I’d like to inform everyone that it was in total consciousness that I’m making sure that you hear this story more than once. This is very much by design. Many years ago, decades ago, I had a marketing expert in the church that I served at the time. I mean, this guy wrote books about marketing. And I learned from him. He said, “Jay, if you really want the congregation to learn something, tell them over and over again.” Now remember, this guy’s an expert on marketing. Then finally he said, “If somebody comes up to you and says something like this – ‘Pastor Jay, stop talking to us about fill-in-the-blank, right? We get it.’” My friend, the marketing expert, said, “When that day happens to you, you’re almost there.” You’re almost there.

I’ve been thinking about this story all week. I want you to think about it today, I want you to think about it this week. And the more I’ve thought about it, the more power it brought to my life. I want you to experience that power. It also came to me, this passage of scripture came to me, for example, last week as I watched on my television a senator speak truth to power. Paul said, “My power is made perfect in weakness.” That last line in our call of worship this morning comes from a Presbyterian prayer book that was written long before I was born, the line that says, “God is the one who can turn the shadow of death into daybreak.” God is the one who through senators and through you and through me can turn the shadow of narcissism and hatred and racism and many other things, God is the one who can turn that through us into daybreak.

I am grateful to Mary for that. We’re told that it’s a dinner. The scripture says that. Essentially, it says they were having a dinner in Jesus’ honor. This is a goodbye meeting. This is it. Jesus is living under a death sentence, and everybody invited to that dinner knew it. In fact, if you read John, you find out that even Lazarus now is living under a death sentence because John, the only one who had the raising of Lazarus – that only appears in the Gospel of John – the authorities also wanted to get Lazarus, we’re told. So, there are at least two people at this dinner party living under the threat of death. And so, we’re told, once again, that Martha served. That’s another sermon for another day. And apparently, at some point before this dinner Mary had gone out and spent a whole bunch of money on expensive ointment and perfume named nard. As I just shared with the children and us, I want you and me to be haunted by this at least one day, haunted in a good way. She said goodbye to Jesus. She didn’t know the end of the story like we do. She was saying goodbye to Jesus, and she used her hair to anoint Jesus’ feet. Not only did he let her, when Judas and probably others spoke up against doing this, Jesus got annoyed and said, “No, be quiet. What she is doing is the right thing. She is saying goodbye.” It was Saturday night dinner. It was Sabbath dinner. One of the things that has helped me remember is the power of symbols. The power of symbols. The power of biblical symbols. The power of Lenten symbols. The power of Easter symbols. And one of the most powerful symbols of my life is Sabbath dinner. That’s what this was. It’s Saturday night. The night before what we would call later Palm Sunday.

So, growing up, as I’ve shared with you many times, I’m a Presbyterian preacher’s kid. You know, this Google Maps thing can be pretty amazing. You’ve heard of Google Maps, right? Who has heard of this Google thing? And I’ve never done it before, I Googled the distance between 733 West 5th Street in Marysville and the First Presbyterian Church in Marysville, because 733 West 5th Street was my house from fourth grade through high school graduation. I did most of my growing up at 733 West 5th Street. My dad’s church, the First Presbyterian Church, was exactly, I finally figured out, half a mile from our house. A half a mile down 5th Street. The church is at the corner of 5th and Court Street across the street from the Union County Courthouse. For the number of years that we lived at that house, my mother did the same thing on Sabbath mornings, on Sunday mornings. Every Sunday – and I mean every Sunday – she made a pot roast, and she put it in the oven. My mother was the lead soprano in the church choir, she was the minister’s wife. Of course she was, right? She was the lead soprano in the choir, so every Sunday morning the routine was in went the pot roast, and she put it in the oven. I don’t know what the temperature was, it was probably 300 or whatever, you know? To cook for four or five hours, whatever it was. Every Sunday, and no kidding, the house that I was raised in, the only meal during the week that we ever ate in the dining room was Sabbath dinner after church on Sundays.

At least one time – my dad loved to tell this story – at least one time during the opening hymn, and in that church the choir was back here in the choir lot. During the opening hymn, my mother, Joy Groat, during the opening hymn, all of a sudden bolted. She left. My dad, during the opening hymn, saw his wife leave the service. Then about half an hour, 20 minutes later, she came back. What do you think happened? Anybody want to guess? She realized that she forgot to turn the oven on.

My mom’s gone. My dad’s gone. My brother and sister and I, we will never have Sunday Sabbath lunch/dinner like that again. The power of symbols. But I don’t even have to close my eyes to be there. We were so Presbyterian, so decent and in order, that we had the same seats. Dad, Mom, Jay, sister Jill, oldest brother Jeff on the other side. Elder brother got the entire side of the table to himself. The power of symbols.

So, this week, in your favorite literary publication – I know what your favorite literary publication is. Every one of you, your favorite literary publication, right? The Parish Visitor from this church. And your favorite author – well, let’s classify this. Your favorite interim pastor/author of all time wrote this. On this day, when I’m inviting you to join me in remembering Mary and remembering Martha and remembering Lazarus, and yes, remembering Judas, and you remembering the power of the symbols of your Sabbath dinner moments, the people, the food. You know, this meal that we’re going to share in just a few moments, we’re told that Jesus said, “As often as you eat and drink.” How often is that? How necessary is that? We’re talking basic needs. “As often as you eat and you drink, remember me.” Easter symbols.

Carl Jung used symbol analysis as one of the foundational blocks of Jungian analysis. He wrote extensively on the subject, including how the representation of symbols in dreams has a powerful role in developing an understanding of the message of the unconscious mind. Jung saw symbols as representatives of archetypes, and archetypes for Jung are collective images of behavior that are developed from the evolution of the human species. More simply, Jung said this, “A term or an image is symbolic if it means more than it describes or expresses.”

Easter is nigh again this year. After all these years of ordained ministry, I still love Easter. Easter morning for me still brings a sense of new life, new beginnings, fresh air. I love the smell of Easter lilies in the morning. There is one particular Easter symbol that carries great meaning for me – lamb, specifically the sight, sound and smell of lamb cooking on my outdoor grill. My family has been grilling lamb for Easter dinner for more than 30 years. I love the sound of it grilling, the smell of it, and especially the taste of it when it is served. We use our own special marinade. And a lot happens in one’s life in 30 years. A lot. But my Jungian take on this symbol is more than the sum of its parts. This is not just Easter lamb. This image means more than it expresses.

When I grill Easter lamb, I remember the first Passover in Exodus. The Hebrew people were told to smear the blood of the lamb with no blemish over their doorways so the angel of death would pass over. I remember what John the Baptist said the first time he saw Jesus in John’s Gospel. Look, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. I remember the most widely known Bible passage in all the world. What is it? Research has proven this. What is the most widely known passage of Biblical scripture in the world? Anybody? The 23rd Psalm. The 23rd Psalm.

I remember the most widely known Bible passage in the world. The 23rd Psalm. “The Lord is my shepherd.” I also remember the parable of the lost sheep. And I remember the archetypes of family, friends and church, and the living of the decades I have been grilling lamb on Easter. One of my favorite comedians, Stephen Wright – does anybody else know Stephen Wright? One of my favorite comedians, Stephen Wright, said this, “I plan to live forever. So far, so good.” Think about that. This is funny, and it’s funny because it subtly laughs in the face of death. If Easter is about anything at all it is about saying yes to life, and no to fear, and no to death. Easter is nigh. The symbols, sunrise, lilies, birth coming from an egg, beckon to us. May the power of the rolled-away stone be with you. Mary, Martha, Lazarus, the anointing of feet, with perfume whose fragrance filled the house. She used her hair. She was saying goodbye. And we, today, can say hello, hello to the power of these everlasting symbols. Amen? Amen.