Ministry of Tenderness

John 12:1-8

12 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” 6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial.8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

            This is the Gospel reading for Sunday, April 6, 2025.  Mark will be leading worship and preaching that Sunday while I am at Bethany Beach with our Women’s Retreat.  I don’t know which of the Lectionary readings he will chose.  I do know that I love this story.  It speaks to me of mutual ministry, of caring for someone, of respect.  And it reminds me of a phrase Pope Francis used in a Sunday message from the hospital a couple of weeks ago when he thanked those who had shown him the ministry of tenderness.

            “Ministry of tenderness”, what a powerful image for us in this time of trouble and turmoil.  I’m sure Pope Francis was thinking of the nurses and doctors and staff that had been treating his double pneumonia and medical crisis.  Tenderness and gentleness is welcome when you are in such a situation.  Mary also was offering a ministry of tenderness when she anointed Jesus’ feet with oil and wiped them with her hair, and no doubt her tears.  Offering a ministry of tenderness means you are fully attentive to the one you are serving.  You have “dialed in” to the pain and suffering and fears of that person.  You are thinking of the other person more than your own convenience.

            It seems to me that we could use some “ministry of tenderness” right about now.  There are those that need to receive tenderness.  And, quite frankly, we need to be able to offer tenderness for our own sakes.  A ministry of tenderness can mean anything from quiet listening to someone, to articulating your concerns in a manner that is respectful to someone else, to being present with someone undergoing suffering.  It might even mean using our “inside” voices instead of our “outside-I know it all voices”.  Tenderness is a companion to respect.  To respect someone is to recognize that person is also a child of God, even as we are children of God.  It’s a short distance then to get to the place of loving one another as we would be loved.

            Let us be reminded by the tender new leaves and flowers and animals of spring that we too can offer a ministry of tenderness to one another.

Rev. Clara