Worth-ship | Part 2
Readings for this week July 3 - 7
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Day 1 – Entering into the Presence of God
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Matthew 26:6-7
We don’t know what was going through the woman’s mind as she poured the perfume over Jesus’ head. Neither are we privy to her mindset prior to this event: we don’t know why she decided to act in this way, what prompted her act, what possible interaction she may have previously had with Jesus, whether she had even heard him speak or seen him heal. And beyond the extravagance of her offering, she is not recorded as being in any other way demonstrative; she does not speak at all, nor ‘act out’ in any other way. She enters, pours, and that’s all. Her act of worship is focussed, direct and unadorned. The evangelist does not even mention any possible reaction on her part to the grumbling of the disciples. She came in and performed her act of devotion.
Like this woman, we need have no fear when entering the presence of God. Just as Jesus welcomed her, and accepted her act of worship, even strongly defending her against her accusers, God graces us with his presence and welcomes us with a loving embrace. Whatever our situation or background – more things that we do not know about the woman – just as it says in the book of Hebrews we can approach the throne of God, confident of a loving reception, knowing that God will meet us. We can come as we are without fear of rejection. When we worship God we acknowledge him as our creator and sustainer – the one who makes our life possible and who maintains us in his love. Whatever might be our situation, God is faithful and reliable: he will always be there for us.
Questions to Consider
What are your thoughts when you come to worship God? What stops you thinking that you can worship him? Why?
Prayer
Heavenly father, thank you for always being there and always welcoming me when I come. Thank you for receiving me as I am. Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 2 – Worthy of All
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Matthew 26:8-9
If ever there was a clear-cut example of someone missing the point, or getting hung up on the tiny details rather than seeing the bigger picture, this is it. Some of the people present – people who would have been around Jesus for a while and seen the people upon whose behalf he spoke – would have thought they were on to a winning thing in chastising the woman for her wastefulness. The money could have been given to the poor – of course Jesus would be in favour of that, right? Obviously the poor should be supported – that is a given for Jesus – but not just through the giving of money. We should give deeply of ourselves too, like this woman did.
The woman acted spontaneously. No indication is given by Mark or by Jesus that she knew that Jesus was going to die. The interpretation that she was anointing him for his burial ahead of time is offered by Jesus to the audience. The woman’s motivation is left unsaid, opaque, but is obviously a sign of her deep love for and devotion to Jesus. She is offering everything that she can in order to honour him. She gives no thought to cost – though it obviously cost her a lot in financial terms. She pays no heed to social stigma – though it obviously opened her up to accusations of wastefulness and inappropriate conduct. Her act was one of simplicity and love – as opposed to all the men around her (and around the story; for example, the high priests) who plot in complicity, argue over details, and completely miss the significance of what is happening.
Question to Consider
How can we keep from missing the point like the crowd did here?
Prayer
Lord God, I give all I am to you, no holding back, not swayed by public reaction, mindful of the cost but not ruled by it or afraid of it. You are worthy of everything I can give. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 3 – Extravagant Wastefulness
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Matthew 26:10
Again, we come back to this idea of waste, wastefulness – this time of an object rather than time – but now coupled with extravagance. The perfume was expensive, the outcry righteous in its indignation over the poor that could have been fed with the proceeds (poor disciples; I guess they had been listening after all, and yet still managed to miss the main point here). Surely there is something to their protest. Did the entire bottle need to be used? Couldn’t she have poured only some of it and sold and used it for those in need? Did she need to be this unthinkingly excessive?
The disciples are right, though; the use of the perfume could be called wasteful. But it is wasteful in the same way the crucifixion was wasteful: a complete and utter pouring out of all, of everything; an uninhibited offering to God, an unconstrained giving of self to God. The crucifixion was wasteful - and completely necessary. It is, after all, the act of excessive extravagance that enabled us to approach the throne of God in the first place, and worship in his presence – indeed, with and through his presence – in a way that we could not before. But is God not worthy of extravagance? And if not God, then who? Does our response always need to be calculated, sober, straightforward and contained? If anything, isn’t the one who created us, knows us intimately, and loves us infinitely the one above all others who is worthy of our unrestrained, unchecked response to his improvident love? This woman, unmindful of the surrounding reaction to her action, showed just such a response to Jesus.
Questions to Consider
What is your perfume? What might you need to pour out in extravagant worship of God? Why?
Prayer
Gracious God, push me to be extravagant. Show me how to love more and give more of myself in praise of you. Help me do more. Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 4 – Not an Excuse
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Matthew 26:11
“The poor you will always have with you.” I hope it is blindingly obvious for me to say this, yet sadly to some in this world it does still need to be said: this is not a backhanded way for Jesus to imply that aiding the poor, journeying with them, and eradicating poverty and the conditions that cause it are doomed to failure and should not be made because God will always deliberately make sure there are poor people around. Absolutely not. “The poor you will always have with you” is not a promise that God has divinely commanded their condition, but a sad rebuke of our failure – and the failure of the society we have made and the systems we have created – to care enough about them to act. It is not a prophecy of God’s will for them but a sign of our moral dereliction towards them.
Why are the disciples so up in arms about the woman’s gesture? They’ve been with Jesus long enough to have seen, heard and even participated in his vocal, unswerving commitment to the poor, his identification with them, and his re-incorporation of them into the community of God’s people. And so have we. The Gospels, the Epistles, the entire bible, are saturated with God’s “preferential option for the poor”, his anger against poverty, and his call to always act and live in ways that affirm their dignity, work for their freedom and that honour them as beloved children of God – to care for the stranger, the widow, the orphan. As strange as it may sound, we must never stop fighting to make Jesus’ statement here about the poor wrong.
Questions to Consider
What do you think of the disciples’ reaction? Why did they react this way? What do you think of Jesus’ statement about the poor? Why?
Prayer
Almighty God, help me seek the kingdom first, not just for myself but for others too. May you be first in all I do so that I can love and care for others before myself. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 5 – The Greatest Thing
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Matthew 26:12-13
We know Jesus spent much of his time with the poor and the ignored of his society, caring for “the least of these.” His comment on the poor here does nothing to change or undermine that. But Jesus’ comment does suggest that even he realises and acknowledges that there are, beyond the call (his call) to care for the poor and those in need, things of greater importance – perhaps just one all important thing above all others: the worship and acclamation of God, the giving of praise and glory to the God we ultimately claim allegiance to. Due honour must first be paid to God, our maker and ruler; he must be first in all we do and then all other things will find their appropriate place and we will be even better placed to fulfil his call and his commands – “seek first the kingdom.”
And this woman’s anointing of Jesus shows this in action. Whether or not she knew what was coming, she offered the highest praise and honour she could think of to this strange rabbi and prophet, even above her own financial security as represented by the expensive perfume. And Jesus himself points out that what she has done is in preparation for his burial. Perhaps he was unsure whether there would be an opportunity later for his body to be properly anointed before burial, and therefore viewed this woman’s act as an even more considerate and appropriate gesture of the highest love, above everything else she held dear. Expressing her love and devotion was the most important thing for her to do.
Questions to Consider
How is expressing your love to God the most important thing? How do you keep it so? What does this look like for you each day?
Prayer
Heavenly Lord, teach me how to worship. Show me how I can give each moment of my day in service to you, each word and action a sign of my wholehearted devotion to you and all you call me to do. Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)