Pour

Jesus was in Bethany, dining at the home of Simon the Leper. His disciples were with him, as were his dear friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. As usual, Martha was busy in the kitchen, though this time she does not seem bothered that Mary wasn't helping her. Mary certainly didn't have cooking on her mind that night.

Without fanfare or explanation, Mary brings out her finest jar of perfume. It's extravagance is difficult to imagine, it would have cost 11 month's wages. In today's terms that's about $40,000. Stop and think about that for a moment. The perfume in the alabaster jar was valued at the equivalent of $40,000.

If you had $40,000 lying around the house what would you do with it? 

Mary poured this perfume--the whole bottle--onto Jesus. A fraction of the bottle would have been a generous offering. The whole bottle? It was prodigious. It was preposterous. It was so extreme that the others were not inspired by her gift, they were appalled. Disgusted. Scandalized. 

They all began to scold her, proud in their practicality. I suppose they expected Jesus to reprimand her as well. What a waste!

But Jesus welcomes the gift. He receives every excessive ounce. The God-man was worthy. In fact, he is worthy of all the bottles of all the perfume in the entire world. Mary couldn't give him all that he deserved, but she did what she could. How deep and sure was Mary's love for Jesus!

Do I love him like that? Do I love him so much that I pour out my best for him? Or do I excuse the modesty of my giving, believing that extravagance is only for the rich; thinking that generosity is the duty of the financially secure? The fact is, one need not have much to be openhanded. There is no minimum income requirement on generosity--the freedom to give is one of the world's great equalizers. 

If you are reading this blog on a computer, or a smart phone, you are (compared to much of the world) wealthy. Though many of us live month to month, few of us ever miss a meal. The sad truth is, we have tied up all of our means to maintain a certain standard of living. We pour our best out on our own comfort and pleasure, while trusting that Jesus can make do with small, cheap bottles of eau de toilette. 

But is isn't a question of Jesus making do. He doesn't need my money. It is a question of love and devotion. Jesus never minced words about it. He clearly said, "where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Notice that the heart follows the money, not the other way around. That is to say, if I wait until I'm "feeling" it, I will keep pouring out my perfume on my own coddled self. But if I choose to pour out my perfume on Jesus, my heart will go to him, too. It starts with a choice, true love always starts with a choice.

All the disciples shamed Mary, treated her as if she had lost her senses. It turns out that she was probably the wisest, most deliberate person in the room. Her love lead her to make a bold decision. After the giving she probably loved Jesus even more. Her treasure had been lavished upon her savior, sealing her heart to his.

When I say I love Jesus, but that love doesn't cost me anything, perhaps I do not mean what I say. Love, by definition, gives. For God so loved the world that he GAVE. He gave his best for me, a gift so extravagant that I will not ever have enough perfume to pour out at his feet. Yet, I'm often spritzing and dabbing what little I posses. 

I need to break open the bottle and pour.

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