She came, weeping, unwanted, uninvited. The
festive atmosphere became hushed as she bowed her
head, bending low before Him. The tears continued to
fall, making muddy streaks on His dusty feet. From
under her robe she brought out a box, an alabaster
box, filled with precious ointment. Breaking the
seal, she began to pour the perfume liberally over
his feet, and mixing it even more liberally with her
tears. Seeing the oozing puddles forming around his
feet, on the floor of the rich Pharisee’s home,
she looked around in vain for something to clean up
the "mess" her worship had made.
Impulsively, she took the pins out of her long hair,
unwound it, and began cleaning his feet, wiping the
tears and ointment with her long tresses. This was
another extravagant act that made her look even more
"loose" in her critic’s eyes. Surely
this gesture was not acceptable, not
dignified, not "normal". They had
endured this embarrassing display long enough.
"Master, why this WASTE? This perfume could
have been sold and the money given to the poor?"
The spokesman was none-other than Judas himself.
Judas felt as if the valuable substance was wasted
on Jesus…perhaps a teaspoon or two, but the entire
alabaster box?
Now let us fast forward to this millennium. Could
this same spirit still be alive and well, still
stirring the religious, the "one teaspoon"
worshipers to complain when they witness an act of
extravagant worship? "Why does she have to lift
her hands? … She’s just trying to draw attention
to herself! ... That distracts me! ... Worship should be
‘dignified’, quiet, certainly not MESSY! … I don’t
believe in PUBLIC DISPLAYS of affection where the
Lord is concerned! ... That should be reserved for your
prayer closet at home." Have you ever heard
those voices?
Certainly many godly, precious believers are
"quiet worshipers". They feel the passion
of love for their Lord deeply, but it isn’t
translated into outward physical actions. But
it is dangerous to criticize the "Mary’s"
among us! We may not join them, but we would
do well to heed the words of Jesus when He responded
to the critics:
"Leave her alone!" He sternly
rebuked.
Jesus wasn’t at all "put out" by her
embarrassing extravagance. Indeed, He seemed to
heartily endorse such public displays, for He
said "all generations" would honor her
actions. The God of heaven didn’t take too kindly
to folks "criticizing" her.
Could there be a problem among some folks with
too much love of self and too little passion for
Jesus? Could this be why they are offended by a
"self-less" worshiper? Jesus made an
interesting comment once that I have long
misunderstood. He said, "The man who is
FORGIVEN much will LOVE much, but the man who is
forgiven LITTLE will LOVE LITTLE." I used to
think this meant that some of us were worse sinners
than others, but no longer. It took just as much of
the Blood of Christ to cleanse and save a "good
moral religionist" as it did to save the hooker
who’s turning tricks to support her drug habit. It
took the same sacrifice, the same blood. Jesus didn’t
die "just a little" for the good people,
and "a lot" for the wicked ones. Could it
be that we "moral, religious people" don’t
realize how much we’ve been forgiven, therefore
our love is stingy and small? Could that be one
reason why we’re quick to criticize the
extravagant worshiper beside us who knows how
evil they have been and what they’ve been saved
from?
God, help us all to cast aside our ideas of
"propriety", to see what we have been
saved from, to see how much we have
been forgiven. Shatter our illusions about our own
inherent "goodness" compared to the
"really bad people". Show us the depth of
our need, and the extravagant magnitude of Your love. You
weren’t stingy in showing Your love for us, and it
wasn’t shown in the privacy of Your "prayer
closet" but publicly, before all.
I don’t want to be on Judas’s side. I don’t
want to identify with Your betrayer in one tiny
part. I don’t want to be a critic of the
extravagant worshipers, even if they are more
exuberant than I have ever been. I don’t know
their story. I don’t know what You have saved them
FROM.
I want to be an extravagant worshiper!
Sure, extravagant worship will COST something. It
will most certainly cost you your pride, and
very possibly may cost you your reputation, too, at
least in "religious" circles. You may
sneeringly be labeled a "holy-roller" or,
heaven help us all, a "charismatic". A
liberal worshiper who loves much will be
misunderstood and attacked by the religious. It has
always been that way.
But Jesus is worth it. Love poured
out extravagantly on King Jesus is never wasted.
