Waste Or Worship?

Well, the reaction of the disciples is immediate – they were indignant and outraged. John tells us that Judas led the chorus of protest and criticism of Mary, but the other gospels make it clear that all the rest of the disciples followed Judas’ lead. “What a waste!”

Jesus’ response was just as immediate. “Why are you bothering her! She did it for me!” I imagine you could have heard a pin drop. The rebuke contained in Jesus’ words must have cut like a razor. That was, in fact, the whole point – Mary did it for Jesus. Unlike the disciples, she fully understood and believed what Jesus had been telling his disciples for some weeks now – that he was going to be betrayed to the religious leadership, that he was going to be arrested, tried, and crucified.

Unlike the disciples, Mary believed Jesus. Mary knew that before the week was out, what Jesus had said would happen would be over. Jesus would be crucified, dead, and buried. But, here was Jesus at dinner in her family’s house. Her was her one chance, and she seized it! While Jesus was still with her, she wanted to give him the most precious, most expensive, the rarest thing she had to offer.

Both Matthew and Mark note that it was THEN that Judas went out to strike a deal with the chief priests. Why THEN, do you suppose? The point seems to be that Jesus’ acceptance of Mary’s extravagant worship was the last straw for Judas. If this rabbi was going to countenance such waste, such a hideous waste, it were better for him to die.

Now, what do we say about all this? What bearing, if any, does this episode have on how we view our own worship and service to the Lord? Jesus was right, of course – the poor we still have with us. Many of have found ourselves numbered among the poor. But what about Jesus – is he still with us?

Some would say, No. He’s not. And, therefore, Mary’s costly sacrifice and expensive worship actually have little bearing on how we live our lives as Christians. They would probably agree with that mission executive I mentioned earlier – money spent on beautiful churches would be deemed a waste. It should be spent on the poor instead.

On the other hand, it was Jesus, after the resurrection, who said to his disciples “I am with you always. Even until the end of the age.” Some have thought that this means nothing more than “I support you, I endorse you, I’m on your side. Go Team!!” and similar thoughts.

But, what if Jesus means what he says? What if he is with us as he was with those disciples on the Emmaus road – REALLY with us in some concrete sense? What, then, does Mary’s worship suggest for us?

I submit that Christ is truly with us – here with us in this world – in two ways, both of which are pointed out by Jesus Himself, and both ways have been commonly understood and believed by countless millions of Christians over the centuries.

First of all, he is with us insofar as Christ identifies Himself with certain people we meet every day. Jesus foretells the great judgment at the end of the age when he will say to some: