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March 5, 2005 Entering the House of Extravagance by. Patricia deJong
It is good to be with you today...I bring greetings from the First Congregational Church of Berkeley, Julie's home church. It is especially wonderful to be the preacher at her installation! Julie is a dear friend and colleague and I preached at her ordination in 1999. I have known about this church for a long time; I know your former pastor David Ray from our days in Iowa; Elizabeth Dilley, whom you mentored so well is also a good friend. We have many connections and it is good to be together at this special occasion! The story that guides today was told by Luke. The anointing of Jesus by a nameless woman tells us something about the inner meaning of an installation of a new pastor. At an installation, we hope to anoint or bless a new pastor. The usual idea of an installation is to say--we've found someone wonderful who we want to be our pastor. We hope we've made a good match, let's install or anoint her and get on with our ministry!" In contrast, our story tells of a woman "of the city who was a sinner" who comes to the house of a Pharisee to anoint Jesus at the dinner table. She stands behind him weeping and begins to wet his feet with her tears--then she has the gall to kiss them--and pour perfume all over them! In those days, anointing feet was an acceptable act of hospitality--kissing them was often as act of pardon; but wiping them with unbound hair --there is no category for this act--it is boundariless and overboard in affection. As a friend of mine says, way too far in the right direction. We get the picture of a person who is emotionally extravagant and oblivious to her surroundings. Jesus is at table and the host seems quite content to feed him dinner and have a pleasant conversation. But this woman senses the needs of the traveler before she even enters the house. She has a strong desire, even an erotic desire, to express her care and devotion. I am struck by her uncanny ability to sense what Jesus needs, or to be aware her need to give; Jesus, too, seems strangely willing to accept the touch and adoration of a woman whom he does not know and shouldn't be fooling around with! People will talk! He doesn't recoil in disdain or distrust. He doesn't push her away and remove his feet from her hands. Instead, he receives the lavish love of her longing and blesses her in return. Between the two of them, this strange woman of the city and the wandering rabbi, there is connection and appreciation; the presence of mutual hospitality as healing begins to happen to both of them through caring touch. There is a story told about Henry Sloane Coffin, the Presbyterian theologian and President of Union Seminary in the 1950's that I remember well. A student of his was taken sick and was near death for weeks at Columbia Hospital in New York City. The Student was visited by Uncle Henry (as the students called him) every other day. He would chat briefly and cheerfully and then take the student's hand in his hands to pray. The unforgettable part was the clasped hand, the moment of connection and touch. No matter how weak and wasted the young student felt, Uncle Henry's hand seemed to connect him to a strange and wonderful source of power which coursed through his whole body while he prayed. For hours after the touch, the student felt stronger, more alive and better able to face his life with courage. The hand of healing touch was whole-making and, life-giving. I like to think the woman who entered the House had an inkling about the power of touch to heal. She was able to become a servant to the servant of God, a wounded healer, a care--giver, jump-starting love through tears, tenderness and a quiet tenacity of courageous connection. In return, she received the gift of forgiveness and a benediction of peace. We have no idea of the woman's sin --as with the rest of us, it really doesn't matter. What does matter is her uncanny ability to enter the Pharisee's house (where she most likely was not welcome) to anoint a stranger with her tears. The woman has some of the qualities needed for ministry these days. Imagine, she was unafraid to enter a situation which might have been dangerous for her. She saw a need no one else bothered to see and she responded--not properly within the boundaries of good taste, but lavishly, irreverently and improperly! For me, she is part of a long line of the healers, prophets and pastors of our tradition. A tradition of those who dare to go without fear into those Houses of the world that may not be welcoming..into prisons and battlefields, into the streets where people are homeless and hungry, to disaster relief centers in India and makeshift hospitals in the Sudan. Throughout this country and the world, we are currently being hijacked by fear. Every where we go, we are told to be fearful--whether it is the airport or the train station or the corner supermarket, our country runs on fear, fear of the other, fear of the terrorist, fear of another attack. We are held hostage to our fears and they control us. Christians and all people of faith are called in this time to enter the House without fear of what might happen to us, rather we must learn to live with trust and faith. Not naive faith, but with the depth of compassion and courage, we see in the woman who anointed Jesus. We are called to be healers in a time when that art has all but dried up in a material, get it all now, buy it today world. We are asked to respond, not carefully, but lavishly. "When did you see me poor, naked, in prison, dying of AIDS?" Whenever we see the crying needs of the world, we are not asked to open a box of Band-Aids. The woman reminds us that we will weep as we bind up the needs of the broken hearted and pour out our hearts for healing. Our prophetic faith tradition reminds us that it is exactly what God requires of us; to love mercy, seek kindness and walk humbly with God. Lastly, the gospel invites us to live in a present state of grace, to accept our acceptance by God, to forgive and be forgiven. Jesus didn't say to the woman--your sins will be forgiven, or your sins have been forgiven, he said, Your sins are forgiven. We live in a perpetual state of grace, powerful amazing grace--freedom from fear--connected to a strange and wonderful power, the power of love. On this day of anointing, let us remember that it is not only Julie who is about to be anointed and blessed. All of us are called to anoint and bless each other, to be ministers of the lavish and healing Gospel of Love. Our call is to be extravagant lovers, lavish healers, grateful women and men of faith. Let's enter the House without fear and full of anticipation for the ministry to come. I close with a simple prayer of St. Augustine for this day. Come Lord, Amen.
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