EXTRAVAGANT LOVE SERMON FOR 3-25-07
EXTRAVAGANT LOVE
Scripture: Isaiah and John 12:1-8
Once upon a time, a long time ago when Jesus was still walking on this earth, just before his crucifixion and resurrection, there was a young woman named Mary. She lived in Bethany, a small village on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives, less than two miles from Jerusalem. She lived with her brother Lazarus, whom Jesus had just recently raised from the dead, and her older sister, Martha. The whole family was very close friends with Jesus.
Mary, like most young woman, had many dreams and thoughts about her future. She may well have dreamed about marrying a wonderful man, one who was kind and recognized her as a person in her own right. Since she was already past the age of 13, and her parents were not around, she could have some autonomy about whom she married. As many unmarried women would do, she wanted to be prepared when this time came; she wanted to have something of value to offer to the marriage. (Do you older folks remember how single women would get a cedar chest and call it a Hope Chest and place in it things that were saved up for marriage?) Whenever Mary was able, even as a child, she would carefully save any coins that came her way. As the years passed and no marriage was arranged, Mary became more and more wealthy. One day she found an alabaster flask, a flask so delicate and beautiful that she knew she had to fill it with something very, very special.
About this same time her brother Lazarus fell sick and died. She and Martha had asked Jesus to come so he could heal Lazarus; however, Jesus did not get there until after Lazarus had been dead three days and was already placed in his burial tomb. Then this wonderful man Jesus, this friend that was always doing amazing things, this man with great compassion and love, this man that was so intelligent and so holy, this man Jesus actually brought Lazarus back to life. What joy! What happiness! Mary had always loved this friend Jesus and now she loved him so much that she thought her heart would break. Their were rumors that Jesus might be off soon to Jerusalem and that many of the authorities were suspicious of him. She wondered if it were true that he might even be crucified. She knew she had to do something special for this friend. She loved him more than she could even begin to express. Suddenly she knew what was necessary; she would use her coin collection, her 300 denaris, her life’s savings to buy some nard, a very expensive and very fragrant perfume. She would put it in her beautiful alabaster flask and go to find Jesus. She was pretty sure that Jesus would be at Simon’s house next door where a big party was going on. She entered the home and went directly to Jesus and poured out all of her precious oil on his feet. And then she did a most outrageous thing, she used her hair to wipe his feet. Jewish women in those days did not even let their hair down in public to say nothing about using it to wipe a man’s feet. Such an expression of devotion would have been seen as extremely improper and somewhat erotic. Have you ever loved so much that you wouldn’t even think twice about the consequences of your actions in showing your love. I believe that Mary poured out all the love in her heart along with her perfume. Judas got angry and started talking about waste, about how the perfume could have been sold and the money given to the poor. Jesus defends Mary and tells us she will always be remembered. As I retell this wonderful story I think about how Mary’s action filled the whole house with love. She threw aside all caution and practicality. She gives everything. You know this is how love acts; it is uncaring of expense. And I don’t mean just financial expense. It is okay to be extravagant in our gratitude.
This reminds me of a story I received by email that was told by Pastor Victor Shepherd about a missionary surgeon he met who was rather gruff and to the point. On one occasion the surgeon was speaking to a small group of university students about his work in the Gaza Strip. He was telling them that North American "fat cats" knew nothing about gratitude. Nothing! On one occasion this surgeon had stopped at a peasant hovel to see a woman on whom he had performed surgery. She and her husband were dirt poor. Their livestock supply consisted of one Angora rabbit and two chickens. For income the woman combed the hair out of the rabbit, spun the hair into yarn and sold it. For food she and her husband ate the eggs from the chickens. The woman insisted that the missionary surgeon stay for lunch. He accepted the invitation and said he would be back for lunch after he had gone down the road to see another postoperative patient. An hour and a half later he was back. He peeked into the cooking pot to see what he was going to eat. He saw one rabbit and two chickens. The woman had given up her entire livestock supply—her income, her food, everything. He concluded his story weeping unashamedly as he reminded the audience about extravagant gratitude.
Mary in my story based on John’s gospel certainly demonstrated that she was willing to give her very best to Jesus. Her actions affected Jesus deeply. Today, 2000 years later as we approach this same Passover season, what ways are we willing to extravagantly pour out ourselves to God? In what ways do we hold back? In what ways do we behave like Judas when it comes to extravagant giving? In doesn’t matter how much we have; what matters is that we give to God the best that we have to offer. Remember that Christmas poem about baby Jesus: “What can I give him, poor as I am. If I were a shepherd, I would give him a lamb. If I were a wise man, I would do my part. What shall I give him? I will give him my heart.” …
Who here this morning is willing to give the very best of themselves to Jesus? Do you love him that much? How will you show it? Will you take a week off and go rebuild a house in Mississippi or New Orleans? Will you spend a day every week helping at the Food Pantry? Will you go beyond loving your neighbor to loving your enemies and praying for those that persecute you? Will you stand up for the oppressed? Will you call your congressmen and women to advocate for the poor, for peace and for economic justice? As I’ve said many times, many of you in this congregation are extravagantly generous and I thank you. As you think about what extravagant gift you are willing to offer, I would like to close with some poetry from Seasons of your Heart by Macrina Wiederkehr:
A jar of perfume
Poured out over Jesus
And a question is born
What is the point of such extravagance?
Why this waste?
I don’t know.
I honestly don’t know.
But if this shocks you so,
Get ready, for you’ll see more
More than costly perfume poured out.
You’ll see lives poured out
Given freely, used up, spilled out, wasted
For no reason at all!
Extravagance unlimited!
Lives poured out
Handed over, lost, thrown away
For Jesus!
What is the point of such extravagance?
Why such waste?
Beautiful questions with no answers.
And how sad if no one has ever asked us:
Why this extravagance?
Aren’t you wasting your life on Jesus?
So who among you is willing to be as bold, as reckless, as extravagant as Mary? Are you willing to give away what is most precious to you? Can you say with Isaiah in our morning’s Hebrew scripture lesson, “I’m going to do a new thing, now it springs forth, do you perceive it?” (Isa. 43:19a) What will you pour out for God?
Scripture: Isaiah and John 12:1-8
Once upon a time, a long time ago when Jesus was still walking on this earth, just before his crucifixion and resurrection, there was a young woman named Mary. She lived in Bethany, a small village on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives, less than two miles from Jerusalem. She lived with her brother Lazarus, whom Jesus had just recently raised from the dead, and her older sister, Martha. The whole family was very close friends with Jesus.
Mary, like most young woman, had many dreams and thoughts about her future. She may well have dreamed about marrying a wonderful man, one who was kind and recognized her as a person in her own right. Since she was already past the age of 13, and her parents were not around, she could have some autonomy about whom she married. As many unmarried women would do, she wanted to be prepared when this time came; she wanted to have something of value to offer to the marriage. (Do you older folks remember how single women would get a cedar chest and call it a Hope Chest and place in it things that were saved up for marriage?) Whenever Mary was able, even as a child, she would carefully save any coins that came her way. As the years passed and no marriage was arranged, Mary became more and more wealthy. One day she found an alabaster flask, a flask so delicate and beautiful that she knew she had to fill it with something very, very special.
About this same time her brother Lazarus fell sick and died. She and Martha had asked Jesus to come so he could heal Lazarus; however, Jesus did not get there until after Lazarus had been dead three days and was already placed in his burial tomb. Then this wonderful man Jesus, this friend that was always doing amazing things, this man with great compassion and love, this man that was so intelligent and so holy, this man Jesus actually brought Lazarus back to life. What joy! What happiness! Mary had always loved this friend Jesus and now she loved him so much that she thought her heart would break. Their were rumors that Jesus might be off soon to Jerusalem and that many of the authorities were suspicious of him. She wondered if it were true that he might even be crucified. She knew she had to do something special for this friend. She loved him more than she could even begin to express. Suddenly she knew what was necessary; she would use her coin collection, her 300 denaris, her life’s savings to buy some nard, a very expensive and very fragrant perfume. She would put it in her beautiful alabaster flask and go to find Jesus. She was pretty sure that Jesus would be at Simon’s house next door where a big party was going on. She entered the home and went directly to Jesus and poured out all of her precious oil on his feet. And then she did a most outrageous thing, she used her hair to wipe his feet. Jewish women in those days did not even let their hair down in public to say nothing about using it to wipe a man’s feet. Such an expression of devotion would have been seen as extremely improper and somewhat erotic. Have you ever loved so much that you wouldn’t even think twice about the consequences of your actions in showing your love. I believe that Mary poured out all the love in her heart along with her perfume. Judas got angry and started talking about waste, about how the perfume could have been sold and the money given to the poor. Jesus defends Mary and tells us she will always be remembered. As I retell this wonderful story I think about how Mary’s action filled the whole house with love. She threw aside all caution and practicality. She gives everything. You know this is how love acts; it is uncaring of expense. And I don’t mean just financial expense. It is okay to be extravagant in our gratitude.
This reminds me of a story I received by email that was told by Pastor Victor Shepherd about a missionary surgeon he met who was rather gruff and to the point. On one occasion the surgeon was speaking to a small group of university students about his work in the Gaza Strip. He was telling them that North American "fat cats" knew nothing about gratitude. Nothing! On one occasion this surgeon had stopped at a peasant hovel to see a woman on whom he had performed surgery. She and her husband were dirt poor. Their livestock supply consisted of one Angora rabbit and two chickens. For income the woman combed the hair out of the rabbit, spun the hair into yarn and sold it. For food she and her husband ate the eggs from the chickens. The woman insisted that the missionary surgeon stay for lunch. He accepted the invitation and said he would be back for lunch after he had gone down the road to see another postoperative patient. An hour and a half later he was back. He peeked into the cooking pot to see what he was going to eat. He saw one rabbit and two chickens. The woman had given up her entire livestock supply—her income, her food, everything. He concluded his story weeping unashamedly as he reminded the audience about extravagant gratitude.
Mary in my story based on John’s gospel certainly demonstrated that she was willing to give her very best to Jesus. Her actions affected Jesus deeply. Today, 2000 years later as we approach this same Passover season, what ways are we willing to extravagantly pour out ourselves to God? In what ways do we hold back? In what ways do we behave like Judas when it comes to extravagant giving? In doesn’t matter how much we have; what matters is that we give to God the best that we have to offer. Remember that Christmas poem about baby Jesus: “What can I give him, poor as I am. If I were a shepherd, I would give him a lamb. If I were a wise man, I would do my part. What shall I give him? I will give him my heart.” …
Who here this morning is willing to give the very best of themselves to Jesus? Do you love him that much? How will you show it? Will you take a week off and go rebuild a house in Mississippi or New Orleans? Will you spend a day every week helping at the Food Pantry? Will you go beyond loving your neighbor to loving your enemies and praying for those that persecute you? Will you stand up for the oppressed? Will you call your congressmen and women to advocate for the poor, for peace and for economic justice? As I’ve said many times, many of you in this congregation are extravagantly generous and I thank you. As you think about what extravagant gift you are willing to offer, I would like to close with some poetry from Seasons of your Heart by Macrina Wiederkehr:
A jar of perfume
Poured out over Jesus
And a question is born
What is the point of such extravagance?
Why this waste?
I don’t know.
I honestly don’t know.
But if this shocks you so,
Get ready, for you’ll see more
More than costly perfume poured out.
You’ll see lives poured out
Given freely, used up, spilled out, wasted
For no reason at all!
Extravagance unlimited!
Lives poured out
Handed over, lost, thrown away
For Jesus!
What is the point of such extravagance?
Why such waste?
Beautiful questions with no answers.
And how sad if no one has ever asked us:
Why this extravagance?
Aren’t you wasting your life on Jesus?
So who among you is willing to be as bold, as reckless, as extravagant as Mary? Are you willing to give away what is most precious to you? Can you say with Isaiah in our morning’s Hebrew scripture lesson, “I’m going to do a new thing, now it springs forth, do you perceive it?” (Isa. 43:19a) What will you pour out for God?
posted by Sermons given at Deering Community Church @ 1:35 PM
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