Worship fills our senses with purpose. Worship sets us apart from worldly or mundane needs so as to be in God’s will and purpose. And worship makes us new creatures of God’s heavenly host – God’s army of the redeemed.
Mary anointed and massaged Jesus’ feet, and then wiped them with her hair. The fragrance of the oils filled the house. What could be a comparison of this sweet fragrance? It may have resembled the healing lavender therapy I’ve scented this room with before the service. The Grecian name is related to a Syrian city, Naarda. Sanskrit calls it Bhutajata, Hindi - Bal-chad. It is an extract – an aromatic essence - from a flowering plant’s crushed underground stems or rhizomes. It is originally an amber-colored - very thick fluid - used as a perfume, an incense, a sedative, or an herbal medicine that calms people with insomnia, eases stomach aches, and even soothes the fevered brow of a mother giving birth to a child.
The beloved bride spreads nard on the king’s wedding bed in the Song of Solomon (1:12). Later nard is blended with delicious fruits, perfumes and spices for a beautiful wedding banquet (4:13) like the Maharaja Dinner spread before newly weds at the Taj Mahal Restaurant in New York city. It took three days to prepare its 63 courses with 155 delicacies sprayed with nard and other expensive perfumes. Martha and Mary provided Jesus an opulent banquet like this - shortly before His triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. On Easter morning they were bringing herbs and spices including nard to prepare Jesus’ body before discovering that He had risen from the dead. Worship is like this. It fills our senses with the purpose of healing – of rightness – of completeness and wholeness in the presence of our beloved Christ.
Perfume gives Penny Musco of New Jersey a headache – so it’s hard for her to imagine Mark 14’s description of Mary pouring nard on the head of Jesus. Penny is tortured when walking near department store fragrance counters. She’s miserable, if she sits next to someone with heavy perfume in a theater. But she loves to smell bread baking, a newborn baby, or the earth after a good rain. Judas is just as negatively affected by Mary’s perfume. If knowing God is like a sweet aroma, which others cannot ignore (2 Corinthians 2:14-17), Judas was not in the mood for knowing God. Some people don’t even want to come near worshipers of Christ, because the smell makes them sick.
We may feel bad when people reject the message of God's love and forgiveness as we speak of and act out our faith. Those of us who love Christ may find this hard to understand, but the very same gospel that brings life to the believer brings death to those who reject it. Please don’t stop wearing the fragrance of Christ, because of those who turn away. It’s hard to be discrete in how much of Christ’s scent you apply so that some people will want to get closer and know more.
Have you smelled the money in your pocket, wallet or purse lately? Some cashiers do this to test its authenticity. Scientists have recently proved what causes the strong metallic odor that would have accompanied Judas’ 300 silver coins he wanted instead of the nard to anoint Jesus. Researchers say that odor molecules don’t come from the coins, but body odor is produced by metals reacting with skin like when the sweaty palms of Judas reacted as he smelled the 30 pieces of silver that he finally received for betraying Jesus.
There is an iron scent in human or animal blood, which gives additional meaning to the term: “blood money.” Because the sense of smell is so important in this story, I suggest that it is no accident that God’s word wants us to smell the “blood money” that Judas is about to collect in 30 pieces of silver instead of 300. One additional interesting characteristic of this mushroom-metallic smell is that humans can smell it in very minute concentrations. Perhaps God created us with a very low odor threshold to smell blood and/or money so that we can track down wounded animals or people.
And just like a ravenous hunter Judas wants money that smells like the blood of Jesus. The healing balm of Gilead, which the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon was rejected for the smell of filthy lucre by this fallen disciple.
True worship makes us new creatures of God’s heavenly army so that we will not be distracted like Judas and betray our Lord and Master. We provide the sweet fragrances of Christ’s life not for selfish and greedy purposes, but for righteous and good purposes.
"God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession ... spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him." God wants us to take into the world this essence. There is no better aroma to adopt as our own; there is no better scent to share (2 Corinthians 2:14). Just as scents can linger on the skin for quite a while, we can tell when someone has been working in the garden. Stand close and breathe it in. But eventually the scent fades, and the only way to get it back is to return to the garden.
Leonora Scotti says that the Bible is scented with the essence of God. When we read the words of God's prophets and servants and apply them in our daily living, the "fragrance" we can exude that will be pleasing to many others. Exhibiting the attitudes and behaviors we learn from God's word creates the opportunity to waft a bit of heaven to those around us.
Some of you prepared food for Julia Wright’s family during the visitation and before her burial yesterday. There was a sweet smell of service and love filling this church. And it lingers on still today. We must return here often so as to share in this beautiful experience of worship and sacrifice. We are the aromas of Christ to God (2 Corinthians 2:15). Please continue to exude the fragrance that surrounds Him, so that your life can carry this sweet scent and the good news that Christ's love is for everyone.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for making us into new creatures who smell like the goodness of Jesus Christ. Please continue to bless each person who enters the doors of our church. May their senses be filled with the aroma of Christ. Saturate each one of us with the surrounding and embracing love and hospitality of Christ and His truly good disciples. Let us discover in each other the essence of Your wonderful grace. And lead us not into the temptation of lingering in our wretched and poor condition without You.
All this we humbly ask in the blessed name and aroma of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
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