Category: News

³ While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

⁴ Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? ⁵ It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.

⁶ “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ⁷ The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. ⁸ She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. ⁹ Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

I am sure we all have heard under the auspice of entertainment news how celebrities lavish exorbitantly expensive presents on their kids for their birthdays and holidays.  Due to their possessing large quantities of resources, they can buy cars, houses, and boats for their children to enjoy.  While it always seems that they are buying far too expensive things for their kids, we also seem to hear about those that criticize them in their spending.  An actor buys an expensive car for a sixteen-year-old daughter, and a pundit complains about a better use for $100,000.  We have no shortage of far too expensive gift givers and no absence of people to complain about their spending.

In our text from Mark, we also have a very expensive gift, and no shortage of people to complain about it.  While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.  A woman was so moved by Jesus’ forgiveness of her sins, that she gave him a very expensive jar of ointment poured over his head.  Her gratitude at having her many sins washed away by Jesus’ grace and mercy, prompts her to pay back an attempt at an equal gift.  Many sins forgiven can only be repaid by a large gift of gratitude.  The forgiveness was so large due to her many sins, that only a large gift could symbolize her gratitude.

But her gift was also misunderstood and criticized.  Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.  We have no famine when it comes to critics, who attack how others spend their money.  The years wages could have helped a lot of people, was the argument and spending all of that to make Jesus smell nice was an irresponsible decision.  They were not concerned with gratitude or appreciation for Jesus, they were concerned with poor economics and faithful sociology.  Her profound self-offering in gratitude for Jesus’ forgiveness has been transformed into an affront to justice.  She should be cancelled for such a transgression.

But while everyone else was criticizing her motivations and decisions, Jesus comes to her defense.   “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”  The conclusion we could come to, was that Jesus was not interested in justice for the poor and their tending, which would be wrong, Jesus was.  But where the emphasis lies is how Jesus accepts the self-offerings of people which are grateful for his forgiveness.  Jesus is content to accept the gifts motivated by gratitude and thankfulness.  She did what she could, and Jesus appreciated her thank you gift.

We are all perhaps a bit too eager to criticize how others spend their money, and the poor choices the wealthy all seem to make.  But what perhaps the point of the story is not that we must force others into responsible choices, but we should look at our own self-offerings (if we have any to begin with) and test if they are truly gifts from gratitude, or some other motivation.  Perhaps we don’t even give back anything to God, and perhaps we don’t give back to God proportionate to what God has given to us.  No doubt we will never be able to give a gratitude gift equal to the grace given to us by God, but that is not an excuse to give little to nothing.  True gratitude and thankfulness are the proper response to the free gift of God given in the covenant of Jesus Christ.  What will you give back to God and is it enough? 

¹³ Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. ¹⁴ As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.  ¹⁵ While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. ¹⁶ When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”  ¹⁷ On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

In college, not every class was offered to every person.  In some cases, a student needed to take a prerequisite course in something before taking another.  A Biology student, as I was, needed to take the introductory courses in General Biology and General Chemistry before a student could take more advanced courses like Anatomy and Physiology.  Those courses were just not offered and available to everyone, one had to quality for them or meet certain conditions before offered to a student.  Until they were met, a student just could not take them.

But, while courses at the university might only be offered to some that were prepared or qualified, Jesus’ offer of the Forgiveness of Sins was offered to all people, including even people like Levi.  As a tax-collector, Levi was considered by most people not only to be immoral and unethical, by working for the Romans and against the Jewish people; Levi was also considered unreligious, by not following God’s Law and therefore against God.  His crimes were just reprehensible, and his actions were despicable in the eyes of the people.  But Jesus’ offer of forgiveness was not kept from Levi but offered deliberately to him.  Who more so than Levi needed his sins forgiven?  And Jesus’ love and offer of forgiveness was still open and available to him.

In our day and age, the tax-collectors and prostitutes bore the same stigma as perhaps today’s addicts and sexual predators do.  Not only are they considered to be those that broke the law and therefore felons, but they are traitors to our modern sensibilities and sinners against the Law of God and the law of Nature.  But, just as Jesus offered forgiveness to Levi, so too does Jesus offer forgiveness to everyone, including today’s Levi’s.  No sin can disqualify Jesus’ forgiveness, no amount of depravity can negate the power to make clean, and no wickedness can thwart the love of God which can make all things new.  Jesus’ forgiveness is still offered to all, and no ill deeds or inordinate desires can cancel that offer.

It was this offered and accepted forgiveness from Jesus that made Levi and all the other tax-collectors and sinners right and true.  So right and true that after Jesus was done with them, they were worthy of eating with Jesus at his table.  After Jesus’ work of forgiving, the newly forgiven and re-created saints were worthy of companionship with Jesus and his disciples.  They ate and drank and celebrated the joy of God’s Kingdom which made them whole and right.  This companionship with Jesus is the cause of the Pharisee’s offense.  It was the law that brings companionship with God, not the forgiveness of sins by Jesus.  Therefore, it should be the Pharisees that interact with God and here the despicable now interact with God.  And that offends.  The saints are the same as the sinners.

It also offends us.  It offends us when the rapists, the thieves, the addicts, and the pedophiles bear the same place as those of us who never committed those heinous acts.  True God’s forgiveness does fall on us, for which we are grateful, but God’s forgiveness also falls on our Levi’s.  Like the Pharisees that upsets us, because it means that in our world, we are same as them.  The sinners are the same as the saints and the saints are the same as the sinners; both are loved, both are offered forgiveness, both are pardoned by God.  God, it seems plays no favorites and gives no special treatment.  All are equally loved, equally forgiven, and equally blessed.  And no one is better than anyone else. 

But not everyone can handle that.  Today’s sinners are quick to accept that forgiveness, knowing and acknowledging of their need, while today’s Pharisees are slow to accept that forgiveness, because pride prevents them from seeing their need for help.  Jesus’ words still ring true, it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.  Those who see themselves as sin-sick run towards Jesus for forgiveness and become healthy, those who see themselves as healthy will condemn Jesus for forgiving unworthy people and become sin-sick.  The Levi’s are brought into the Kingdom of God through the work of Jesus and the Pharisees remove themselves from the Kingdom of God because pride prevents them from seeing themselves as needing help.

Which are you?  Jesus can forgive anyone, even the Levi’s of today.  But today’s Levi’s accept their need and accept the forgiveness of Jesus and enjoy the companionship of God.  The sin-sick are made well.  But today’s Pharisees see themselves as healthy and reject the forgiveness of Jesus.  The healthy are made sin-sick.  Never forget my friends, the non-religious accepted Jesus’ forgiveness and the religious could not handle or accept it.  Let us not make the same mistake.  Let us see ourselves as the sin-sick ones needing forgiveness, even if we are today’s Levi.  Let us never see ourselves as the healthy ones and the Levi’s as the sick ones.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.  Jesus’ forgiveness is offered to all; will you register for it?