The Extravagance
Mike Darbandi is the Location Pastor of Gas Street South
John 12:3-5, 6-8 (NIV) —
Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the whole house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ‘Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages’… ‘Leave her alone,’ Jesus replied. ‘It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.’
It's Holy Week, so we will tracking with some of the events recorded in John's Gospel just before Jesus’ crucifixion.
It was customary in Jesus’ day to anoint the dead in preparation for burial. Mary hadn’t yet been told that Jesus was going to die, but something still led her to enact this sacred display of honour upon Jesus. This was extravagant worship before Mary knew the magnitude of what Jesus was to do for her, and all of humanity, in the coming days.
True worship is costly: it requires us to put Jesus above all the other things we value - our money, our relationships, our talents, people’s perceptions of us. It can be hard to worship Jesus extravagantly at the best of times, and especially when we have yet to see him do in our lives the thing(s) we long for. Yet here, Mary gives up perfume worth a year's wages and washes Jesus’ feet with her hair in such a display of devotion that led people to think she was a fool.
Mary’s extravagant act points forward to Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. She poured out all she had, until her jar was left empty. In just a few days, Jesus would pour himself out until he is left empty.
When Easter Sunday arrives, we’ll erupt into celebration and praise as we gather to worship the resurrected Jesus. But Mary did her act of celebration and praise in advance of the miracle of Easter Sunday.
What does it look like for you to extravagantly worship Jesus today? Ahead of the joy of Easter, perhaps ahead of Jesus meeting your pressing need, for healing or for a burden lifted – what would it look like to worship him today? On an everyday run-of-the-mill Monday, can you offer Jesus some extravagant worship?
PRAYER — Jesus help me worship you today. Help me turn an everyday Monday into an extravagant display of adoration for you.