Home > Sermons > March 25, 2007

An Extravagant One Great Hour of Sharing Gift

Once upon a time, many years ago, two young men served on the board of a small struggling Church in a rural town.  Mike and John carried the burden of being the son’s of very successful and wealthy fathers.  They had inherited positions of leadership in the two political parties: one was a Democrat and the other a Republican.   

As in many churches, theirs had financial problems.  And as often happens in small churches – and sometimes even larger one  –  when a crunch came, someone with money always paid the church’s bills. Several families could be counted on. 

This was a number of years ago when a dollar was worth a lot more than it is today.  But it so happened that Mike and John each pledged $1000 to the yearly budget of the church.  It wasn’t much of a secret.  They each paid their pledges faithfully, and along with others, I think, they waited to see who would bail the church out this year. 

The yearly appeal for the One Great Hour of Sharing came around.  (Many of you remember that One Great Hour of Sharing is a special offering taken by most  Mainline Protestant Churches for relief of hunger and natural disasters, and administered through denominational agencies or through Church World Service.) Well,  this little church wasn’t usually much for One Great Hour of Sharing. They had to keep their own doors open – to pay their own bills!  They were mostly turned inward. 

But one year Mike went to a national convention. He got turned on by what he saw and heard going on in other parts of the world, and especially about the One Great Hour of sharing.  He liked the disaster assistance part. He was impressed with the Self Development of People program that his denomination funded. So, instead of putting small change in the special offering, he wrote a $1000 check, equal to his whole church pledge that year. In his exuberance, Mike’s gift put that little church at the top of the chart!  They were the highest per capita givers to One Great Hour of Sharing. 

But John was treasurer that year, and John was wondering about the regular  bills.  He hadn’t been to any national convention.  He hadn’t gotten turned onto any special mission project. John groused that if Mike wanted to make such a gift, he should have put it into the regular church offering.   Wasn’t the church budget always in trouble?  John loved and cared for his church, but he hadn’t caught a broader vision.  John could not see the new vision of Mike’s passion!  Mike gave extravagantly because his love of neighbor had gotten stimulated!  John was stuck. 

Mary’s Gift and Judas’s Complaint

It’s really quite an old story, isn’t it?  This struggle between extravagant passion and the rational approach. 

In the gospel reading for today, Judas complained about Mary’s extravagance toward Jesus.   All four gospel writers include versions of this story (Mark 14:3-9, Matthew 26:6-13 and Luke 7:36-49) – not all of the details are the same, but each one of them mentions the value as at or above 300 denarii – that is almost a year’s wages for a laborer.  It was quite an extravagance, to be sure! 

Each gospel writer, also, mentions a concern about this extravagant waste.  Two say it was Simon, the host in their version of the story, and one says the disciples were concerned.  Only John lays the complaint solely with Judas. They are all critical of Mary.  Perhaps they were jealous – because she had the resources to be so extravagant. Or critical because they couldn’t muster such passion. Saying that it should be given to the poor was just standard Judaism. Giving to the poor was what every Jew was supposed to do.  So Jesus reminded them that there were always poor to give to.  They could do it any time. 

But Mary’s gift was from the heart – filled with compassion.  After all, Jesus had raised her brother Lazarus from the dead.  Jesus had also taken Mary seriously as a disciple.  He allowed her, a woman, to sit at his feet as one of the learners – most rabbis wouldn’t. Jesus did.  In another story in Luke, Jesus and Mary were both criticized for not requiring Mary to serve him a the table, like a dutiful woman would do!  But Jesus liberated Mary.  Her role was no longer an invisible female, but, now, disciple and friend.  It must have been out of gratitude and love that Mary bought this very precious perfume and poured it out on Jesus’ feet, then wiped those feet with her hair. 

A Waste – Not Reasonable

But wasn’t it really a waste –  all of that perfume?  Surely this outlandish show of affection must have been an embarrassment to Jesus.  Culturally it had to be. The male disciples were embarrassed.   What would people think?  And what did Mary’s gift mean?  Judas, the treasurer was incensed!  Of all the things for this wealthy woman to do!  Throwing her money around!  If she didn’t need it, she could give it to the little group’s treasury or to the poor. 

Perhaps it wasn’t that Judas cared that much for the poor.  The Gospel of John says that Judas was stealing the money.  Looking at Judas’s final acts, sinister motives are read back into everything he did.  But never mind Judas’s bad press — Luke says that it was the disciples who felt this way – presumably all of them.  They can’t see why Jesus would allow such ostentation – encouraging Mary to waste money. I think in this Judas speaks for all of us, most of the time. 

But Jesus defended Mary: her extravagance was preparation for Jesus’ burial, he said.  “You have the poor with you always,” Jesus said, “you can do something for the poor any day!”   And so can we.  Surely Jesus is pleased when we do. 

Jesus Likes Gifts of Passion

Mary’s gift was one of extravagant love. That’s what Jesus applauded. Jesus likes gifts of passion.  The sincere intent of the giver comes with the gift.   Remember how Jesus pointed out the poor widow who had put a few coins into the offering box?  He said she had given more than any other. She was extravagant, too.  She gave all she had. 

Jesus isn’t impressed  with  calculated giving, or with gifts without compassion, or gifts that are to impress others.  Jesus is not impressed with calculating the gifts of others – judging the givers.  The disciples wanted to calculate Mary’s gift,   but Mary gave with abandon.  Mike gave with exuberance, but John wanted to calculate it. There is always a temptation is to try to judge the gift of others. But to calculate what gift is proper and what is not, can miss the point of the compassion and the love of the giver. 

Serving Others

As Mary washed Jesus’ feet with the expensive perfume, her extravagant gift and unusual way of giving it, foreshadow Jesus’ extravagant gift of himself on the cross.  Not only is she preparing his body in advance for his burial, but Mary is doing for Jesus what Jesus soon does for the others.  

The wealthy woman – one of the hostesses – takes the role of servant and washes Jesus’ feet, although it is an extravagant washing. In a few days, Jesus will wash the disciples feet, and tell the disciples to do so to one another.  Mary’s act foreshadows Jesus’ act in the gospel story. 

Christ’s Gifts

      In this Lenten period, we remember human suffering and frailty as we remember Christ’s suffering.  Jesus entered his days of suffering with a passion for the needy and a passion for sinners.  Jesus gave himself with a zest for life that outweighs the evil which was done to him. Jesus gave himself to others, not reluctantly, but exuberantly and extravagantly.  His life was not taken from him, but he gave it willingly –  laid it down.  Jesus is our model of compassionate giving. 

How Are We to Give Compassionately?

How can we follow Jesus’ lead? 

A few years ago, I attended a volunteer recognition program. It was quite an experience to hear person after person – Christian after Christian – being recognized for their volunteer work in soup kitchens and homeless shelters and AIDs ministries.  People served by washing the socks of the shelter residents so they can go with rested feet. Other people were building homes with Habitat for Humanity. 

How does God call us to give?  Many of you are involved. The work of the church, both in these building and around the world is done by people just like you. 

And there are financial gifts. Where would a church be without the backbone of the congregation giving to the work of the church? And people give gladly, when they give out of love for Christ and love for the church. But if putting your offering in the plate becomes an old habit, regular offerings can be given without passion.  Where is your passion? 

As this church moves forward, the Transition Team Report reflects some of the ways you think about your church. Although written in calm sentences, without exclamation points, the words express the passions of you the people. 

How will you agree to put your time and your energies into those things that you are passionate about?  Even when those things you are passionate about are not what others think are the most rational things. 

Jesus’ Passion

We call Jesus’ last week, his passion.  But all of Jesus’ life was one of passion– he lived his life passionately. I invite you in the weeks that lie ahead to sense the passion of Jesus’ gift – to dig into your own soul and to examine your spiritual life.  Determine what passions God has planted there, and then to give yourself with abandon. 

As individuals seek to follow their passions, you will come to agree – or perhaps to agree to disagree about the passions of this church. It is our passionate gift to match the passionate gift of Jesus, that will make the church strong and able to minister to those who do not know – and so who have no passion, for Christ or for his Good News to all. 

Amen.