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John 12:1-8

Holy Extravagance

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John 12:1-8

Holy Extravagance

Dr. Philip W. McLarty

This should come as no surprise to you: I’m Scottish. Well, I have a Scottish heritage.  My ancestors lived in Southend, Scotland, on the southern-most tip of the Mull of Kintyre.

Remember the Paul McCartney song several years back? He has a home on the Mull of Kintyre.

My great, great, great, great grandfather emigrated from Scotland in 1793. If you’re interested, I’ll show you a copy of his church letter signed by the minister and clerk of session.

Being Scottish, I tend to be fiscally conservative. Tracy says I’m tight. I prefer to think of myself as frugal. My philosophy is, “Moderation in all things.” I figure if a little will do, a little less won’t hurt anything. I’m not one to splurge.

Plus, I’m not very demonstrative. I tend to hold back in all areas of life, not only in spending money, but in making commitments, showing emotion, expressing love and devotion.

I identify with Howard Grimes, my homiletics teacher in seminary, who once described himself as a “cold cookie.” I’m somewhat reserved. As a musician, you’ll never see me gyrating across the stage. At most, I might tap my foot indiscreetly.

All this is to say, when it comes to the gospel lesson for today – the story of Mary anointing the feet of Jesus, I find myself uncomfortably sitting in Judas’ camp: A whole pound of costly nard? Get real. That’s worth a whole year’s wages! Why not use just a drop and put the rest to good use, like buying blankets for the homeless or feeding hungry children? Surely, Jesus would understand.

And to wipe his feet with her hair? Come on. In Jesus’ day, women did not appear in the company of men with their hair down. They kept it tightly wound in a bun and covered. Yet, Mary held nothing back. She let down her hair and poured the ointment and her tears over Jesus’ feet. Judas had every reason to protest. Yet, Jesus sided with Mary. He said,

“Leave her alone. She has kept this for the day of my burial. For you always have the poor with you, but you don’t always have me.” (John 12:7-8)

Of course, hindsight is 20/20. We who live in the post-resurrection days know where this is going. We know this is no ordinary visit for Jesus and Mary and Martha, it’s a farewell dinner. Jesus has come to say goodbye. They’ll never have a chance to be together like this again. It’s their last supper. In just a few days, he’ll be arrested, tried and sentenced to die on a cross. And so, this is no time for restraint. It’s a time for holy extravagance.

We all know what that’s like. My son, Patrick, is getting married on July 3rd. He and Emily are busy putting together their invitation list. They’re already registered at Dillard’s and Target and, can you believe it – Home Depot? For our part, we’re planning the rehearsal dinner.

We’ve put down a deposit on the banquet hall and contracted with a caterer. We’ve made our reservations at the motel where the guests are staying. God only knows what it’s going to cost before it’s over. But, then, that’s beside the point, isn’t it? Having your son or daughter get married is, hopefully, a once-in-a-lifetime occasion, a time to celebrate and pull out all the stops, a time for holy extravagance.

 

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There are other occasions calling for extravagance that aren’t as joyous and upbeat, but they’re every bit as real.

For example, you’re rocking along going to work, taxiing kids to soccer games and piano lessons, attending committee meetings, working out now and then. You’ve finally struck a healthy balance between work and play, your career and your family. You’re into a comfortable routine. Then, all of a sudden, your husband or wife or child gets a little indigestion or finds a knot, goes to the doctor, the doctor feels around, runs some tests and comes to the conclusion that he/she has cancer. Without warning, your tidy little world is turned upside down.

“But, wait,” you say, “This is not a good time. My calendar is filled with activities and appointments. I’ve got places to go and people to see.” No matter. You make arrangements.

You wipe the slate clean and prepare for the long ordeal of surgery and recovery, and after that, chemotherapy. It’ll be weeks – no, make that months – before you can even begin to think about getting your life back to normal. But then, that’s the least of your worries. All that matters for the moment is the health and well being of your loved one. And so, you hold nothing back. You throw caution to the wind. You do what needs to be done. It’s a time for holy extravagance.

Then there’s the experience of falling in love. Can you remember back when? Oh, you’d known people before you found attractive, but nothing came of it. You’d been on numerous dates, but, somehow, the relationships never went anywhere. You may have even had a steady boyfriend or girlfriend, but, for one reason or another, the relationship fizzled and came to an end. As Tracy likes to say, “You have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince.”

Then, something new and exciting happened. You met someone unique and different from all the others. There was a certain chemistry to your relationship – “sparks,” as a friend used to say. You were smitten. All of a sudden, the world around you burst out into surround sound and living Technicolor. You heard bells ringing and birds singing and children laughing.

You wanted to dance like a child and do something rash, like buying her a gift or preparing him a lavish gourmet dinner. You spent hours talking on the telephone. You stayed up late at night and didn’t worry about getting enough sleep. Know what I mean?

I’ll never forget Jim and Valerie’s story about the night he proposed. He was in med school and about as over-extended as anyone could be. She was teaching third grade and busy day and night preparing for her class and grading papers. Still, they managed to find time for each other. Then came the big day. He secretly made arrangements with this fancy restaurant, not only for a particular table, but for permission to play the piano up on the bandstand. He’d written a special song just for the occasion.

They got to the restaurant on time, and, wouldn’t you know it, she wanted to sit in another section. The maitre d’ feigned some excuse and seated them at a small table in front of the bandstand. As she was seated, she found a card addressed to her with a little note from Jim. “How sweet,” she said. The wine was served, and they toasted each other; and then, without a word, Jim walked up to the stage, sat down at the piano and began to play and sing. The other guests looked up, and the room became quiet. The spotlight was on Valerie. As he sang his love song, she laughed and cried and pinched herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. She couldn’t believe he was doing this. When the song was over, he came back to the table, and, in front of God and everybody, got down on one knee and asked her the question burning in his heart, “Valerie, will you marry me?” Now, that’s holy extravagance!

All this is to say, in spite of Judas’ objections, Mary was right. Jesus was no ordinary guest. This was no everyday occasion. It was a sacred moment, and it called for an extraordinary show of devotion.

Well, Mary’s not the only one who understood this spirit of holy extravagance. A week later in the gospel story – on Good Friday – Joseph of Arimathea went to Pontius Pilate and asked for permission to bury the body of Jesus. Pilate agreed, and so, Joseph and Nicodemus – both members of the Jewish council and both secret followers of Jesus – took Jesus’ body from the cross and carried it to a nearby tomb where they lovingly wrapped it in a linen shroud along with a hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes. (Jn. 19:38-42) William Barclay says,

“It was the Jewish custom to wrap the bodies of the dead in linen clothes and to put sweet spices between the folds of the linen. Nicodemus brought enough spices for the burial of a king.” (John, Vol. 2, p. 263)

This spirit of holy extravagance comes right out of Jesus’ teaching. He said,

“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field,
which a man found, and hid.
In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has,
and buys that field.
Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls,
who having found one pearl of great price,
he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.”
(Matthew 13:44-46)

Over and over again, we see this pattern: When individuals experience the reality of God’s unconditional acceptance and love, their lives are transformed, their hearts are opened, and they’ll go to any length to express their gratitude for God’s amazing grace.

Remember the story of Zacchaeus, the little man who climbed up in the Sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus when he walked by? Zacchaeus was a hard-hearted tax collector who cheated the people on their taxes and took all he could for himself. The people despised him, and rightly so. But when Jesus came to the tree where Zacchaeus was perched, he looked up into the tree and said,“Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” (Luke 19:5) As Luke tells the story, Jesus ate with Zacchaeus, and after dinner, Zacchaeus announced,

“‘Behold, Lord, half of my goods
I give to the poor.
If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone,
I restore four times as much.’
Jesus said to him, ‘Today, salvation has come to this house.'” (Luke 19:8-9)

When the Spirit of God takes hold of your life and you experience the wonder and joy of God’s peace and know in your heart the gift of salvation and the promise of eternal life, it’s not enough simply to nod and say, “Hmm, that’s nice. So, what else is new?” You want to do something, you want to tell somebody, you want to share the Good News of God’s love with others. In the words of a song,

“I’ll shout it from the mountaintop,
I want my world to know,
The Lord of love has come to me,
I want to pass it on.”

Last year, during Holy Week, Sam Steele told this great story about the Crim family up in Kilgore. It was in the wake of the Great Depression, and times were hard. Countless men were out of work and had no way to support their families. The Crims owned the general store where everybody shopped, and, out of necessity, they began extending credit, which proved to be a mixed blessing – the folks could still buy their groceries, but, in so doing, they went deeper and deeper into debt.

One day the Crims got word that oil had been discovered on their property. Just like that, the Crims were wealthy beyond their wildest imagination. Being good Presbyterians, they wondered what they could possibly do to thank God for this great blessing. They’d always been faithful and generous in their support of the church, but this was big. So, the family huddled, and they made a decision. They sent word to all their customers asking them to come to the store at eight o’clock on Saturday morning for an important meeting. The customers, not knowing what the meeting was about, and knowing full well how much they owed the Crims, braced for the worst. Were the Crims going to seize their property?

By eight o’clock Saturday morning, practically the whole town of Kilgore was milling around in front of the Crim General Store. Malcolm Crim, the oldest brother, came out and stood on the front porch. A hush fell over the crowd. In his hand, he held the box containing the cards of all the customers detailing their charges. It didn’t look good. He spoke clearly and to the point: Oil had been discovered on their land. Prosperity had come to Kilgore. As of that day, all debts were cancelled. You can just imagine the celebration.

Well, this is what I hope you’ll take home with you today: Jesus lived and died and rose from the dead that you might have the gift of life in all its abundance, both now and for all eternity. When you think about it, that’s even better than striking it rich. The question is, what are you going to do to show your appreciation? Will you make a token response, or, are you willing, like Mary, to pour out a whole pound of costly nard? Isaac Watts said it best:

“When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.
Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were an offering far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”

Friends, catch the spirit of holy extravagance, and let it be characteristic of your devotion to Jesus Christ.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Copyright 2004, Philip W. McLarty.  Used by permission.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), a public domain (no copyright) modern English translation of the Holy Bible.