SNIFF, SNIFF, 

SCENT, SCENT, 

HINT, HINT 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this Monday in Holy Week is, “Sniff, Sniff, Scent, Scent, Hint, Hint.”

Could you all right now go, Sniff, Sniff?  _____ Thank you.

NOSE

God has blessed us with a nose - a gift - for our protection and our safety.

As we age, we’re aware of the loss of some of our hearing -  but usually in those around us - more than ourselves.

As we age, we’re aware of the loss of some of our seeing ability - usually more in ourselves than those around us.

I was wondering as I began working on this homily this morning: “What about our sense of smell?”

I sense we’re more aware of size and shape of noses more than the sense of smell - but I really am not too sure about all of this - because I never thought about this before - well maybe about gradual hearing loss in those around me.

TODAY’S READINGS

Today’s readings use the image of scent. It can get us thinking about air, breathing, the Spirit.

Today’s Gospel has the story of Mary - the sister of Martha and Lazarus - using a liter of costly perfume oil - made from genuine aromatic nard. She anoints the feet of Jesus and dries his feet with her hair.

You can almost smell the next line from the Gospel of John, “the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.” [12:3]

TRANSITION

The title of my homily is, “Sniff, Sniff, Scent, Scent, Hint, Hint.”

QUESTIONAIRE

If I were a perfume or an after shave lotion, what name would I give myself?

If I were a perfume or an after shave lotion, what name would I give myself?

               

• Lilac,
• Joy,
• A  Breath of Fresh Air,
• Sweetness,
• Spring?

If we were a scent, how would those who are in the rooms we enter each day label us?

Would their labels for us be positive or negative?

If positive would they be one of those I already mentioned - like “Joy” or “A Breath of Fresh Air?”

If negative would the scent I give off be called,

• Anger,
• Grumpy,
• Complaints,
• Negativity,
• Crush,
• Downer,
• Pessimist,
• Hurting,
• Draining?

FIRST READING

Today’s first reading - Isaiah 42: 1-7 -  talks about God’s Servant?

It talks about having the Spirit of God.

It talks about bringing justice to the nations.

It talks about not crying, not shouting, not making noise.

It talks about opening eyes

It talks about bringing comfort to those who are imprisoned.

It talks about bringing light to those in darkness.

Now those are great strategies, methods, ways to become a breath of fresh air, joy, to our world, how to become a welcoming sight in all the rooms we enter.

TODAY’S GOSPEL

In today’s gospel - John 12: 1-11 - we have Mary, the sister of Martha, bringing a sweet aroma to the whole house and we have Judas bringing a negative scent and spin to the scene.

Judas says that the perfume is being wasted on Jesus and it could have been sold and used for the poor.  But John tells us that’s a lie. Judas is being dishonest. He was stealing from the group's money bag. I’ve often wondered what it was like to travel with Judas. Was he Mister Negative? Was he a drain or a pain?  Was he stale air?  Was he a morose dark cloud that hung over the whole group or was all that within and he never told anyone what he was really feeling?

CONCLUSION

The title of my homily was, “Sniff, Sniff, Scent, Scent, Hint, Hint.” We can think about others, but the best thing to do would be to take some time to be with ourselves, and take a big sniff of who we are? Sniff, Sniff, Scent, Scent, Hint, Hint.

I remember reading a quote from a writer named, “Ben Amin” who talked about being, “The person whose perfume is Jesus”.

Wouldn’t that be a great scent to have? Amen.