‘waste not…want for everything!’
April 3, 2022
Scripture: John 12:1-8
Just a week before the final Passover dinner Jesus would share with his disciples, and just prior to his arrest and trial, he came to Bethany, to the home of his dear friends Mary and Martha. They were the sisters of Lazarus whom Jesus had recently and quite spectacularly raised from the dead. As a person who was very dear to that family, Jesus had been invited to come to their house for dinner, and upon arriving they all sat down together at the table. It seems that Mary and Martha were not at all wealthy as they did not have servants, evidenced by the fact that it was Martha herself who served all of those gathered for dinner.
And as dinner was drawing to a close, Mary suddenly got up from where she was seated and went into the other room. She came back holding a flask of very expensive perfume made from pure nard and came over close to where Jesus was sitting. Kneeling down beside Jesus and breaking the seal on the flask, Mary poured out the entire contents of the bottle upon his feet, after which she wiped them all down with her hair. Immediately the whole house was filled with the strong fragrance of the perfume…an oil normally reserved for preparing a body for burial.
All of the disciples were shocked and a bit unnerved by this outward show of affection, and the seeming extravagance of Mary’s action towards Jesus. In anger they all began to murmur amongst themselves as to how inappropriate and wasteful they felt she was behaving. It was Judas however who took the lead and spoke up, voicing the opinion of probably many of the disciples there saying, ‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?’ In truth, Judas probably said this not because he really cared so much for the poor, but because he had a reputation of being a thief, often accused of stealing from the disciple’s common purse of which he was in charge.
But whether or not he actually felt that way, it seems that all of Jesus’ disciples felt that Mary’s actions in anointing Jesus’ in the way she had, were totally inappropriate and way over the top. In their defense, many of them probably felt that their primary mission, after spending the last three years with Jesus, was to do their best in reaching out and taking care of the poor and less fortunate amongst them.
So they probably felt justified in their reaction towards Mary, and were caught short by Jesus’ words when he responded to their murmured complaints saying, ‘Leave her alone! Why are you bothering Mary? It is a fine and beautiful thing she has done for me. What she did was to pour perfume on my body to get me ready for burial. You complain that this perfume should have been sold in order to give the money to the poor. But I tell you, you will always have the poor with you, and you will have many occasions to care for them…but you will not always have me. And so now I assure you, that wherever this gospel is preached all over the world, what Mary has done will be told in memory of her.’
This is the Word of our Lord…thanks be to God.
Each one of us probably has a bible story or two that really resonate deep within…a story that speaks truth into their life and inspires them each time they hear it. This story of Mary’s anointing of Jesus is one of those special passages for me. And I think that is true not just for the levels of meaning present within it, but also because many years ago I came across the writings of a Chinese theologian from the early part of the 20th Century that looked deeply into this passage. Watchman Nee was a young man when he first experienced the saving power of the Lord and gave his life to Christ. As a young man he felt a call to plant new churches in China, and did so very successfully until he was arrested following the Communist takeover in mid-century. Sentenced to hard labor, Watchman Nee was eventually martyred for his faith.
However, he was a prolific writer and left behind a number of books including one titled, ‘The Normal Christian Life’, first published in 1957. This book, along with other writings of his were very formative for me, helping me to find God and to make sense of how I was called to serve him myself. I had forgotten just how influential he had been, until I went back and searched for the chapter Nee wrote based on today’s passage. And within those pages I again heard the call to complete abandonment unto the Lord. A call to let go of whatever else might have a hold on us, and to come to the Lord, there to sit and listen, to watch, and to learn from the Master of grace and unceasing love.
Within those few pages I had first learned that following the Lord was not so much about results, but rather about a passionate commitment to allow the Spirit of grace to dwell within, allowing God to enter in, and then to send us out in whatever way he pleased, thereby removing fear or worry, and giving one’s whole self, past, present, and future over into the Lord’s care…and as a result, letting God worry about the results.
And in reading over these familiar words of scripture, I was grateful for the influence they had upon my understanding and formation as a follower of my Lord. Words perhaps familiar to many of us, but words which still have the power to turn our heads back towards that voice beckoning from the depths of God’s love. Words that inspire us anew to dedicate our all each and every day to a journey of amazing discovery with our Lord.
Watchman Nee spoke of this particular passage in the very last chapter of his book, a chapter titled ‘The Goal of the Gospel’. He wrote at length on the whole concept of waste…on the idea of wasting oneself on the Lord, of wasting one’s hopes, dreams, time, and even treasures on the Lord.
Now in considering this idea of ‘waste’, so central to the actions of the disciples, it is important to note that Mary’s act was not just a random or a spontaneous act, but rather something she did solely in response to Jesus’ love, and because of who he was to her. Those there felt that such an extravagant display of affection and generosity was in a certain sense ‘wasteful’, however Jesus came quickly to Mary’s defense, sanctifying her act of love, and professing that it was henceforth a model for all to follow in serving him.
So our scripture poses the question right at the start, of whether or not our Lord is worthy of having such lavish and extravagant attention paid to him. Human reasoning would look at the empty flask of perfume and conclude that it was entirely wasteful. Even if you were planning to use the treasure for ‘holy purposes’ at some point, just to pour it all out as Mary had done, was surely wasteful. However, that conclusion, according to Watchman Nee, can only be reached through a process of human reasoning. Holy or divine reasoninghowever, may perhaps yield a different outcome.
In order to fully appreciate the difference between these two, we need to reflect for a moment on just what it is that we so quickly label as ‘waste’? Surely there are a number of ways to understand this concept, but in essence and for our purposes here, to waste, is to give or to extend more than is necessary to obtain a desired result…to give or to extend more than is necessary to obtain a desired result.
Giving ‘wastefully’ therefore, is giving more than is required, and perhaps far in excess of what is actually needed. Judas was upset, as were all the other disciples, because they saw Mary’s action towards Jesus as overly generous, and as a complete waste of a potentially valuable commodity, and therefore, as though Jesus was not worthy of such behavior being lavished upon him. But honestly, wouldn’t we all do the same or a similar thing if we were in the very presence of Jesus? Would we really view the pouring out of Mary’s treasure as foolish as well?
Watchman Nee puts forth the idea that waste, as understood in this way, is directly tied into the idea of ‘usefulness’…the commonly held belief that we should always get the most use or value out of what we choose to invest our time or treasure in. Noting that we get upset if we feel that we have been short changed, if we feel that we have not gotten the value we thought we should have. He also notes that we may get upset if we feel that we had to overpay for something that was not worth what we had put forth.
It seems that we often look at the idea of giving in these terms of ‘use’ or ‘usefulness’ rather than choosing to give, ‘just because it is the right thing to do’. It seems that we may hesitate to give, without having some sort of strings attached that would allow us to undo some particular act, or at least feel justified if the end turns out to be less than we thought appropriate.
But in truth, our Lord of love is worthy of our greatest effort. Even if it is only because that is the way we are supposed to act. Not out of usefulness to ourselves or for some reward, but simply because our Lord is worthy.
Another related point embedded within our story, is the notion of ministering directly unto the Lord. We do not often think of ministering to our Lord, but rather of outreach and ministry to others who are in need around us. However, Jesus made it clear in our story that what Mary did ‘to’ him was a good and holy thing…and an act worthy of remembrance and imitation for all time.
Now, to be able to minister to the Lordin this way requires a deep and committed relationshipwith the Lord. Requires a relationship that allows one to worship the Lord directly with the whole of one’s life, through each and every act of our faith. Which in a very real way was just what Mary was doing with her flask of perfume. Her act was done ‘to the Lord’…as opposed to and different from seeking to do things ‘for the Lord’. Doing something unto the Lord…within an act of worship, is at its heart different from doing something out of an obligation to our sense of faithfulness.
Watchman Nee notes that even spending one’s whole life, doing all the right missionary and outreach activitiesmight possibly be misplaced faithfulness if the intention or motivation behind that activity is not to minister directly to the Lord but rather, perhaps for some other reason. The Lord is able to see into and through the motivations behind our actions, and to see whether they are holy…or just human.
And finally, I have always loved this scripture passage and Watchman Nee’s treatment of it so deeply, because it gave me a critical perspective on my understanding of my call to ministry. Nee picks up on the notion of Christian vocation when he talks of learning deeply as a young theological student from individuals who at first he thought were ‘wasting’ their lives away in seemingly low-value, or unimpressive ministries. He remembers thinking of a particular woman who ended up having a great influence on his and many fellow student’s ministries, whom he thought at the time was wasting her time, considerable knowledge of, and relationship with the Lord. He lamented that it seemed as though she was not doing anything of great significance for the Lord. Her ministry was quiet and seemed small…and yet he realized that in the end, she taught him more about learning to sit at the feet of Jesus than did many other classes and many other servants of the Lord.
And somehow those thoughts sounded familiar to me. For many times, well-meaning individuals have tried to tell me as well that I was wasting my life here in Patterson…that I could do bigger and more important things for the Lord if I would just look around…if I would take the gifts the Lord gave me and find another place, a larger venue in which to do the Lord’s work. If only I was not ‘wasting’ my time and myself here in this little community. However, each timeI heard those calls, I also heard within them another call…a subtle, seductive call to greater personal gain, either in reputation or perhaps reward…
…and each time I heard those calls to ‘greater things’…I also noticed the absence of another voice…a softer, less strident voice…the whisper of God’s Spirit.
And so…I remained here with my own small little flask…here to listen, and here to learn from my Lord…
…thanks be to our Lord, who calls each one of us to ‘waste ourselves’ fully on him…for in doing so, we have entered into the Spirit’s plan for the salvation of humankind…
…amen
