My grandmother loves perfume, but my grandfather would never buy it for her because he considers it an unnecessary and wasteful extravagance. I can remember when I was a kid, every time we went into a department store with her, she would stop by the perfume counter, smell the various fragrances, and spray a dab on her wrists from one of the tester bottles.
One year when I was about twelve years old, my sister and I wanted to get her a bottle of perfume for Christmas. But we didn’t want to get her just any old perfume; we wanted to get her favorite, White Diamonds by Elizabeth Taylor. So, a few weeks before Christmas, my sister and I scraped our money together and snuck away to the perfume counter.
When I asked the clerk how much for a bottle of White Diamonds, she replied, “Fifty dollars.” My eyes almost popped out of my head! I wanted to ask her if there were real diamonds in the bottle, but instead, I just asked if she had a smaller bottle. She said, “I’m sorry but this is the smallest bottle I have.” Fifty dollars was all we had, but in a moment of surprising sibling agreement, we decided to buy it.
When Christmas morning arrived, we were just as excited for her to open her gift as we were to open our own gifts. As she tore open the wrapping paper, a look of amazement came over her face and tears of gratitude flooded her eyes.
I will never forget that look on my grandmother’s face. I will never forget the scent of White Diamonds! That Christmas, not only did I learn something about the cost of perfume, I learned something about the value of extravagance.
An Extravagant Anointing (1-3)
Well, it was a couple of days before the Passover and Jesus and his disciples had gathered for a meal at the home of Simon the Leper in the village of Bethany, three miles outside Jerusalem. Neither the identity of Simon the Leper nor the purpose of this meal is given. Simon was probably one of the lepers that Jesus had healed and the meal was perhaps given as an expression of thanksgiving.
After the meal was finished, everyone was relaxing around the table, a woman anoints Jesus with a bottle of perfume. Mark does share the woman’s identity, but we know from John’s gospel that it was Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, who were also from the village of Bethany. We don’t know how Mary acquired this white alabaster jar of pure nard, but we know that it was imported from India and was very expensive.
Mary takes what was likely her most precious earthly possession, breaks the jar, and anoints Jesus by pouring a year’s worth of wages over his head. The beautiful aroma filled the room. This anointing was an act of extravagance; an extraordinary expression of love, adoration, and sacrifice for Jesus.
When we see Mary’s extravagant act, it forces us to think about how we show our love and adoration for Jesus. What is your most precious earthly possession? Would you be willing to sacrifice it for the Lord?
Wasteful Spending (4-5)
Well, not everyone was impressed with this act of extravagance. Mark does not name those who reacted negatively to the “waste” of perfume, but Matthew tells us that it was the disciples and John tells us that Judas Iscariot led the charge. They protested by asking, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” His indignant objection seemed pious, but he didn’t really care about the poor; he was the treasurer of the Twelve and had a habit of dipping into the money bag for his own selfish purposes.
It is also interesting that these disciples railed on Mary for her wastefulness when they were often the beneficiaries of her hospitality. I guess they never learned the proverb: “don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”
People always like to complain about other people’s wasteful spending. For instance, how many of you have family members or neighbors who waste money? How many of you believe that our government wastes money? Accusations of wasteful spending are always comes down to differences in values. What you think is a waste, someone else thinks is important; what you think is important; someone else thinks is a waste. Our spending always shows what we value!
What do you think? Was Mary’s act of extravagance a waste? Mary certainly didn’t think so! Did Mary not value the poor? I’m sure she did; but she valued Jesus more. What do you value?
The Beautiful Rebuke (6-9)
What did Jesus think about this act of extravagance? We would expect him to react the same way as the disciples, but he doesn’t. He immediately comes to Mary’s defense. Instead of condemning her, they should have commended her. Her action of anointing Jesus was a beautiful expression of her love and gratitude toward him, and she should not be berated for it.
In addition to being an expression of love and devotion, Jesus interpreted Mary’s act as an anointing of his body beforehand in preparation for his burial (This is somewhat like making funeral prearrangements). Typically, bodies were anointed with perfume after death, not before. Time for such an expression of love and devotion while Jesus was with them was running out. On the contrary, opportunities for helping the poor would continue. And indeed, Jesus’ prophecy is still being fulfilled: we are still talking about Mary’s act of devotion 2000 years later.
Does Jesus’ rebuke show a lack of concern for the poor? Absolutely not! Jesus constantly showed his compassion for “the least of these” throughout his ministry, but he was not going to take this expression of love away from Mary.
Some people have posed the questions—how, as Christians, are we able to feast or celebrate in a world with so much poverty and suffering? How do we reconcile our lavish Thanksgiving celebrations with all the need that exist in our world? Are we ever justified in giving Christmas gifts to one another? Is there ever a place for extravagance in the Christian life?
Here is the way I believe Jesus would answer these questions: balance! If we constantly neglect the poor to support extravagant living, we are guilty of selfishness. On the other hand, occasional extravagance can be a beautiful thing and have a profound and lasting impact. So, enjoy your Thanksgiving feast next week; just don’t do it every day!
A Costly Betrayal (10-11)
Immediately, after the anointing, we learn of Judas’ duplicity as he offers to betray Jesus to the chief priests. Mary’s extravagant act of devotion stands in stark contrast to Judas’ act of betrayal. Isn’t it ironic that right after Judas complains about Mary’s extravagant waste, we find him betraying Jesus to the chief priests for a few silver coins? He is willing to sacrifice Jesus to obtain material gain for himself; on the other hand, Mary sacrifices her most precious material possession for Jesus. Mary will always be remembered for her act of devotion; Judas will always be remembered for his act of betrayal.
These verses ought to make us ask the question: How will you be remembered when you are gone? Will you be remembered for your greed or your generosity? Will you be remembered for your duplicity or your devotion? Will you be remembered for your selfishness or your sacrifice? Will you be remembered for your betrayal or your faithfulness to Jesus?
Some of you may have seen the Danish film “Babette’s Feast” which won the Academy Award for “Best Foreign Film” in 1987. It is my second favorite movie of all time and I watch it every year around Thanksgiving time. It is the perfect illustration of the value of extravagance.
The story is set in 19th century Denmark and centers around two sisters who live in an isolated village with their father, who is the honored pastor of a small Protestant church. Although they each are presented with a real opportunity to leave the village, the sisters choose to stay serve their father and their church. They always ate a meager meal of bland fish soup so that they could use their modest resources to help people in need.
After some years, Babette, a refugee from the French Civil War, arrives at their door, begs them to take her in, and commits herself to work for them as maid/housekeeper/cook. Sometime after their father dies, the sisters decide to hold a dinner to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth. Meanwhile, Babette unexpectedly wins the lottery and implores the sisters to allow her to prepare the meal. Although they are secretly concerned about what Babette, a Catholic and a foreigner, might do, the sisters allow her to go ahead, but the church members all agree in advance not to enjoy the meal.
Babette purchases the finest china, crystal, and linen with which to set the table and imports the most luxurious ingredients from France. Then she prepares the feast of a lifetime, with the perfect wine to complement each of the six courses. The church members simply cannot resist enjoying the meal and the whole experience transforms their lives—old conflicts are healed, old prejudices pass away, old memories are celebrated, and new relationships begin. After the feast they discover that Babette was the famous former Chef of the Café Anglais the most prestigious restaurant in France. They also discovered that the meal cost 10,000 francs, the full amount of her lottery winnings. Babette sacrificed everything she to show her love and devotion to her friends. She, like Mary of long ago, knew the value of extravagance!
Do you know the value of extravagance?