March 18, 2024 • 27 mins
Mary anoints Jesus and wipes away the costly perfume with her hair. Judas is scandalized. Scandal seems to follow Jesus everywhere. We explore the very human (dare we say sensual?) aspect of the incarnate God who came to live among us.
Scripture: John 12:1-8
Mary Anoints Jesus
Music: These Bodies by The Many
Related Links:
"The Elephant in the Waiting Room" by Greenshield Canada
Becky's dead daughter (because YOU wanted a massage!)
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Rev. Bri-anne Swan (00:01):
I'm the Reverend Breanne Swan, and this
is Sermons from the East End forTuesday, March 18th 2024. Hello,
(00:25):
and welcome to this week'sepisode after a week off because
we celebrated a music Sundayfull of ballads during our
Sunday service. This week, wehear the story of Mary anointing
Jesus and wiping away the costlyperfume with her hair. Judas is
scandalized. Scandal seems tofollow Jesus everywhere. We
(00:50):
explore the very human, dare Isay, sensual aspect of the
incarnate God who came to liveamong us.
John chapter 12 verses 1 through8. 6 days before the Passover,
(01:15):
Jesus came to Bethany, the homeof Lazarus, whom he had raised
from the dead. There they gave adinner for him. Martha served,
and Lazarus was one of thosereclining with him. Mary took a
pound of costly perfume made ofpure nard, anointed Jesus's
feet, and wiped them with herhair. The house was filled with
(01:41):
the fragrance of the perfume.But Judas Iscariot, one of his
disciples, the one who was aboutto betray him, said, why was
this perfume not sold for 300denarii and the money given to
the poor? He said this notbecause he cared about the poor,
but because he was a thief. Hekept the common purse and used
(02:06):
to steal from it. Jesus said,leave her alone. She bought it
so that she might keep it forthe day of my burial. You always
have the poor with you, but youdo not always have me.
(02:44):
I have been an ordered ministerwith the United Church since May
of 2021, coming up on a fewyears. However, I generally
consider my start date into,quote, paid accountable ministry
to be January 2017. Because thatis when I started working for
(03:05):
The United Church of Canada in acommunity ministry setting, and
it's also when I startedcontributing to the pension and
benefits program. At the time,my husband was a new media
consultant with his ownbusiness, and I had been
studying, mothering, and doingpeace contracts here and there.
So having access to healthbenefits was a really big deal
(03:30):
for my family. In October of2018, thousands of people across
the country, not only UnitedChurch of Canada employees, but
anybody whose plan wasadministered by Green Shield,
opened up an email. And in thisemail was a blog post called the
(03:51):
elephant in the waiting room.
This blog post described themany amazing strides
pharmaceutical companies hadmade towards hepatitis C
treatments and life savingcancer drugs. About how many
lives had been saved. However,those drugs are very expensive.
(04:15):
Very, very, very expensive. Andso Greenshield suggested that
perhaps there could or should bea time in the near future when
massage therapy, often thelargest health insurance output
for employers, be taken offprivate insurance plans in order
to redistribute funds to coverthe pharmaceuticals.
(04:37):
They attempted to shame us intowhat they felt was a necessary
change in priorities. Nowperhaps unsurprisingly, a lot of
folks were pretty outraged aboutthe threat of losing their
massage therapy benefits. Therewere letters. There were Twitter
wars. Professional organizationsrepresenting massage therapists
(05:01):
started rallying their people.
And the United Church of CanadaGeneral Counsel Office fielded
so many calls and was forced torelease a communication assuring
ministers and staff thatalthough Green Shield managed
the benefits program on theUnited Church of Canada's
behalf, they did not have finalsay in what was included in the
(05:23):
plan and that there was nomovement to take massage therapy
away as a covered expense. Uponreading the original blog post,
I was most outraged by thisphrase, and I'm quoting
Greenshield here. Now, if youwere asked to give up your
(05:44):
coverage for massages so thatBecky could get the drugs she
needs for her daughter so shecan stay alive, Would you? Yes
or no? And underneath this textis an illustration of a cute
little girl, and if you clickedyes, she smiled.
If you clicked no, her face wentgrey and she looked, well, dead.
(06:11):
She died, and it was your 2 pmmassage appointment that killed
her. A massage that, accordingto Greenshield, had no more
therapeutic benefit than simplya really good nap. I recently
told this story to my husband,who is now also a United Church
of Canada minister. And hisresponse was, wait, Is this a
(06:36):
real story?
Somebody approved that piece ofcommunication? Yes. Yes. They
did. I just went online to seeif I could find screenshots of
the post.
The original article has longbeen removed, but I do have
screenshots now posted in theshow notes. In our gospel
(07:02):
reading today, we have Jesusvisiting and eating with his
friends, Lazarus, Martha, andMary. Mary takes out some very
expensive perfume and spreads itover Jesus' feet. Judas takes
exception. What extravagantwaste!
(07:23):
What a prodigal use ofresources! This ointment should
have been sold. We could havegiven the money to the poor. You
hypocritical woman. But Jesus ishaving none of that, and comes
to Mary's defense.
Judas, you will always have thepoor with you, but you will not
(07:49):
always have me. Now I have heardthese words used, like I think
so many of us have, to justifymany lamentable positions and
actions taken against the poorand society. Why try to create a
stronger social safety net ifthere are always going to be
(08:11):
poor anyway? There will alwaysbe poor people. Jesus said so
himself.
But that is not really whatJesus is saying here. Jesus is
quoting, as Jesus often does, apiece of scripture from the book
of Deuteronomy, a passage thatwould have been recognizable by
(08:32):
all those present at the table.I won't read you the whole
passage, but the gist of it kindof goes like this: Yes, there
will always be the poor. Therewill always be poor people
around those who have closed offtheir hearts to the poor. There
(08:54):
will always be poor peoplearound wealthy people who will
not share their resources.
So what Jesus might be sayinghere is, yes, you, Judas, will
always have the poor around you,because your heart is closed and
your soul is cold to theirplight. In the Johannine
(09:16):
account, Judas does not reallycare about the poor. John quite
clearly states that he is athief. Judas is trying to
deflect, to make the issue aboutsomething that it is not. And so
why do I bring Judas upalongside misguided health
(09:39):
insurance providers?
Well, because it seems as ifthey were both using the same
tactics. In the same way thatJudas tried to make Mary feel
guilty about wasting resourceswhen there were so many people
in need, Green Shield'snewsletter seemed to be placing
(10:02):
the blame and ownership for lackof access to astronomically
expensive life saving medicationon people who are accessing
massage services, completelydismissing the treatment and
preventative benefits of massagewhile also shifting the
responsibility for access toresources away from the
(10:23):
pharmaceutical companies. IfBecky's little girl cannot
access her life savingmedication, it's because you, or
I, want a nap. Not because thoseproviding the medication are
being exploitive. It isdishonest, and it is a
(10:46):
deflection from a greaterailment which is being swept
under the rug.
When Greenfield came aftermassage therapy, there was
outrage about it beingconsidered as simply an
indulgent relaxation technique.Users pointed out that they use
(11:09):
massage therapy treatment forintense chronic pain, to
increase range of motion, tofunction without needing to take
highly addictive opioids. I usemassage therapy for a chronic
spine and to preventdebilitating migraine headaches.
(11:32):
However, even if massage therapywas simply a way to relax, to
rest, to take a break, to feelsome relief from the day to day,
I would be okay with that, whilealso acknowledging the
(11:52):
incredible privilege it is tohave these complementary health
benefits. There are so manyacademic studies and generations
of inherited wisdom thatdemonstrate the benefits, the
necessity really of human touch.
The flesh on flesh interactionthat our society has completely
(12:14):
sexualized and by extension madetaboo. Massage is a sensual
experience, And that sensoryinput, that human contact, it is
healing. I do not think it wasby any coincidence that
(12:34):
Greenshield chose massage totarget. Their people are smart
people, and those smart peopleknow how far we have gone in
dismissing and downplaying thenecessity of human touch for
health and well-being. For yearsnow, plan members have been
(12:55):
offered a health and wellnessprogram that incorporates
podcasts and videos about sleephygiene, telephone access to
counselors of experiencingcrisis, cognitive behavioral
therapy that is not facilitatedby a human being, but rather a
series of videos and AI bots.
But the idea that beingtherapeutically touched by
(13:17):
another person is itself healingand healthful, that's not
something our society oftenlifts up. On the road map of our
Lenten journey, it is one daybefore Jesus rides a donkey into
(13:38):
Jerusalem. Lazarus has just beenraised from the dead. It is 6
days before the crucifixion.Both Martha and Mary are serving
Jesus.
Martha is serving food. Mary'sservice is in anointing. The
(13:59):
smell of the nard would havebeen completely overpowering.
You can imagine smashing anentire bottle of perfume to the
floor. Mary is anointing Jesusfor his burial.
The scent of the nard would haveclung to Jesus, perhaps he may
have even still been able tosmell it on the cross. Mary
(14:25):
understands where this is allheading in a way that the 12
disciples do not. Mary anointshim for burial as a king may be
anointed. And so we have Mary,who truly sees Jesus for who He
(14:45):
is and what is going to happen.She pours the oil on his feet,
she lets her hair down, and shewipes away the extravagant gift
in an extravagantly sensual way.
Her hair, perhaps intermingledwith her tears, Her body as a
(15:13):
comfort and a blessing. Her ownchoice and agency are on display
here. Because, make no mistake,this would have been a
completely scandalous act.Jewish women did not let their
hair down in public, nor didthey touch men who were not
(15:33):
their husband. But she does itof her own agency, of her own
volition.
Her presence and touch, an actof sensuous care and compassion.
I'm sure that many of you haveread Harry Potter, but if you
(15:56):
haven't, there's a few spoilerscoming up. There is a moment in
the last book of the series,when Harry understands that he
needs to be killed by Voldemort.Neither can live while the other
survives, and the moment ofdeath is coming soon. He becomes
(16:18):
hyper aware of his body'sfunction and sensation.
He wonders about how many morebeats his heart has left. He
feels the breeze upon his skin,marvels at the scents of his
feet on the ground, the movementof his hands. But he knows it
(16:41):
will all be over soon, andlaments that he never truly
understood what a marvel hisbody was. Jesus knows what lies
ahead. Mary does too.
He knows his days are numbered.So I wonder if, like a literary
(17:06):
hero created 2000 years afterhis time, Jesus' senses would
have been even more heightened.The taste of the food Martha
prepared, the overwhelming smellof the rare perfume, the sounds
of the grumbling, the sight ofso many friends gathered, an
(17:31):
unexpected living wake. Andthen, the touch, the caress of
Mary's hands, the softness ofher hair, perhaps her cheek
passed over his heel. The fleshupon flesh reminder of Jesus's
(17:53):
very human and very fragilebody.
A body that will soon beshattered, shred, and broken.
Perhaps Jesus took his cue fromMary, This is my body given for
you. And it has already beenanointed. Jesus said, leave her
(18:18):
alone, She bought it so that shemight keep it for the day of my
burial. You always have the poorwith you, but you do not always
have me.
Over the past 5 weeks we havemade our way towards Jerusalem.
We have been exploring journeysof change. We have been
(18:41):
preparing for a burial. And inthis preparation, I believe this
week I would like to think aboutchanging priorities. And often,
the ways in which priorities canshift is in naming the hypocrisy
around us.
(19:02):
The hypocrisy seen in using thepoor for personal gain as Judas
did in Lazarus' home. Thehypocrisy of placing the burden
and responsibility for whetherchildren live or die, an
ordinary worker simply doing thebest they can to take care of
themselves and their families.The hypocrisy when I deflect
(19:24):
blame and responsibility inareas of my own life which need
tending to. Making excuses tohold back from giving more of my
self, not in a self deprecatingor self depleting kind of way,
but ways in which the worldperhaps may not understand.
(19:48):
Shifting away from thathypocrisy and leaning into
cultivating a lavish love,completely unexplainable,
unjustifiable, lavish love forthose around me.
A love where perhaps even mybody is on the line as well.
(20:11):
It's terrifying. What does thatkind of intimate personal
sensuous healing love look like?Mary knew. She knew.
In a moment, you will hear asong called These Bodies
(20:31):
performed by my buddies, TheMany. As you listen, I invite
you to think about Jesus'invitation to change our
priorities, change frompriorities that benefit the few
to prioritising love. A lovethat is for all, and where our
(20:52):
bodies and senses might also bevessels of this lavish love.
Amen. East End United RegionalMinistry is committed to
(25:00):
supporting our neighborsthroughout the east end of
Toronto. We run a weekly foodbank market out of our Glen
Roads campus on Gerrard Street,as well as out of the cold from
our Eastminster campus onDanforth Avenue. We actively
support refugees and asylumseekers, and are public,
intentional, and explicit of ouraffirmation and advocacy for 2
(25:23):
spirited and LGBTQIA pluspeoples. We gather for worship
on-site and online Sundaymornings at our Eastminster
campus, and Thursday evenings atour Glen Robes campus. We are a
community working to figure outhow to embody the words of
Cornel West who said, justice iswhat love looks like in public.
(25:48):
We don't always get it right,but we are committed to working
for progress even as weacknowledge that we are a work
in progress. If any of thissounds interesting, we would
love to meet you. Feel free tosend me, Reverend Breanne, an
email,bswanbswan@eastendunited.ca. I
(26:13):
would love to connect overcoffee, either in person or
online. Thank you for listeningto this week's sermon.
(26:40):
We'll be back next week, PalmSunday, with the story of Jesus
entering Jerusalem to cheeringclouds. Cloud? No, cheering
crowds. Perhaps his last goodday before everything goes
wrong. But until then, take careof yourselves and each other.
(27:02):
We'll be back soon. East EndUnited Regional Ministry is an
affirming community of faithwithin The United Church of
Canada. You can learn more aboutour community, including our
many outreach programs, by goingto www.eastandunited dot ca.
I'm the Reverend Breanne Swan, and this
is Sermons from the East End forTuesday, March 18th 2024. Hello,
(00:25):
and welcome to this week'sepisode after a week off because
we celebrated a music Sundayfull of ballads during our
Sunday service. This week, wehear the story of Mary anointing
Jesus and wiping away the costlyperfume with her hair. Judas is
scandalized. Scandal seems tofollow Jesus everywhere. We
(00:50):
explore the very human, dare Isay, sensual aspect of the
incarnate God who came to liveamong us.
John chapter 12 verses 1 through8. 6 days before the Passover,
(01:15):
Jesus came to Bethany, the homeof Lazarus, whom he had raised
from the dead. There they gave adinner for him. Martha served,
and Lazarus was one of thosereclining with him. Mary took a
pound of costly perfume made ofpure nard, anointed Jesus's
feet, and wiped them with herhair. The house was filled with
(01:41):
the fragrance of the perfume.But Judas Iscariot, one of his
disciples, the one who was aboutto betray him, said, why was
this perfume not sold for 300denarii and the money given to
the poor? He said this notbecause he cared about the poor,
but because he was a thief. Hekept the common purse and used
(02:06):
to steal from it. Jesus said,leave her alone. She bought it
so that she might keep it forthe day of my burial. You always
have the poor with you, but youdo not always have me.
(02:44):
I have been an ordered ministerwith the United Church since May
of 2021, coming up on a fewyears. However, I generally
consider my start date into,quote, paid accountable ministry
to be January 2017. Because thatis when I started working for
(03:05):
The United Church of Canada in acommunity ministry setting, and
it's also when I startedcontributing to the pension and
benefits program. At the time,my husband was a new media
consultant with his ownbusiness, and I had been
studying, mothering, and doingpeace contracts here and there.
So having access to healthbenefits was a really big deal
(03:30):
for my family. In October of2018, thousands of people across
the country, not only UnitedChurch of Canada employees, but
anybody whose plan wasadministered by Green Shield,
opened up an email. And in thisemail was a blog post called the
(03:51):
elephant in the waiting room.
This blog post described themany amazing strides
pharmaceutical companies hadmade towards hepatitis C
treatments and life savingcancer drugs. About how many
lives had been saved. However,those drugs are very expensive.
(04:15):
Very, very, very expensive. Andso Greenshield suggested that
perhaps there could or should bea time in the near future when
massage therapy, often thelargest health insurance output
for employers, be taken offprivate insurance plans in order
to redistribute funds to coverthe pharmaceuticals.
(04:37):
They attempted to shame us intowhat they felt was a necessary
change in priorities. Nowperhaps unsurprisingly, a lot of
folks were pretty outraged aboutthe threat of losing their
massage therapy benefits. Therewere letters. There were Twitter
wars. Professional organizationsrepresenting massage therapists
(05:01):
started rallying their people.
And the United Church of CanadaGeneral Counsel Office fielded
so many calls and was forced torelease a communication assuring
ministers and staff thatalthough Green Shield managed
the benefits program on theUnited Church of Canada's
behalf, they did not have finalsay in what was included in the
(05:23):
plan and that there was nomovement to take massage therapy
away as a covered expense. Uponreading the original blog post,
I was most outraged by thisphrase, and I'm quoting
Greenshield here. Now, if youwere asked to give up your
(05:44):
coverage for massages so thatBecky could get the drugs she
needs for her daughter so shecan stay alive, Would you? Yes
or no? And underneath this textis an illustration of a cute
little girl, and if you clickedyes, she smiled.
If you clicked no, her face wentgrey and she looked, well, dead.
(06:11):
She died, and it was your 2 pmmassage appointment that killed
her. A massage that, accordingto Greenshield, had no more
therapeutic benefit than simplya really good nap. I recently
told this story to my husband,who is now also a United Church
of Canada minister. And hisresponse was, wait, Is this a
(06:36):
real story?
Somebody approved that piece ofcommunication? Yes. Yes. They
did. I just went online to seeif I could find screenshots of
the post.
The original article has longbeen removed, but I do have
screenshots now posted in theshow notes. In our gospel
(07:02):
reading today, we have Jesusvisiting and eating with his
friends, Lazarus, Martha, andMary. Mary takes out some very
expensive perfume and spreads itover Jesus' feet. Judas takes
exception. What extravagantwaste!
(07:23):
What a prodigal use ofresources! This ointment should
have been sold. We could havegiven the money to the poor. You
hypocritical woman. But Jesus ishaving none of that, and comes
to Mary's defense.
Judas, you will always have thepoor with you, but you will not
(07:49):
always have me. Now I have heardthese words used, like I think
so many of us have, to justifymany lamentable positions and
actions taken against the poorand society. Why try to create a
stronger social safety net ifthere are always going to be
(08:11):
poor anyway? There will alwaysbe poor people. Jesus said so
himself.
But that is not really whatJesus is saying here. Jesus is
quoting, as Jesus often does, apiece of scripture from the book
of Deuteronomy, a passage thatwould have been recognizable by
(08:32):
all those present at the table.I won't read you the whole
passage, but the gist of it kindof goes like this: Yes, there
will always be the poor. Therewill always be poor people
around those who have closed offtheir hearts to the poor. There
(08:54):
will always be poor peoplearound wealthy people who will
not share their resources.
So what Jesus might be sayinghere is, yes, you, Judas, will
always have the poor around you,because your heart is closed and
your soul is cold to theirplight. In the Johannine
(09:16):
account, Judas does not reallycare about the poor. John quite
clearly states that he is athief. Judas is trying to
deflect, to make the issue aboutsomething that it is not. And so
why do I bring Judas upalongside misguided health
(09:39):
insurance providers?
Well, because it seems as ifthey were both using the same
tactics. In the same way thatJudas tried to make Mary feel
guilty about wasting resourceswhen there were so many people
in need, Green Shield'snewsletter seemed to be placing
(10:02):
the blame and ownership for lackof access to astronomically
expensive life saving medicationon people who are accessing
massage services, completelydismissing the treatment and
preventative benefits of massagewhile also shifting the
responsibility for access toresources away from the
(10:23):
pharmaceutical companies. IfBecky's little girl cannot
access her life savingmedication, it's because you, or
I, want a nap. Not because thoseproviding the medication are
being exploitive. It isdishonest, and it is a
(10:46):
deflection from a greaterailment which is being swept
under the rug.
When Greenfield came aftermassage therapy, there was
outrage about it beingconsidered as simply an
indulgent relaxation technique.Users pointed out that they use
(11:09):
massage therapy treatment forintense chronic pain, to
increase range of motion, tofunction without needing to take
highly addictive opioids. I usemassage therapy for a chronic
spine and to preventdebilitating migraine headaches.
(11:32):
However, even if massage therapywas simply a way to relax, to
rest, to take a break, to feelsome relief from the day to day,
I would be okay with that, whilealso acknowledging the
(11:52):
incredible privilege it is tohave these complementary health
benefits. There are so manyacademic studies and generations
of inherited wisdom thatdemonstrate the benefits, the
necessity really of human touch.
The flesh on flesh interactionthat our society has completely
(12:14):
sexualized and by extension madetaboo. Massage is a sensual
experience, And that sensoryinput, that human contact, it is
healing. I do not think it wasby any coincidence that
(12:34):
Greenshield chose massage totarget. Their people are smart
people, and those smart peopleknow how far we have gone in
dismissing and downplaying thenecessity of human touch for
health and well-being. For yearsnow, plan members have been
(12:55):
offered a health and wellnessprogram that incorporates
podcasts and videos about sleephygiene, telephone access to
counselors of experiencingcrisis, cognitive behavioral
therapy that is not facilitatedby a human being, but rather a
series of videos and AI bots.
But the idea that beingtherapeutically touched by
(13:17):
another person is itself healingand healthful, that's not
something our society oftenlifts up. On the road map of our
Lenten journey, it is one daybefore Jesus rides a donkey into
(13:38):
Jerusalem. Lazarus has just beenraised from the dead. It is 6
days before the crucifixion.Both Martha and Mary are serving
Jesus.
Martha is serving food. Mary'sservice is in anointing. The
(13:59):
smell of the nard would havebeen completely overpowering.
You can imagine smashing anentire bottle of perfume to the
floor. Mary is anointing Jesusfor his burial.
The scent of the nard would haveclung to Jesus, perhaps he may
have even still been able tosmell it on the cross. Mary
(14:25):
understands where this is allheading in a way that the 12
disciples do not. Mary anointshim for burial as a king may be
anointed. And so we have Mary,who truly sees Jesus for who He
(14:45):
is and what is going to happen.She pours the oil on his feet,
she lets her hair down, and shewipes away the extravagant gift
in an extravagantly sensual way.
Her hair, perhaps intermingledwith her tears, Her body as a
(15:13):
comfort and a blessing. Her ownchoice and agency are on display
here. Because, make no mistake,this would have been a
completely scandalous act.Jewish women did not let their
hair down in public, nor didthey touch men who were not
(15:33):
their husband. But she does itof her own agency, of her own
volition.
Her presence and touch, an actof sensuous care and compassion.
I'm sure that many of you haveread Harry Potter, but if you
(15:56):
haven't, there's a few spoilerscoming up. There is a moment in
the last book of the series,when Harry understands that he
needs to be killed by Voldemort.Neither can live while the other
survives, and the moment ofdeath is coming soon. He becomes
(16:18):
hyper aware of his body'sfunction and sensation.
He wonders about how many morebeats his heart has left. He
feels the breeze upon his skin,marvels at the scents of his
feet on the ground, the movementof his hands. But he knows it
(16:41):
will all be over soon, andlaments that he never truly
understood what a marvel hisbody was. Jesus knows what lies
ahead. Mary does too.
He knows his days are numbered.So I wonder if, like a literary
(17:06):
hero created 2000 years afterhis time, Jesus' senses would
have been even more heightened.The taste of the food Martha
prepared, the overwhelming smellof the rare perfume, the sounds
of the grumbling, the sight ofso many friends gathered, an
(17:31):
unexpected living wake. Andthen, the touch, the caress of
Mary's hands, the softness ofher hair, perhaps her cheek
passed over his heel. The fleshupon flesh reminder of Jesus's
(17:53):
very human and very fragilebody.
A body that will soon beshattered, shred, and broken.
Perhaps Jesus took his cue fromMary, This is my body given for
you. And it has already beenanointed. Jesus said, leave her
(18:18):
alone, She bought it so that shemight keep it for the day of my
burial. You always have the poorwith you, but you do not always
have me.
Over the past 5 weeks we havemade our way towards Jerusalem.
We have been exploring journeysof change. We have been
(18:41):
preparing for a burial. And inthis preparation, I believe this
week I would like to think aboutchanging priorities. And often,
the ways in which priorities canshift is in naming the hypocrisy
around us.
(19:02):
The hypocrisy seen in using thepoor for personal gain as Judas
did in Lazarus' home. Thehypocrisy of placing the burden
and responsibility for whetherchildren live or die, an
ordinary worker simply doing thebest they can to take care of
themselves and their families.The hypocrisy when I deflect
(19:24):
blame and responsibility inareas of my own life which need
tending to. Making excuses tohold back from giving more of my
self, not in a self deprecatingor self depleting kind of way,
but ways in which the worldperhaps may not understand.
(19:48):
Shifting away from thathypocrisy and leaning into
cultivating a lavish love,completely unexplainable,
unjustifiable, lavish love forthose around me.
A love where perhaps even mybody is on the line as well.
(20:11):
It's terrifying. What does thatkind of intimate personal
sensuous healing love look like?Mary knew. She knew.
In a moment, you will hear asong called These Bodies
(20:31):
performed by my buddies, TheMany. As you listen, I invite
you to think about Jesus'invitation to change our
priorities, change frompriorities that benefit the few
to prioritising love. A lovethat is for all, and where our
(20:52):
bodies and senses might also bevessels of this lavish love.
Amen. East End United RegionalMinistry is committed to
(25:00):
supporting our neighborsthroughout the east end of
Toronto. We run a weekly foodbank market out of our Glen
Roads campus on Gerrard Street,as well as out of the cold from
our Eastminster campus onDanforth Avenue. We actively
support refugees and asylumseekers, and are public,
intentional, and explicit of ouraffirmation and advocacy for 2
(25:23):
spirited and LGBTQIA pluspeoples. We gather for worship
on-site and online Sundaymornings at our Eastminster
campus, and Thursday evenings atour Glen Robes campus. We are a
community working to figure outhow to embody the words of
Cornel West who said, justice iswhat love looks like in public.
(25:48):
We don't always get it right,but we are committed to working
for progress even as weacknowledge that we are a work
in progress. If any of thissounds interesting, we would
love to meet you. Feel free tosend me, Reverend Breanne, an
email,bswanbswan@eastendunited.ca. I
(26:13):
would love to connect overcoffee, either in person or
online. Thank you for listeningto this week's sermon.
(26:40):
We'll be back next week, PalmSunday, with the story of Jesus
entering Jerusalem to cheeringclouds. Cloud? No, cheering
crowds. Perhaps his last goodday before everything goes
wrong. But until then, take careof yourselves and each other.
(27:02):
We'll be back soon. East EndUnited Regional Ministry is an
affirming community of faithwithin The United Church of
Canada. You can learn more aboutour community, including our
many outreach programs, by goingto www.eastandunited dot ca.
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