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"GIVEN FOR GOD'S USE"
GOSPEL SCRIPTURE TEXT:
JOHN 12:1-8

DAVE RING, PASTOR
LOS ALAMOS 1st UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
SUNDAY MORNING, AUGUST 3, 2008
A MEDITATION FOR HOLY COMMUNION

SCRIPTURE TEXT: John 12:1-8 (NIV) -- 1Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5"Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." 6He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7"Leave her alone," Jesus replied. "It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me."

MESSAGE: A pastor was appealing for funds for his church's ministry, which was in dire financial straits. A little girl in the congregation, hearing the need, was moved to act. She removed, from around her neck, a beautiful gold chain that had recently been presented to her as a birthday gift and put it in the offering plate. After the service the money counters showed the pastor the gold chain. One of them, who knew what had happened, told the pastor who had given the chain.

That afternoon the pastor went to the little girl's house and attempted to return the chain. "When I asked for help for the church's ministry, I didn't mean for you to contribute something so personal," he said, apologetically. The little girl refused to accept it back. She responded, "Pastor, I didn't give that chain to you. I gave it to God."

Whenever the sensitive subject of giving is raised, everyone has an opinion--everyone wants to set the priorities. Since there is never enough giving--monetary or otherwise--to meet all the needs, everyone has a personal opinion as to how limited charitable resources should be allocated.

In our Scripture text today the situation is just that. A woman named Mary--possibly Mary Magdalene--decides to spontaneously present a gift to the Lord Jesus. What her motives for giving were we don't know--as is usually the case with most charitable giving. Mary buys a jar of expensive perfume and pours it all over Jesus' feet. This may seem a strange practice to us, but in that society it was a recognized form of honor, a method of rendering high tribute to a person. Mary honors Jesus with her gift.

And, of course, immediately someone else disagrees with the particular use of this gift. Judas Iscariot raises a serious question. Couldn't there have been a more significant use for the money spent to buy this gift? If Mary wanted to be really charitable, why didn't she donate the value of the perfume to help feed the poor instead of frivolously pouring it on Jesus' feet?

Jesus gave Judas an apt answer, but I doubt that it satisfied Judas. Being human, I'm sure Judas thought his set of priorities was more important than those of Jesus. And besides, as the scripture points out, he had ulterior motives. He didn't really care about the poor--he just wanted to raise controversy, and maybe thereby profit personally.

Throughout the entire time I've been a preacher, there has been a chronic shortage of resources to meet human need in our world. Actually those needs, and the shortage of funds to meet them, have been there since Jesus' time and long before, but our awareness of the multiplicity of such needs--through modern media--has been heightened as in no prior time. Almost everyone has unmet needs, and most of them are severe and critical. Governments--ours and everybody else's--can't tax enough to satisfy them all, so the Christian faith, with its two billion adherents worldwide, has become the deep pocket to which the entire world turns for charity. And even our pockets aren't anywhere near deep enough.

Of course, just as in Judas' day, everyone--outside and inside the Christian church--has an opinion as to charitable priorities. At Los Alamos First United Methodist Church, we're a microcosm of this global debate. In any given month, I can almost guarantee you that various persons from our congregation will make all of the following comments to me: "Pastor, we're spending too much on world missions and not enough on the needy in our own backyard." "Pastor, we should stop contributing to drunks and drug addicts in Espanola and send our dollars to feed the truly needy in Africa." "Pastor, your salary is too high--paying you keeps this church from doing other important work for the Lord." "Pastor, we're not paying you enough for all you do for this church." "This church puts too much effort into pleasing the old folks and spends too little on the youth, who are the real future of the church." "I don't think we should ever consider having a paid Youth Director. It would cost far too much for the few youth reached." "We need to build onto this church so we can expand our ministries. We've been out of space for thirty years." "This church shouldn't ever even think about building more buildings, but we should be giving a lot more to missions."

Every one of these concerns over priorities is real--and important--to the individuals voicing them. And there's no just way to satisfy them all, just as there was no way for Jesus and Judas to come to a meeting of their minds over the use of Mary's gift--especially since the oil had already been poured out.

A communion meditation is not a full sermon--and deliberately so. In a communion meditation I get to leave some loose ends--for you, God's people, to mull over, maybe even pray about. I get to raise questions--and leave the answers to your personal meditations. So--here goes. What if Judas, instead of starting a "bum argument" about the use of the perfume Mary poured on Jesus feet, had simply accepted that it was a gift used to glorify God--period? What if we, instead of frustrating ourselves arguing about the uses of what we offer to God, simply agree that there are many needs--and many legitimate uses for our gifts--and that's OK? What if, when we give something to God, we truly give it up, with no "invisible strings" attached?

Remember the little girl in the opening story--and her gift? She gave it for God's use--and that was that to her. Even when it was offered back, she didn't take it. She'd given it away--it was no longer hers--it was God's.

"Leave her alone," Jesus replied. "It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me." Amen.

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