The Anglican Parish of Banyule

Reflection by Peta Sherlock
Palm Sunday 2003

What a waste of the woman's ointment, to anoint Jesus. Better things to do with your money. Extravagant! What a waste of Jesus' life! Mark's Gospel more than the others has Jesus on the road to Jerusalem and death very early on, and almost a third of his papyrus is spent on the last week of Jesus' life, on the death! It is as if Jesus was born simply to die. What a waste. But in God's economy nothing is wasted, God's love is quite simply extravagant!

THE LAST SUPPER, THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE: WHO WAS THERE?

Whose room, whose house was the last supper? Leonardo da Vinci, centuries later, painted the supper as if only Jesus and his 12 disciples were there. But who cooked and served dinner? Was it is a family? Who was listening in to the conversation about betrayal? Were you also saying, " will never betray Jesus!" or have you realised now that we do it every day. We betray him and we deny him, we are Judas, we are Peter. This supper we celebrate today is for you, the Judases, the Peters. Never stay away from communion because you are not good enough. Never stay away because you don't believe enough! Mark's disciples are so slow, so dim-witted, so unfaithful, so sleepy, so breaking Jesus' heart, BUT they are just like you and me.

WHO WAS THE YOUNG MAN WHO WAS FOLLOWING JESUS AND RAN AWAY?

Some suggest that the supper was in John Mark's mother's house. Some suggest that it is the same John Mark who travelled with Paul, whom Paul thought a hopeless disciple and sent him home again and refused to work with him again. Some suggest that it was a young man, a teenager who was listening in to everything at that supper table, and who wanted to be a disciple, but, like you and me was scared to be caught being a follower. Some suggest it was the young man who grew up to write the gospel according to Mark. And wait till Easter Day, the young man will be there again, clothed!, sitting at the empty tomb, and the women will hear his words about resurrection and run away scared. If this is John Mark, then he isn't even much of a preacher, because no one acts on his words.

WHO IS IT WHO RECOGNISES THAT JESUS IN THE SON OF GOD?

A Roman solider. Such is the sadness and emptiness and lack of faith of the followers of Jesus that it falls to an outsider, one who worships Caesar, who worships other gods, who says the words that no one else says.

WHAT KIND OF A DEATH IS THIS?

A death for those hopeless and faithless disciples. A death that is for you and me.

Next: Easter Day at Heidelberg 2003
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