Mary’s Worship
(Lenten Series)
Scripture: Mark 14:1-9
Introduction
We began last week by looking at some of the stories or events that lead up to Easter - the time of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Last week we looked at the raising of Lazarus from the dead.
Today, we’re going to look at one of the most beautiful stories of love that is contained in the scripture. It’s a story of one person’s act of worship.
First, a little background. About ten years ago, National Geographic had an article called, “Perfume, The Essence of Illusion.” Perfume comes from various sources - It can come from the fragrant fields of lavadin along the country-sides in France. It can come from the dew-kissed petals of the Damask roses from Bulgaria’s Valley of Roses. Some come from the jasmine fields of India. The perfume that was used in the story we read this morning, came from the Himalaya mountains in India.
It takes 2.5 million flowers to yield just one pound of jasmine concentrate. It takes 800 pounds of crushed roses to bring just one pound of concentrate. One rose concentrate can cost almost $4,000 per pound. Jasmine of India can cost as much as $12,000 per pound.
Illustration/joke:
After being away on business a husband thought it would be nice to bring his wife back a little gift. “How about some perfume?” he asked the cosmetics clerk.
She showed him a bottle costing $50.
“That’s a bit much,” he said, so she returned with a smaller bottle for $30.
“That’s still quite a bit,” the husband complained.
Getting annoyed now, the clerk brought out the tiniest bottle of perfume - only $15.
“What I mean,” said the husband, “is I’d like to see something really cheap.” The clerk, now being quite annoyed moved to a different part of the counter, selected what she thought appropriate and held it before him.
It was a mirror.
One person has said, “Perfume is a promise in a bottle. Perfume speaks more to our vulnerabilities than our strengths.
Now with that little bit of background in mind, let’s look at the story we read today about a woman - Most scholars agree that the woman was Mary of Bethany; an alabaster flask or box - alabaster is a white, yellow, or brown calcium deposit found mainly in limestone caverns and it can be quarried and carved into vessels, and the perfume contained inside the alabaster flask or box.
As the story unfolds, Jesus, is eating at the home of Simon the leper - we can surmise, since Simon is in his home, that he has been cured of his leprosy - so perhaps the dinner is in honor of Jesus for curing Simon’s leprosy, or perhaps it is a celebration of Lazarus’s continued life on earth which has just taken place. It might have been just a meal - not a celebration of any particular kind - just eating because it was meal time. But whatever it was, we know from the other accounts of this story, that most likely the woman is Mary of Bethany. She would be Lazarus and Martha’s sister, not the Mary of Magdala who we saw at the Ecumenical service Wednesday evening. It was wonderful that the distinction was made between the Marys. And here we see Mary, this sister to Lazarus and Martha, coming to Jesus, in this act of worship. And it seems that each time we see Mary - on the three occasions in the Bible that we see her, she is at Jesus’ feet.
I believe that is the very reason that this story offers us so much about how we do worship. Mary has spent time at Jesus’ feet - she has taken in what Jesus told Martha was “the better part” and so not only was it not taken from her, but it was left as an example for us of how to worship.
What do we learn from this woman of worship?
First of all, I think this story teaches us that:
The Application
1. All genuine worship is good. (vs 6). All genuine worship is good. In verse five, we’re told that Mary was scolded for her offering. It even says she was criticized harshly. And then in verse six, we see the rebuff. Jesus says, “Knock it off you guys.” “Leave her alone! Why are you criticizing her for a good thing.”
You see, this was not how the disciples would have worshiped Jesus. They would have been more frugal, more formal in their worship. Mary worshiped with reckless abandon. And Jesus said - “Don’t criticize.” All genuine worship is good.
What is genuine worship. The answer is there in the scripture - in this story. To be genuine, pure worship:
Our flesh (or flask) must be broken. In order for our worship to be genuine, acceptable to God, the thing that holds the beautiful aroma of our praise to God, must be broken. Why? - Because that’s the only way it can get out. The flask that Mary brought before Jesus that day had wonderful perfume in it - but the only way to get to that essence, was for her to break the jar.
And you and I - every one of us, no matter who we are, where we’ve been or what we’ve done, every single one of us made in God’s image, on the face of this planet, has sweet unique perfume inside of us - that God has placed there for His honor and His glory, a sweet-smelling aroma of pouring out our lives to him - but it will never be released until our flesh is broken.
Our life must be poured out.
Mary not only broke the flask but she poured out the perfume. Now here’s what’s interesting about this. Oils and perfumes were used widely in the ancient world. Guests coming into a home for a meal or even just a visit, would be given a bowl of water and a towel to wash their feet. Customarily they would also be given a flask of oil to wipe on their dry, parched feet. The cost of that ordinary oil was about one mite - the smallest coin in use at that time. And normally, the oil would be used only one drop at a time. Mary here, is using the oil that only kings and the very rich would use and she’s not using one drop at a time - she poured it out. That suggests to me that not only must our lives be poured out but our worship is to be extravagant. Nothing is as precious or more important than Jesus Christ.
I’m just afraid that too often, we give ourselves to Jesus, one drop at a time, and then we wonder why he doesn’t bless us, or use us more. When we worship we need to do like Mary did. We need to POUR IT ON!!! We get so bound up in our tradition and our own way of doing things. We get so nervous and worried about what other people think. Let me ask you a question. What do you think Jesus thinks? When we sang those choruses this morning. When the plate was passed and we gave our offering. What do you think Jesus thought when we sang, and when we gave. We need to be more concerned about what Jesus thinks. Truth be known, the guy sitting next to you is not all that concerned about what YOU’RE doing - he’s too worried about what you are THINKING about HIM. Let it go!!! It’s what Jesus thinks that’s important.
The only way we’ll be more concerned about what Jesus thinks than what others are thinking is:
Our will must be submitted.
Mary didn’t care what other people thought. She broke the jar. She poured out the oil. She let down her hair and wiped Jesus feet. That was a horrendous thing to do in those days. For a woman to let down her hair in public, meant she was available. Mary was available - but not the kind of availability that was loose and unholy. Mary was available to Jesus with a pure heart of holy worship to her Lord and Savior - her master - Jesus.
The potential we have inside of us here today, in this century, in this society, in this church - is no less than Mary gave to Jesus that day. If we could just grasp a glimpse of the beauty God has placed inside, we’d want nothing of the trappings of this world. But there is only one way that beauty can be expressed, and that is when our flesh is broken, our lives are poured out in complete submission to His will.
The second thing we notice about worship from this story is that:
2. Worship must motivate our deeds (vs 7). Worship must motivate our deeds. There are two deeds mentioned in this story. It’s a subtlety of the story that sometimes gets missed, but there are two deeds - one is acceptable and one is not acceptable to the Lord. One is motivated by worship, the other, although a very good deed, is motivated by the flesh - or selfishness. Remember Cain and Abel, from the Old Testament in Genesis, they both brought offerings to God - one was acceptable and one wasn’t. I used to wonder all the time when I was a child why was one offering acceptable and one wasn’t - they were both good offerings.
When the disciples criticized Mary for her act of anointing Jesus, they offered what they thought was a better service - giving to the poor. And I do the same thing - I don’t think I’d be too far off if I suggested that you do it too - our reason, our common sense, tells us that it’s better to give to the poor than to make someone smell good, huh? But Jesus said Mary’s offering was better because it was motivated by her worship - she understood that he would not always be with her. And Jesus is teaching us about timing too. That’s another whole sermon - we have to worship while we can.
See - these guys - the disciples - they were complaining about the money - but it’s not about the money. They had been with Jesus - they knew that God provided for them. But their worship had become a lot like our worship is at times - going through the motions. I think these men had spent so much time with Jesus that they had forgotten that he was the Son of God. Being with him had become routine. They had stopped thinking about it - it was just what they did every day - get up, be with Jesus. And I think these guys needed to be reminded that worship is not meaningless methodology. It’s about beautiful blessing. So the Holy Spirit prompted Mary to do something extravagant and it became like a breath of fresh air to Jesus. Sandwiched between the priests plot to kill him, and Peter’s denial of him, here is this bright light - this moment of adoration and worship.
Sometimes worship becomes habit. And for some of us breaking out of a habit is painful and hard. And sometimes, it hurts, because it threatens the way we do church - what we’ve gotten used to. And I will admit to you, I do whatever I can to keep worship from becoming little more than habit.
There’s another thing I realize about these followers. It had been a while since they worshiped truthfully. Why do I say that? Because people who worship truthfully do not rebuke others when they come in and offer pure blessings of worship.
3. Worship will cost us everything (vss 3-5). That’s number 3 - Worship will cost us everything.
Mary gave what she had. Literally Mark 14:8 says, “What she had, she did.” What Mary had in her heart, and in the power of her hands to do - she did.
She gave without regard for the cost. The alabaster jar that Mary broke was likely worth about the same amount as the perfume inside it. It was worth about 300 denarius. Today, 300 denarius is about $15,000 and the jar would have been worth just about that amount as well.
Mary blew $30,000 on making Jesus smell better. She could have funded the next mission trip for that kind of money! You can get 3 Doctor of Ministry degrees for that!! Think of the good that would have done! At least put air conditioning in the temple in Jerusalem! What was she thinking!
I’ll tell you - she was thinking, “Jesus, this most precious treasure is not for anyone but you.” What a great spirit to worship with. “God - when we come into the sanctuary today - we come in to worship you.” “Lord, when we pour ourselves out in worship it’s not for anyone’s benefit, but your’s.”
When we worship like that, we worship, like Mary did, without regard for others’ opinions.
She gave without regard for others’ opinions. We’ve already talked about getting caught up in what other’s think. Mary’s worship was not a waste - no matter what the others said. It was a gift. And it was a gift that Jesus was pleased with.
And no matter how pure, holy, or sacred your act of worship may be, there will be those who question and accuse the person who goes beyond the dull routine for the sake of Christ. But it’s then that we are reminded of Jesus words, “Let her alone! She has done what is good.”
She gave without expectation. Mary also gave without expectation. When Mary broke the narrow neck of that jar of perfume that day and poured it out, there was no way that she would ever recover any of the oil, or re-use the container. There was absolutely no expectation of a return on her investment. Yet she didn’t hold back anything. What she had, she gave.
4. Worship is part of the Good News (vs 9).
Verse 9 Jesus speaks and he says this story - this act of worship will be included “wherever the Good News” is preached. You can’t receive the good news of Jesus Christ and his salvation, without worship. And you will never truly worship without having accepted the Good News in your own life. Worship is part of the Good News.
Jesus said that wherever the Good News is preaching, this deed will be remembered and discussed. When we remember Mary’s act of worship, and follow her example of genuine, extravagant worship, what is the result.
The Result
Genuine worship will:
1. Fill the room. This story from John’s gospel says that when the jar was broken the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. When we worship with a pure heart before the Lord, the sweet aroma of worship will fill the room. When our flesh is finally broken and we pour our heart out in worship, something happens to us. There is a fragrance that enlivens and refreshes us. We walk home with a skip in our step. Worship ought to make us feel alive spiritually. It should give us the strength to serve. True worship brings out the best in us.
2. Honor Christ.
When we worship, we honor Christ - not ourselves. Like the chorus says:
I’m coming back to the heart of worship
And it’s all about You
It’s all about You, Jesus
I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it
When it’s all about You
It’s all about You, Jesus.
True worship will always, always, honor Christ - not the worshiper. I know you’ve heard me say it before, but when we come to worship, if this side of the church likes the old hymns and this side of the church likes all contemporary choruses, then when this side of the church is singing hymns, this side can rejoice that their brothers and sisters and worshiping in spirit and in truth and when this side of the church is singing those old faithful hymns, these brothers and sisters rejoice that they are pouring out their hearts and voices in worship to the Lord. Friends, THAT is worship in the community of faith - in the body of Christ.
We are to honor CHRIST with our worship. When the choir comes up here to sing, when I preach, when the ushers usher, when the greeters greet - it’s all for Him - it’s all about HIM. We do it out of a heart over-flowing with worship for our Lord and Savior - he gave it all.
And dare I say it - it’s not about the gig.
And finally true worship will:
3. Endure.
If we break ourselves of our own wants and desires and pour ourselves out for the sake of Christ and the kingdom, then we will be remembered by God forever and all of eternity. Revelation 3:5, Jesus says, “He who overcomes shall be clothes in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess him before My Father and before His angels.”
As your pastor: If I could, I would:
*Energize your prayers with faith and desire
*Give you an insatiable hunger for God
*Bless you with a deep desire for holiness
As your pastor, if I could, I would
*Touch you in a way that cripples your flesh but would exalt your spirit
I would:
*Impact you with passion that raged to see revival in our church and community, and even across our land
*Import to you a burning zeal to not just know the Word but to live the Word.
*Touch you with a transparency that caused you to live life before all people without reproach.
I would do something to you, if I could, that caused you to break the alabaster box into a thousand pieces...but none of this can ever happen, in fact none of these things is entrusted to me to allow to happen, no matter how much I pray for you, preach to you, fast for you, long for you...all of this has to come from somewhere within you....you must long for a good act of worship to come from your broken vessel so that the perfume God has given you, will spill out and be used up for His honor and glory.
Broken and spilled out, for love of you Jesus.
My most precious treasure, lavished on Thee.
Broken and spilled out, and poured at your feet.
In sweet abandon, let me be spilled out
And used up for Thee.
End NOTE: This message includes information from four sermon central sermons. Expensive worship by Eric Snyder; The Good Work of Wasted Ointment by Philip Harrelson; Breaking our Flasks by Damian Phillips, and One Hundred Percent by Gerald Flury.
