Sunday Morning, March 14, 2010
Worship at 10am in the Sanctuary
Scripture Readings: Genesis 8:20-22; Ephesians 4:31-5:2; John 12:1-3

The reading from Genesis is the ending of the Story of Noah and the Ark. The dove, which was sent out to discover land, first returned with an olive leaf. The next time it was sent out, it did not return at all. The Ark has landed and Noah and his family have unloaded all the animals, so that they may abound on the earth and be fruitful and multiply. Then Noah builds an altar and makes a burnt offering to the Lord. The Lord smells the pleasing odor and swears never again to destroy every living creature. This ancient story is obviously not to be believed literally, but it tells us that the odor of the burnt offering was one of the ways the people of Israel felt connected to their God. The rituals and sacrifices made them feel so close to God that they attributed to God the sense of pleasure at the aroma of the offering.

In the story from Ephesians, Paul urges people to “… live in love, as Christ loved us, and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Paul uses the image of a fragrant offering as a symbol for Christ’s love for us, as expressed in his death and resurrection. John 12:1-3 is the story of Jesus eating at the house of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, and Mary pouring a whole pound of expensive perfume over his feet, and then wiping them with her hair. It says: “The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.”

Modern research has shown that the sense of smell is the most powerful sense for unlocking our memories and touching something very deep inside of us. In this sermon, we will look into our relationships with God in the deep places of our lives.