“What a waste”
3 Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a
man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating, a woman came in with a
beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard. She
broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head.
4 Some of those at the table were indignant. “Why waste such
expensive perfume?” they asked. 5 “It could have been sold for a year’s wages
and the money given to the poor!” So they scolded her harshly.
6 But Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why criticize her for
doing such a good thing to me? 7 You will always have the poor among you, and
you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me. 8 She
has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time. 9 I
tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world,
this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”
What a waste. At least that’s what the disciples said. John’s
gospel names this disciple as Judas. He was saying this not because he wanted
to be generous to the poor but because he was a thief & in charge of the moneybag.
Just an aside for the moment...nothing is new. Church people
have been stealing from God for a long time. No sin is new or particular to one
culture or one period of time.
But Jesus doesn’t see her act as a waste. He corrects the
disciples & praises the woman. But why? Love. She loves. That is why she is
willing to use such a costly item, to show her love for Jesus. The amount is
worth a year’s wage. In our terms, this would be anywhere from $30,000 to
$45,000 for the median income. How could she afford something so expensive? We
don’t know, the text doesn’t say. All we know if she loves Jesus and this love
is costly, worth a whole lot.
What is our love of Jesus costing us? His love for us cost
him his life, how do we compare to our Lord? Is any sacrifice unworthy of him?
No comments:
Post a Comment