A Tale of Two Circles

On Passion Sunday, our hearts and minds begin to turn intentionally towards the story of the Passion and the events of Holy Week. And of course, in the gospels, the story of the passion is trailed and foregrounded in a number of ways. When we draw on the Synoptic gospels, the accent is on the triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the cleansing of the temple enacted in the liturgy of Palm Sunday. This provides the cue for the trial and execution of Jesus, as a renegade and trouble-maker. But, in the orthodox tradition, the figure of Lazarus plays a much more prominent role, because as the Fourth Gospel has it, it was not the dramatic cleansing of the temple which provoked the authorities to put Jesus on trial, but the raising of Lazarus. The events in the small town of Bethany, with the raising of Lazarus, and the sharing of a meal at which the little controversy which we have just heard between Judas and Jesus and Mary, these events provide the backdrop for the unfolding of the passion narrative.

In today’s gospel reading we are confronted with a tale, not of two cities, but of two circles: a vicious circle and a virtuous circle.

First, Judas. John describes Judas Iscariot as someone caught up in a vicious circle. In the gospel reading we have just heard, John tells us that Judas is the one who is about to betray Jesus. And in trying to explain this act of treachery, this act of betrayal, John tries to point out that this was simply a symptom of what was in Judas’ heart. Whatever had led Judas to steal from the common purse, the fact was that from that moment onwards, he was caught up in a web of intrigue and deceit, of lies and greed.

The greed in his heart, would lead to the betrayal of his master. This in turn would lead to a series of events beyond his control. The costly perfume is worth 300 denarii, and yet Judas is content to betray his master for thirty pieces of silver. St. Matthew records that when Judas saw that Jesus was condemned, he realised only then what he had done wrong. He tried to return the thirty pieces of silver. But when the chief priests and the elders refused to accept the money, Judas realised that he could not put right the wrong which he had done. There is the vicious circle. Judas finds himself caught up in a series of destructive events, which spiral out of his control. 

But there is also a virtuous circle in this story. There is the lavishness of Mary’s gift to Jesus. She anoints him with a costly and sweet-smelling oil. The point of this story is that there is almost a reckless generosity in Mary’s gift to Jesus.

Jesus is at the house of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Mary’s act of generosity is a response to the abundance of life and love, which Jesus has bestowed on Lazarus. There is the virtuous circle. Jesus’ act of grace, which is graphically expressed by John in terms of raising Lazarus back to life, leads Mary to respond with this reckless act of generosity. The virtuous circle lies in one act of grace leading to another act of generosity. Generosity begins to permeate the atmosphere….  just like that powerful and pungent perfume, with which Mary has anointed Jesus.

Of course, there are times when we find ourselves caught up in a vicious circle. We feel the destructiveness of those vices, the seven deadly sins - sloth, lust, avarice, greed, anger, envy and pride, - as their consequences rebound usually on ourselves and those we care about.

Vicious circles are easy to describe. We may have to think harder to describe virtuous circles. We don’t find it easy to talk about virtue. But most of us will be able to describe situations in our lives when an act of generosity or forgiveness, even common courtesy, has created a virtuous circle.

When we see the fruits of the spirit, - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, - such experiences raise our expectations, not just of other human beings, but also of ourselves. So a virtuous circle has the capacity to transform our lives, just as a vicious circle has the capacity to destroy life.

But to say that vicious circles are the cause of all pain and suffering and disaster, while virtuous circles help us to escape pain and suffering, would not do justice to the story, which we will celebrate over the next two weeks.

From today, our thoughts turn more directly to the story of the Passion; and these two circles, the vicious circle and the virtuous circle, will be played out in the passion narratives, as we remember the events which will lead to Good Friday.

The consequences of Judas’ actions are fairly clear. Judas betrays Jesus. Jesus is condemned to death. Jesus suffers a gruesome and terrifying death on the cross. Judas’ treachery and deceit lead him to despair.

But Mary anoints Jesus with an expensive and fragrant perfume, so costly that people are taken aback at the extravagance of its generosity. Mary anoints Jesus. But this is not just an act of generosity. It is also a prophetic act, because Mary anoints Jesus’ body for burial. She points prophetically to the death of Jesus. As Jesus says: “She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial.”

Mary, through her prophetic action of anointing Jesus for burial, is drawn into the whole drama of redemption. Her act of generosity is not sufficient to challenge the gathering political storm in Jerusalem. It would not only be naïve, it would be sheer escapism, to imagine that this simple act of kindness was enough to make all the pain and suffering of the crucifixion go away. It is sometimes tempting to forget the limitations of human goodness, just as it is tempting to under-estimate the destructiveness of human wrong-doing.

But the virtuous circle, which describes Mary’s action,  reminds us that the action of Mary is first and foremost a response to the grace of God. Her act of generosity is provoked and shaped by the love, care and compassion of God.

‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair’. So Dickens begins his novel, A Tale of Two Cities.

It is a novel characterised by great tension. It is a novel which often touches on themes of death and resurrection. And yet, when we read the gospel as a tale of two circles, we should remember that we are being drawn into a narrative which is so much more than a story about simple vice and noble virtue. We are drawn into the whole drama of redemption, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, a story of betrayal and treachery, a story of faith and love and hope.

We are drawn into this story by virtue of our baptism, when we receive the sign of the cross and then the lighted candle, a sign of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are drawn into that same drama through our observance of Holy Week and Easter. And in spite of the disruption of the last couple of years, my prayer is that we will be able again to participate as a community in a faithful observance of Holy Week so that our lives may be transformed by the death and resurrection of Christ. Like Mary, may we be so touched by God’s grace that we learn to respond to that grace by living lives of virtue, lives which are generous, compassionate, loving, faithful, hopeful and above all, holy.  Amen.