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The Gospel of Matthew Bible Studies
The Gospel of Mark Bible Studies
The Book of Acts Bible Studies
January 2010
February 2010
March 2010
April 2010
May 2010
June 2010
July 2010
August 2010
September 2010
October 2010
November 2010
December 2010
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The 5th Sunday in Lent (C) In the name of the One who loves us, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen! How much is love worth? There’s a hilarious scene from the 1987 movie “Ruthless People” that serves as a good illustration of what it’s NOT! In that movie, Bette Midler – playing the role of the wife of a wealthy businessman – is kidnapped. But it turns out that her husband, played by Danny DeVito, is actually quite glad to be rid of her – so he rejects the kidnappers’ ransom demand. The kidnappers, not at all expecting this, are stunned. So they come back with a lower demand – which is also rejected by DeVito. This goes on again and again – and the ransom price keeps getting reduced. Finally after about four or five times of this, the captive Midler explodes in frustration, saying: “I’ve been kidnapped by K-Mart – and I’m being treated like a blue light special!” So, how much IS love worth? We may not know exactly, but one thing we can be sure of is that – unlike that scene in “Ruthless People” – real love is NOT concerned about the cost! For true love, nothing but the best will do. Such was the situation in today’s gospel. Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead – and his sister Mary wanted to show Jesus her love and appreciation. So she took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The sheer extravagance of that act is breathtaking! As we heard in our gospel, that perfume was worth at least three hundred denarii – almost a year’s wages for the average worker of that day. You may remember that in Jesus’ parable about the workers in the vineyard, the workers agreed to work for the daily wage of ONE denarius – and this perfume was worth 300 DENARII. But Mary apparently didn’t hesitate. She took the most costly possession that she had and poured it out on Jesus’ feet. That’s what love is like – it is extravagant! As William Barclay writes in his Daily Study Bible commentary; “love is not love if it neatly calculates the cost. It gives its all and its only regret is that it has not still more to give.” So may it be for us in our life with Jesus. If we truly love him and are thankful for all that he has done for us, we will not try to get by with the bare minimum in showing our love for him. Instead we will be like Mary, giving Jesus the very best that we have without regret. Not because we “have” to, but because we WANT to! True love is extravagant! Another characteristic of love is that it is un-self-conscious. As we heard in our gospel, Mary not only poured the perfume on Jesus’ feet but then wiped them with her hair. This was a scandalous act, because in the Palestine of Jesus’ day no respectable woman would ever appear in public with her hair unbound. In fact, a woman wiping a man’s feet with her hair would still be considered scandalous even today! But Mary apparently never even thought that that. She was not concerned about outward appearances or about what others might have thought about her actions. Again, as Barclay writes; “When two people really love each other they live in a world of their own. They may wander slowly down a crowded street hand in hand heedless of what other people think.” So it was for Mary. She was not trying to impress anyone. She simply wanted to show her love for Jesus, even if was at the expense of her reputation. Contrast Mary’s action with that of so many of us today. When it comes to showing our faith and love for Jesus in public, we often tend to become very self-conscious. Many Christians are hesitant to pray aloud in public, or even to pray a simple table blessing before eating a meal in a restaurant – let alone ever discussing our faith in and love for the Lord with others. I am not implying that we should ever try to make a “show” of our faith and love, but Mary provides us with a good example of what true love is like. Mary’s intention was not to scandalize others, but simply to show her love to Jesus in the most complete way possible – regardless of what others might think. True love is un-self-conscious. May it be so for us! In contrast to Mary in today’s gospel, we have the character of Judas – who immediately criticizes her by saying, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” (John writes that he said this because Judas was a thief who often stole money from the common purse – but I personally don’t think that is a major point. In the parallel accounts of this story in the gospels of Matthew and Mark, all the disciples criticize the “waste” of this act.) Be that as it may, the main point is that Judas (and apparently others as well) failed to understand the meaning of love. Instead of appreciating Mary’s gift to Jesus, he only saw what she did in the worst possible light. Judas – whether sincerely or not – thought that love for Jesus should only be expressed in certain “practical” ways such as in giving aid to the poor. And this is a way of thinking which many people – including many Christians – still have today. There certainly is nothing wrong with helping the poor – it is a wonderful and praiseworthy thing which should always be encouraged among us. It is good for us to help people through the ELCA World Hunger Appeal, or give to the Disaster Response to help those afflicted by the Haitian and Chilean earthquakes, or even help those who are less fortunate locally. But sometimes people may feel a desire to express their love for Jesus in a totally non-practical and extravagant way as Mary did. Or as many of us have in contributing to the “Now is the Time!” building fund here at Pella. And that is good too! Jesus appreciates all of the expressions of love which we give – whether in daily “practical” ways or in special “extravagant” ways. In the end, we do not know exactly why Mary decided to do what she did – except that she possibly knew that she might never have that chance again. She knew that Jesus was with her NOW – and she wanted to thank Jesus for raising her brother back to life and to express her love for Jesus NOW instead of waiting for later when it might be too late. And so Mary seized the moment and gave Jesus the best, most extravagant gift that she could WHILE she could! So often we tend to put off thanking someone or showing persons how much we love and care for them until it is too late – and then we end up regretting it. But may we, like Mary, use whatever opportunities we have to express our love for Jesus – and for each other as well. For “Now is the Time!” – Now is always the time – to show our thanks and love instead of putting it off until later. Yes, Mary’s love for Jesus was EXTRAVAGANT (not just “practical” and certainly not like a “K-Mart Blue Light Special”)! Mary’s love was also UN-SELF-CONSCIOUS (not concerned about appearances or about what others might think). And finally, Mary’s love for Jesus was TIMELY – she gave her gift to Jesus while he was with her. May we who are here also be like Mary in expressing our love for Jesus extravagantly, un-self-consciously, and whenever the opportunity presents itself. Then we shall experience a joy and a peace which will fill our souls and will never, ever leave us! Loving Jesus – may this be so for us today and always! Thanks be to God! Amen -------------------- Pastor George Karres 418 W. Main St. Sidney, MT 59270
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