Sunday’s text is from Matthew 26:6-13. It’s the story of the woman who gave a perfume gift worth a year’s wages to Jesus. It was also an act that drew the scorn of his disciples. Here’s a snippet from Sunday’s sermon:
Jesus catches them off guard. He scolds them and rebukes their attitude. “Don’t give her a hard time” he says. He reminds them they always have the poor but he will be with them only a little while longer. Christ sees this action by the unnamed woman as an anointing for his burial. A meaning that I’m sure was lost on his disciples. I have a hard time understanding Jesus in this story. And I must admit I have a hard time understanding the actions of the woman. I can, however, understand the disciples. Their reaction resonates with me and I’m sure others also. You see, this type of thing is repeated every day in this church and thousands of churches around the world. At Christmas we give money to put a poinsettia in the sanctuary. Could that money be better spent on the needy? Here at Easter when lilies will adorn many houses of worship, wouldn’t it be better to use those funds to feed the hungry? All that money congregations spend for new buildings and furnishings, would we not be more in line to use that on the mission field somewhere? It’s easy to preach these kinds of things from this story and these are legitimate questions. But I’m afraid they’re not the right kind of questions for this particular episode.
Sunday’s text is from Matthew 26:6-13. It’s the story of the woman who gave a perfume gift worth a year’s wages to Jesus. It was also an act that drew the scorn of his disciples. Here’s a snippet from Sunday’s sermon:
Jesus catches them off guard. He scolds them and rebukes their attitude. “Don’t give her a hard time” he says. He reminds them they always have the poor, but he will be with them only a little while longer. Christ sees this action by the unnamed woman as an anointing for his burial. A meaning that I’m sure was lost on his disciples. I have a hard time understanding Jesus in this story. I must admit I have a hard time understanding the actions of the woman as well. I can, however, understand the disciples. Their reaction resonates with me and I’m sure with others also. You see, this type of thing is repeated every day in this church and thousands of churches around the world. At Christmas we give money to put a poinsettia in the sanctuary. Could that money be better spent on the needy? Here at Easter when lilies will adorn many houses of worship, wouldn’t it be better to use those funds to feed the hungry? All that money congregations spend for new buildings and furnishings, would we not be more in line to use that on the mission field somewhere? It’s easy to preach these kinds of things from this story and these are legitimate questions. But I’m afraid they’re not the right kind of questions for this particular episode.
Tags: Matthew, preaching, worship
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