An Overwhelming Expression

An Overwhelming Expression

Matthew 26: 6 – 13

John 12: 2 – 8

November 17, 2024



I was sitting in a macro-economics class in college. You see, as a Vet. on the G.I. Bill, I had to declare my major at the very beginning of my college studies. And I, trying to decide if Becky’s dad and I were going to be the kings of the firewood market in San Diego or own a McDonald’s franchise together, I decided that Business was a good major to support our work dreams.


It was the B in that class, and the D - the only and happiest D I ever received in college and seminary – in accounting that moved me to change my major. I would change that major two more times, the max allowed by the G.I. Bill, before I finally graduated with my degree.


But there we were, sitting in a temporary classroom, in one of the many San Diego Junior Colleges, that I received one of the greatest life lessons I have received. Our instructor was lecturing on some great micro-economic principle when he closed the textbook and began his life lesson.


He started by talking about investments – about what makes a good and bad investment and how, for many of us, the rate of return was the ultimate judge of whether or not it had been a good investment. Sometimes, he said, we take on risky investments if the return is great enough. It all is judged, ultimately, by what we get back from our original investment. We need to get back at least the same – recouping our original money – andr hopefully much more, if the stress and the strain, the effort and worry over the investment was going to be worthwhile.


And then, to this young group of students – there was probably 15 to 20 of us in the class and I, as a Vet. at 22 was probably the oldest student there. Then the professor segued and said something I have never forgotten. “Too many of us enter into relationships thinking that love is an investment that demands an equal or greater return, equal or greater expressions of love granted to us, if we are going to continue in a relationship.” We keep score, and in doing so, we are doomed to relational failure.


Then, he pulled a Bible out of his bag – can you imagine a professor or teacher doing this today? He pulled out his Bible and read to us from 1 Corinthians 13, Paul’s great writing on Biblical love. “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends.” “Friends,” he said, “may you love and be loved like this.” And that was the end of the lecture for the day. The end of the day perhaps, but a lesson that I have never forgotten.


I believe that this lesson is as true today as it was back then. Too many of us use love as an investment. Too many of us stay in relationships only as long as what we are receiving is as good or better than the goodness we are bestowing. We give to get, and if we are not getting enough, we are out of there.


I am mindful of this lesson as I read od Jesus being anointed. Matthew – our first lesson – Mark, and John tell the same story with only minor differences. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem and his appointment at Calvary. Jesus is at Bethany, a village located just over the top of the Mount of Olives, on the east facing slope looking away from Jerusalem.


They are at the home of Simon the Leper and a woman – unnamed in Matthew and Mark but identified as Mary in the Gospel of John, the sister of Lazarus who had just been raised from the deed by Jesus, this Mary anoints the head and feet of Jesus as he sits at a meal given in his honor.


This is no usual anointing. Even given some leeway for an enthusiastic response bestowed on the Jesus who has just restored her beloved brother back to life, this is an extravagant – maybe even an over-the-top gift. The ointment – a pound of pure Nard we learn from both Mark and John’s telling of the story – was worth over 300 denarii, more than a year’s salary for a laborer of their day.


Think about that! An oil – Nard was an oil taken from a plant and highly valued by the upper class and royalty. It was often associated with burial preparations – Jesus himself references this use in our text. An oil of exceptional, even extravagant value is used to anoint Jesus. And the disciples have a hissy fit.


To be fair, Jesus had just been teaching them about the need to care for the needy and the poor. Perhaps this lesson was fresh in their minds as they complained about the extravagance of this love offering. Maybe they are shocked by the unseemliness of the woman’s act – anointing the feet and head of Jesus and the use of her own hair in the act. Maybe Judas sees potential profit going down the drain as Mary’s wealth is used for this purpose. All of these, and more, are possibilities for other sermons.

But I want to focus on the extravagant expression of love offered by Mary. We don’t know much about Mary. The only sentence she utters is in the Gospel of John where she says, at the death of her brother and the arrival of Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died.” A statement of grief, yes, and maybe even some anger. But also a statement of belief in the position and power of Jesus.


In response to the raising of her brother Lazarus, Mary goes out and engages in an extravagant act of love for Jesus. Flashing back to the teaching of my economics professor, what could she possibly get in return? Jesus had no money. Jesus had no governmental power to bestow. In secular terms, there was absolutely nothing that Jesus could give to Mary that would be equal to or better than her expression of love. In our cynical, even skeptical current mindset we might be asking, “What could Mary be possibly expecting in return to warrant such an extravagant opening gift?”


And the answer is, “Nothing.” Nothing. There is absolutely nothing that Mary could expect as an adequate return on her expression of love. The example of Mary is an example of love given with no expectation of return. The example of Mary is an example of an expression of love simply and fully offered for the welfare of her beloved. Mary wasn’t keeping score! Mary was simply loving – fully, completely, with no concern for the cost. With no thought of what she might receive in return.


The disciples didn’t get it. We often struggle with the notion of extravagant love with no thought of return. But Jesus understood….. and he blesses Mary for her gesture.


Friends, we live in a cynical world where often gestures of kindness, gestures of mercy, gestures of love are viewed as investments made in hopes of some greater return. Too much of what the church does is evaluated by what we get in return – attendance, financial support, civic recognition – instead of simply being seen and offered as an expression of love for God and God’s people. People see right through us. we re not fooling anyone.


Perhaps soured by our love as an investment culture, perhaps made cynical by the thought that every gesture must have an ulterior motive, our culture no longer gives us the benefit of the doubt. And yet people are hungry, desperate to experience true love. Hardened by our investment culture, people are thirsting for a love that is real, for a love that is offered simply for the welfare of the beloved – and NO OTHER REASON!


Friends, I believe that we can be – we must be – an expression of biblical love. I believe we can be, we are called to be – those who love like Mary, with extravagance and abundance. I believe we can be – we must be – a place where people can come in through our doors and know, KNOW, that our commitment is to love them fully and completely, for their welfare, as an expression of the love that Jesus has for us.


That is what people do who are connected to God and God’s people by love. That’s what people do who have been transformed by the presence of Jesus in their lives. That’s what people do, that’s what a church does, when they reach out to love and serve others simply because it is the right thing to do. They don’t count the cost. They don’t expect a return. They don’t keep score. They simply love, and we must simply love, as a reflection of the love that has been showered upon us.


Our world is filled with strife and tension. There are folks in our country filled with joy and filled with despair over the results of our political elections. There are decades long friends who are not speaking to one another. There are those who are fearful over upcoming family Thanksgiving celebrations and dinner conversation.


Brothers and Sisters, we need to be people of kindness. We need to be people of grace and humility. We need to be fountains of extravagant and abundant love. As a church, we need to be a place known for its sacrificial, God-serving and community blessing love. We cannot be a place known for the similarity of all of its participants. Instead, we need to be a place known for the love that respects and blankets us in all of our wide and rich diversity.


Let us love as Jesus has first loved us. with no thought of return. That is a value that needs to be at the heart of who we are. Connecting, transforming, and loving. Amen.