This morning during my time of prayer and Bible reading I focused in on Mark 14:1-9.
1 It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, 2 for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.” 3 And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. 4 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? 5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. 6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 9 And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”[1]
[1] The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
Reading this story I immediately noticed the extravagance of this woman's offering. One denarii is the equivalent of one day's wages. So the amount of this gift could be comparable to $50,000 in today's dollars. Wow! I don't know about you but that is certainly an extravagant gift. Of course, this woman's gift was given in view of the most extravagant gift in history - the gift of Christ's life on the cross. So when viewed in light of God's gift ("For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son"), this gift isn't quite an extravagant as we might think. But never the less, this story of extravagance has been recorded in the timeless pages of Scripture. Here are few thoughts I had about extravagant worship while reading this morning:
1) Extravagant worship requires a change in focus from the temporal (earthly) to the eternal (heavenly).
This woman recognized the coming crucifixion of Jesus. She understood that earthly possessions (perfume) have no comparison to eternal priorities (worship of God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength).
2) Extravagant worship makes others uncomfortable - did you notice the response of others (specifically Judas)? Their response was self righteous and hypocritical. They had been put to shame by this woman and got defensive in the process. I remember a few months back when my daughter wanted to participate in an offering at her school (Prince of Peace Lutheran). If I remember correctly, the offering was to help missionaries in remote parts of the world. She had just begun getting paid to do her chores and I think she got one dollar a week. Now she is a good saver and never spends the money. So after saving up for weeks and weeks, she had about 10 dollars. She said she wanted to give 5 dollars to the offering. Do you know what my first response was? I thought in my mind, "this is unwise, this is half of everything she has, they don't need her 5 dollars." The truth was her extravagant worship put me to shame.
3) Opportunities for extravagant worship are not always available - Jesus said, "For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me." If this woman had waited just two more days to perform her act of worship, it would have been too late. Jesus would have already been arrested and his trial would have already started. If she had waited, she would have kneeled before him at the cross and wept tears of sorrow for missing her opportunity to express her love.
1 It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, 2 for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.” 3 And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. 4 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? 5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. 6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 9 And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”[1]
[1] The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
Reading this story I immediately noticed the extravagance of this woman's offering. One denarii is the equivalent of one day's wages. So the amount of this gift could be comparable to $50,000 in today's dollars. Wow! I don't know about you but that is certainly an extravagant gift. Of course, this woman's gift was given in view of the most extravagant gift in history - the gift of Christ's life on the cross. So when viewed in light of God's gift ("For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son"), this gift isn't quite an extravagant as we might think. But never the less, this story of extravagance has been recorded in the timeless pages of Scripture. Here are few thoughts I had about extravagant worship while reading this morning:
1) Extravagant worship requires a change in focus from the temporal (earthly) to the eternal (heavenly).
This woman recognized the coming crucifixion of Jesus. She understood that earthly possessions (perfume) have no comparison to eternal priorities (worship of God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength).
2) Extravagant worship makes others uncomfortable - did you notice the response of others (specifically Judas)? Their response was self righteous and hypocritical. They had been put to shame by this woman and got defensive in the process. I remember a few months back when my daughter wanted to participate in an offering at her school (Prince of Peace Lutheran). If I remember correctly, the offering was to help missionaries in remote parts of the world. She had just begun getting paid to do her chores and I think she got one dollar a week. Now she is a good saver and never spends the money. So after saving up for weeks and weeks, she had about 10 dollars. She said she wanted to give 5 dollars to the offering. Do you know what my first response was? I thought in my mind, "this is unwise, this is half of everything she has, they don't need her 5 dollars." The truth was her extravagant worship put me to shame.
3) Opportunities for extravagant worship are not always available - Jesus said, "For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me." If this woman had waited just two more days to perform her act of worship, it would have been too late. Jesus would have already been arrested and his trial would have already started. If she had waited, she would have kneeled before him at the cross and wept tears of sorrow for missing her opportunity to express her love.
My prayer for today is this, "May I look for opportunities to express my extravagant worship to God for his amazing, extravagant act of grace towards me."
No comments:
Post a Comment