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Printer Friendly VersionI take the title of this message from a book by Marva Dawn entitled,
A Royal Waste of Time. It is a book about getting to the real heart of worship
and devotion as the people of God. Dawn argues when we worship God with all
our hearts, begin to experience God with a heart of authentic worship, make
use of the traditions handed down to us, it will look like a waste of time.
There is little bottom line value, in the eyes of the world, gathering together,
devoting time and energy to singing, praying, giving, listening and sharing.
These few hours we spend together could be spent selling one more thing, making
one more plan, getting one more degree or even delivering some gift to someone.
In our fast paced world these things we do are nothing but a waste, a royal
waste, since we insist that we are actually giving devotion to our unseen
king, Jesus. Dawn argues, however, that these things are essential to who
we are and to what God has created us to be and to do, even if worldly means
cannot measure it. If it is a “royal waste of time,” then so be
it. We believe, in the words of a country song by artist Brad Paisley, “It
is time well wasted!”
All believers have had to encounter such ridicule and accusation,
from Israelites who insisted on keeping the Sabbath instead of earning an
extra buck, to the young woman in this story today, who insists of pouring
out a valuable perfume for no other apparent reason than her deep love and
devotion to our Lord as He prepares for the ultimate sacrifice. She receives
ridicule from none other than one of Jesus’s most trusted disciples,
Judas Iscariot. We know the “rest of the story,” as Paul Harvey
would say, as it pertains to Judas, but at the time of this text, he’s
simply the treasurer. And in my decade and a half in ministry, I can tell
you that no pastor or church board has a treasurer that is not a trusted member
of the church! Judas had some qualifications and had some respectability,
at least among the followers of Jesus. Jesus knew what he was doing behind
the scenes, but others did not. Even this trusted disciple criticized this
“royal waste” that was occurring as Mary was expressing worship
and devotion to the Lord. I’m sure in my own life I have had this kind
of critical spirit toward others, especially those whose background and approach
to God were not what I felt they should be; those whose lives of deep devotion
challenged my own comfort and commitment levels.
Worship has logical components to it, as do all aspects of the
Christian life. However, worship and devotion to Christ are not always governed
by logic. This is why our creeds do not begin with, “I can prove beyond
a shadow of a doubt” rather, they begin with “I believe.”
There is an abandonment of ourselves and our comfortableness that defines
true worship, and when that happens, we encounter God in the best way possible.
At these times, our worship is “holy and acceptable,” in the words
of Romans 12:1. When we demonstrate, as Mary does, that even our most valuable
things, the things we hold dear, are expendable when it comes to giving our
devotion to God, then our worship is pure and acceptable. Our bodies become
“living sacrifices” to the God who created us. This kind of worship
is taking place here. It pleases Jesus, but it makes Judas uncomfortable.
Aside from the fact that pragmatically speaking Judas wants more money for
himself, examining two key questions can help us make sure that our devotion
and worship of Christ is pleasing and acceptable. These questions become prayers
of confession and cries for direction from God, who is the focus and director
of our worship.
Am I missing something?
When big events are imminent, so many in the Gospels miss them:
Herod really missed Christmas (although he thought he was aware of it), most
of the Pharisees missed the inauguration of the Kingdom of God they had supposedly
been preparing for and Judas misses the preparation for the Cross and new
life! How often do we miss out? Lent helps us not to miss out if we’re
asking the right questions. When we allow Jesus to keep our attention properly
focused, the worship, prayers, preparation and giving of ourselves in the
worship and service to God, which seems like such a waste of time to others,
are recognized as the keys to being who we’ve been created to be. It
is no simple coincidence that Mary, sister of Martha, is the one who does
not miss the opportunity to perform this beautiful and symbolic act of worship.
It is the same Mary, according to this text, who sat eagerly at Jesus’
feet when He was a guest in the home of Mary and Martha. All the while Jesus
was teaching, Mary sat and did not miss the moment, while Martha was busy
doing dishes (Luke 10:38-42). In that story, Martha makes some good points
(she should be helping, I’m working hard doing something right, she
seems to be wasting time), but she is missing the most important thing: encountering
and worshiping Jesus. In this story, once again good ol’ Mary is not
about to miss this moment, six days before the Passover lamb is sacrificed.
Judas also makes some valid points (this perfume is too expensive to be wasted;
the money could benefit the poor; she should give it instead of just pour
it out). However, he too misses something! He misses the significance of this
“royal waste of time,” which is instead time well-wasted, since
this most valuable of goods that she has is lavished upon Jesus, the true
Passover Lamb.
We have reason why we don’t give all, why we are not fully
devoted and why we should be pragmatists all the time. But in our extreme
pragmatism, we sometimes miss the big picture: that we are to be fully devoted
to God and to the things that matter most to God, even when they don’t
make sense in the world’s way of measuring.
Am I here for the wrong reasons?
Obviously, as the text points out, Judas’s reasons were
suspect to say the least. His desire was to benefit indirectly from this act
of Mary’s. He would give himself a “kick back” on the money
that could be gotten from this nice bottle of perfume. He would likely have
given some to the poor as a symbolic gesture (or just to cover his own tracks),
but ultimately he would have turned this beautiful act of worship into a means
to an end, not an end in itself. His pragmatism would have overruled his faith.
Sound familiar? It does to me. It sounds like too much of Evangelicalism (to
name one group) today. We say, “God we are fully devoted,” as
long as we can have some control over what is devoted. Instead of “I
Surrender All,” as Tony Campolo notes, we would rather sing, “I
Surrender 1/10” In fact, few even want to surrender that. We like control,
as Judas did. We are very pragmatic, wanting to enhance our “bottom
line” with prestige, with numbers (i.e. statistical growth), or just
plain old material gain. It is at those times that we should look hard at
this question, which is the implied question in Jesus’s rebuke of Judas
in verses 7 and 8, “Are you really here for the right reasons?”
It is indeed time for a motive check, when it comes to our worship.
I recently asked our church board to give me a list of things they value personally. I did the same. We also constantly examine what we value as a church. We ask, “Are these things the same kinds of things that God values?” We also ask: “If not, then are we willing to sacrifice our own values list and exchange it for God’s list?” Mary took the most valuable thing she had and in devotion to Christ, she poured it out. In a well-known song from the past, the songwriter describes this scene as a time when the fragrance filled all the room. Of course it would have. Smell is a powerful trigger for memory and emotions. The fragrance lingered, and there is no way that this smell would not have always evoked a reminder of the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross from then on. This sacrificial act of worship reminded all of the significance – the eternal significance – of Christ’s life and death and resurrection. That is what true worship does even to this day. In surrendering our all to God in what the world deems a waste of time, we are actually (according to Scripture) living out the death and resurrection of Jesus until He returns. Now that’s time well wasted!