March 17, 2013 – Read the Word on Worship

Working Like the Devil to Serve the Lord from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.

They say no good deed goes unpunished. That was certainly true of Mary’s good deed done to Jesus. I have noticed we are very keen at counting the things we value, and yet completely miss the true value the Lord places on what He calls important. Jesus previously pointed out to the disciples in the temple courtyard the greatness of the widow’s glad gift of all her copper mites, when compared to all that was given by the rich with fanfare. Even after all the teaching by Jesus about serving and humility, not one of the disciples challenged Mary’s washing the feet of Jesus with her hair. They only challenged the extravagance of her act of love that used such a valuable gift on Jesus.
Join us Sunday morning as we continue our study of the Gospel of Mark and “Working Like the Devil, Serving the Lord” from Mark 14 verses 1 to 11.

Word On Worship – March 17, 2013 Download / Print

Mark 14:4-5
But some were indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted? For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they were scolding her.

The disciples of Jesus are very adept about counting the cost of things, literally. In Mark 6, when Jesus tells them to feed the crowd waiting on the hillside, their mental cash registers ring up a 200 denarii estimate for bread cost alone. The average wage of a Roman soldier was 300 denarii a year. And when Mary opens the alabaster jar and pours out its contents on our Lord, the disciples count the cost of all that was lost to them. How well does your mental cash register work as you see others use the resources God has given them?

I have noticed we are very keen at counting the things we value, and yet completely miss the true value the Lord places on what He calls important. Jesus previously pointed out to the disciples in the temple courtyard the greatness of the widow’s glad gift of all her copper mites, when compared to all that was given by the rich with fanfare. Even after all the teaching by Jesus about serving and humility, not one of the disciples challenged Mary’s washing the feet of Jesus with her hair. They only challenged the extravagance of her act of love that used such a valuable gift on Jesus.

Money does matter and we are all called to be faithful stewards of the gifts God has given us. But have we allowed our mental calculations to shortchange our devotion and love of the Lord? Have we become afraid of doing something extravagant for the Lord because we are afraid of how others will respond to such an over-the-top expression of gratitude? I think Mary understood this was going to be the last time she would be with Lord once He left Bethany for Jerusalem. This was her opportunity to demonstrate her devotion regardless what the others in the room thought of her pouring out such an expensive perfume over our Lord’s feet.

And there is a subtle warning in the attitude of the disciples for us all. Yes, Judas was upset as he saw the money he would not be able to pocket for himself, since the costly perfume would not be sold to fill the purse. But why were the disciples more closely aligned with Judas than they were with Mary? Let us examine our own motives as we see other people serve the Lord with complete abandon and not question or cast dispersions upon their motivation. In what ways has the Lord called each of us to be completely committed to him in our love and devotion by not saving something in reserve for ourselves but allowing all of our hearts, minds, souls and strength to be an offering to the One who saved us in His mercy.