends. TWO. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus are siblings who live in a big house. THREE. This is when we learn about Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus' disciples who would later betray him. There is a lot going on just this one evening, folks!
This is a great story because it highlights hospitality: welcoming people into your home was a sign of deep respect and friendship in the ancient world. By throwing this dinner party, we know that Mary, Martha, and Lazarus have fond feelings for Jesus, and vice versa. We know that Martha will serve the food tonight. What do you think she'll serve for dinner? Martha will probably serve a lovely dinner of fish, bread, figs, and wine, if I had to guess. Those are pretty much the staple foods of the ancient world.
Now, here's where I need some help from you guys. We talked about the norms of a dinner party, right? But can you tell me what happens after you're done eating at a dinner party? The evening is still young, you're hanging out, right? What else? You probably help clean up, some people do the dishes, there might be dessert. Right. Okay, something we may not expect to see is someone wiping perfume on someone else's feet, right? Especially not with her hair. I wouldn't call that a dinner party norm, would you?
So, our sweet friend Mary has just wiped very expensive perfume with her hair onto Jesus' feet. Does anyone want to guess how expensive the perfume was? It says it was worth a whole year's salary, which is around $50,000 in today's dollars. It was worth a lot of money! Mary, our sweet, faithful Mary, did not view this interaction between Jesus and her as a transaction. The perfume suddenly lost its monetary value because Jesus' love and ministry was worth everything. Mary knew and experienced how important Jesus is - remember, he raised her brother, Lazarus, from the dead. So even though Judas tried to reprimand Mary, she did the right thing. Jesus knew how much he meant to Mary. Jesus truly valued the people in his life. His love and respect of all of us - you and me and your mom and dad - is worth everything, just like Mary taught us.
Friends, thank you for coming to this dinner party with Jesus. It's been lovely being with you. Amen.
Permission to podcast/stream music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-701187 and CCLI with license #21234241 and #21234234. All rights reserved.
Video, photographs, and graphics by the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Episcopal Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 8000 St. Martin's Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19118. 215.247.7466. https://www.stmartinec.org