Storyline: Mary of Bethany, #2

While Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard.  She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.  Some of those present were saying, “Why this waste of perfume?  It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.”  And they rebuked her harshly.

“Leave her alone,” Jesus said. “Why are you bothering her?  She has done a beautiful thing to me.  The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want.  But you will not always have me.  She did what she could.  She poured perfume on my body beforehand for burial.  I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Mark 14:3-9

Jesus only had a matter of days left to live.  He knew it.  He’d even predicted it.  Yet, no one seemed to take note.  No one, except one – Mary.  While her name is not mentioned in this passage, we know who she is from the story of Lazarus’ resurrection in John 10.  Sweet, quiet, reflective Mary had paid close attention to the words of Jesus as she sat at his feet.  She grasped what no one else did, the impending death of her Lord.  So, Mary responded in ways that no one else would have the courage, or the time, to do following Jesus’ arrest.  Thoughtfully, and sacrificially, she took the nard and anointed Jesus.   

Some important aspects need to be mentioned.

1)    The nard, we’re told, was worth an entire year’s wage.  Think of this in modern terms.  An average American holding a bachelor’s degree makes around $56,000.   That should give you some idea of why those in the room thought her so reckless. 

2)    The alabaster jar that contained the nard had to have been imported from India.  The jar, itself, was also pricey.

3)    These items were typically reserved in a woman’s “hope chest,” so to speak for a very special occasion, probably a wedding or even her funeral.  It was not uncommon that these things were purchased in advanced and reserved for these occasions.  So, Mary was giving to Jesus a very substantial part of her dowry.

4)    Once the seal on the jar was broken, the perfume lost its fragrance and its potency.  It could not be recycled, used sparingly, and saved for further use. 

Mary’s message was clear.  Her love for Jesus was worth reckless abandonment to the things the world held dear.  She cared not about the scorn, or the harsh rebuke...her thoughts were completely on honoring the one who had meant the world to her.  I believe deep in Mary’s heart, she knew what she was doing.  Jesus was about to be sacrificed and poured out, how could she not, sacrifice on his behalf?  “She has done a beautiful thing to me,” Jesus said. “What she has done will be told in memory of her wherever the gospel is preached.”  I have to ask myself, “What beautiful things am I doing for him?”  “How sacrificially do I offer the things I hold dear on his behalf?”  I am so grateful for grace, yet, I so often find myself fearful of what others might think of my service.  It’s hard to love extravagantly when others are watching.  Yet, it wasn’t for Mary.  Was that a direct result of her time at Jesus’ feet?  If so, guess I know where I want to be found more often than not!  Courage for abandonment will follow.

Storyline: Mary of Bethany

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.  She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.  But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.  She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?  Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.  Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:36-42

Like this home in Bethany where Jesus visited, my home had three children – two girls and a boy.  Just like this home, no three children could have been more different.  It’s always odd to me just how distinctive children can be, who come from the same parents, are raised in the same house, under the same parenting styles.  We already know that Martha, full of good intentions, was a “fixer.”  This woman wasn’t one to sit still; rather, she had to be actively making things happen and, as a result, she was easily distracted.  We know she was a complicated ball of commotion, yet unafraid to just be herself; and, Jesus loved her.  Her sister was a polar opposite.  Mary was sensitive, intuitive, quiet, reflective, easy-going, and focused; Jesus loved her.  I love that Jesus loves diversity.  He’s not asking us to be something we’re not.  He is asking us to keep things simple, and to take time, from time-to-time, to be “women of one thing.” 

Please take note that Martha wasn’t wrong using her hospitality gifts.  She simply had taken on too much.  If she’d simplified, then Martha could have gotten in on the better part of the visit, time with Jesus.  All our good strivings are often enemy of the better thing.  Mary’s intuition served her well.  Somehow she seemed to realize this was a moment that could never be recaptured.  She knew she needed to glean all she could from the life of her Lord, for somehow, she had a sense that he would not be with them long (we’ll see this more clearly when we look at another snapshot of Mary’s life next week).  I tend to be of the opinion that Mary realized she needed the words of the Teacher deeply imbedded in her heart for the journey ahead.  Jesus was not about to rob her of that opportunity. 

Jesus has words for us every day – words for our journeys.  He knows a visit with him, through prayer and in Scripture, is the better part of our day.  Yet, we often are robbed of that opportunity by all our plans, activities, and busyness. They aren’t bad things; we aren’t wrong in doing them.  We simply need to streamline, prioritize, and carve out moments to sit at his feet.  Let go of the distractions and listen...then, and only then, will we be ready to serve him completely and effectively (we’ll see that next week, too).

Storyline: Martha, #2

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed home.  “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” 

Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb.  It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.  “Take away the stone,” he said.  “But Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”  Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”

John 11:20-22, 38-40

Ah, Martha.  Let’s not rush past her yet.  Last week we learned that Martha felt safe with Jesus.  She trusted him enough to reveal the messy side of her nature to him.  Martha even had a measure of faith that most Jews didn’t possess; she firmly stated her belief in the final resurrection of the dead.  Though she was disappointed in Jesus’ seeming lack of compassion when her brother was ill, she expressed a measure of faith that Jesus could still “do something”...  Yet, in a matter of minutes her measure of faith showed its limitation.  When Jesus asked for the stone to be removed from Lazarus’ grave, reality rose to the surface.  Lazarus had been in there for four days:  long enough for decay to set in; long enough for his soul to have departed (Jewish religion believed that on the fourth day following death the soul ventured away from the body); long enough for the “stink” to be bad!  

Ever felt a measure of belief, only to realize that it was stunted by a reality check?   I, most definitely, have.  I often come up lacking in this department.  Like Martha, it is easier to believe in the BIGGER MIRACLE of eternal life and resurrection at the last day, but, then, find myself coming up short on the “smaller” miracle of raising the current "dead" that surround my life.  For example, I don’t question my eternal life, or the “life-after-death” of my loved ones who are “in Christ”, but I do question whether the Lord will “raise up” dreams that have died, or a plan that has been taken away prematurely.  I don’t question that Jesus is “the resurrection and the life,” but is he the resurrection of marriages which have lost their “soul”?  Is he the restorer of “life” to the areas of my life that seem to be decaying before my eyes?  Can he make perfume out of the things that absolutely stink about my life?  I’m guessing I’m not the only one who wonders this...

Yet, I think this story is here to remind us that he cares.  He weeps with us for the things that are lost to us, the death of dreams, the vanished hopes, and the demise of comfort, satisfaction, and/or pleasure.  He longs to show us His glory...if we believe.  Someone once told me, the outcome of belief is always a revelation of the glory of God.  Yes, Jesus cares.  He wants to reveal the glory of God; and, he wants to show us that he is still Lord over the grave...any grave.

So, my response to this aspect of Martha’s life is to do what the desperate father, whose dreams for his son were slowly dying, did when he stood before Jesus:  Immediately, the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)

Storyline: Martha

Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.  She came to (Jesus) and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself?  Tell her to help me!”  Luke 10:40

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed home.  “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”  John 11:20-22

With a hop, skip, and a jump, we’re back in the New Testament to glance into the life of Martha.  Jesus loved Martha (John 11:5).  I love her, as well.  I have often thought I could relate most to this woman of Scripture...an overzealous servant, filling my plate with too much do-gooding, having a bit of a case of “limelightitis,” and easily distracted with people-pleasing.  I’ve only focused on the negative of Martha’s character.  That’s often easy for us to do with other people, isn’t it?  However, I’m convicted of that kind of judgment, and want to honor Martha’s positive traits.   She has many, you know, but one in particular.

If you read the Scripture above, what stands out to you:  Martha’s self-pity; or, maybe her attempts at putting a guilt-trip on Jesus?  How about her “bossiness”?  Yes, I can see some of those things, too.  However, as I was reading her story this morning, something else hit me – her honesty, her vulnerability, and, even, her authenticity with Jesus. 

Here’s what struck me:  Martha felt SAFE in the love of Jesus.  She felt so safe, in fact, that she was able to be herself – her very messy, very confused, and sometimes, very self-centered self.  While it tells me a lot about Jesus, it speaks volumes about Martha.  She had no trust issues where her Lord was concerned. 

Sadly, many days, I am reminded that I do (have trust issues).  Often, I am careful how I petition the Lord in prayer.  Sometimes, I color my pain with pretty colors.  Sometimes, I dress my heart up in its finest, and put on a good front, even with Jesus.  Sometimes, I even build a big brick wall, put a padlock on the gate, and dig a moat that I fill with water and crocodiles, hoping that he gets the message: stay out of this area.   

Martha reminded me this morning that Jesus is not over-advertised; he is under-trusted.  Jesus is not over-rated; he is under-estimated.  Jesus is completely, 100% safe, and he doesn’t care about the mess our souls are in, nor is he bothered with how tangled and twisted the barbed wire has gotten around them.  If there’s any place we can take our sorrows, distractions, and frustrations, and not be condemned, it’s to Jesus. 

May we learn this lesson well from a woman who came before him boldly, in all honesty, and placed her pain in the palm of his soon-to-be nail scarred hands!

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Hebrews 4:16.

Storyline: Hagar

Storyline:  Hagar

The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; and the angel of the Lord said to her:  “You are now with child and you will have a son.   You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard my misery.” And Hagar gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her:  “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me... So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne.

Genesis 16: 7, 11, 13, 15

Peeking across the yard out of Sarah’s tent, we find Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian maid-servant. Ever wonder how she might have felt about being a pawn in Sarah’s forced, and frantic, arrangement to have a child?  Let’s saunter over and see if we relate to her in any way... 

Here are a few questions for you:

r  Have you ever felt as if your life had been completely ripped away from you?

r  Ever felt that everything near and dear had been stripped away?

r  Have you ever felt that even your identity was stolen from you, and now, you are a complete non-entity?

r  In fact, have you ever felt that you were nothing more than a poker-chip? A pawn in someone else’s game of life?

r  Have you ever felt devalued?  Insignificant?

r  Worse, have you ever felt invisible?

r  Have you ever felt unheard or unseen?

r  Ever felt trapped...forced to go where you didn’t want to go; to do things you never wanted to do?  Enslaved?

r  Have you ever felt completely alone?

r  Have you ever longed for compassion and come up empty...every time?

r  Have you ever felt so completely hopeless, like you were really just hanging onto life by a single thread...and even it was beginning to splinter?

This was Hagar’s day to day existence.  She was a slave.  Probably part of the “loot” Abraham received from Pharaoh after he tried to deceive the ruler with lies about his wife, Sarah.  She was forced to leave home, family, country, comforts of a palace-life, and everything familiar to live a nomadic existence.  She was also forced to obey the whims and fancies of her mistress.

It’s difficult to judge her reaction when she found out she was pregnant with Abraham's child.  “When she knew she was pregnant she began to despise her mistress (Gen 16:4).”  She began to look on Sarah, perhaps in the way she felt looked upon...with an inner attitude of “smallness.”  She probably didn’t have to say a word; her demeanor said it all.  She pushed Sarah’s core fear button with a vengeance, and Sarah (like all of us who have our core fear buttons pushed) reacted back...harshly.  So Hagar ran.  BUT GOD!  God came to her in the desert - the driest place of her life!  He “looked” at her as no one else had.  Verse 11, Ishmael means: "The Lord has been attentive in my humiliation.”  God saw.  Verse 13,  “You are El Roi – the God who sees me.”  Read into this carefully.  The Lord didn’t just hear – he listened.  He didn’t just see – He looked right through her, examined her heart, paid close attention to her “woundedness.”  Sarah was God’s princess.  Hagar was the slave.  Yet, never once did God appear directly to Sarah, and twice (again in Genesis 21), God appeared to Hagar.  Truth:  God doesn't look at status, when it  comes to the cry of the human heart...

Seeing and hearing her misery would have been enough in itself, but God went even further.  He restored her significance and her hope – she would mother a line of descendents too numerous to count.  Hagar had a reason to return to Abraham and Sarah.  Her son needed a father.  With a restoration of her dignity, her humanization, a future and a hope, and having been comforted by the One True Comforter, Hagar could return with submission, until her next steps were revealed, as God ordained them to be.

This is our God. El Roi!  El Ysma! The God who Sees - me!  The One who Hears – me!  Do we run to that God when in need of compassion and hope?  He’s waiting!  And, you will not come up empty!

Storyline: Sarah #3

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.  By faith he made his home in the Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.  For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Hebrews 11:8-10

I can’t just walk away from Sarah, yet.  Listen, I admire this woman!  While she made some HUMONGOUS mistakes, she rose above them in many ways.  Look at the passage written out above.  The bold print and underlining are my emphasis.  Do you read between the lines when you read Scripture?  We need to!  I know this passage is about Abraham, but where Abraham went, Sarah was.  What Abraham was involved in - well, Sarah was smack dab in the middle.  So...as a woman, I ask you, How would you respond if out of the blue, no warning, your husband told you one day to pack up, because you were moving!  Maybe you’d be delighted, because you are ready for a change.  But then, your next question would be, “Where are we going?”  What would you do if he said, “Dunno!  God just said move and he’d show us as we went.”  I’m not sure your reaction would have been to just submit, and with a quiet and gentle spirit leave all you knew behind.  On top of that, please remember, Sarah was a Chaldean woman (this is where she and Abraham lived...probably right near current day Baghdad).  She could have not even known who God was, let alone trust him enough to just “go.”

Yet, the passage we looked at last week said that part of Sarah’s inner beauty was her submissive heart - a heart that yielded and “did not give way to fear.”  Ok...so maybe you could see yourself going, but what would be your “fear temperature?” 

Does the word submission* make your blood boil?  I know it does for some women!  Yet Sarah, in spite of not really having a known faith (at that time) in God, was able to submit and go into the unknown without fear.  I desperately want to be like that!  The unknown is always the thing that scares me most.  It is the one fear that is often at the center of my core, because it means I have no control over my next steps.

I guess my question is this:  what, besides God’s grace, increases my capacity to submit and walk willingly into the unknown fearlessly?  I have a few thoughts based on past experience.  Indulge me, please.

TRUST.  We can’t submit unless there is a level of trust.  Sarah trusted Abraham. We know this because in the passage we looked at last week, Peter says that Sarah called Abraham, Lord.  No, that was not the term of endearment she used...but rather an expression of her faith in her husband.   One can’t say the words, “No, Lord.”  So, obviously, it speaks to how Sarah felt about Abraham.  Then, as that trust proved out, she began to develop trust in the one that Abraham put his faith in – the Creator God, Adonai.

KNOWLEDGE.  We can’t submit without trust; we can’t trust without knowledge.  The more I know you, and see your character, the more I trust you.  It is that simple.  Knowledge breeds respect; respect leads to trust; and trust yields.

VULNERABILITY.  Knowledge involves risk-taking.  It involves opening myself up to someone else and taking a chance on them.  It’s a process of shared information, and finding complete safety and protection within that openness. 

This says a lot about Abraham...but it also says a lot about Sarah.  She was willing to take a chance on her very fallible husband, and the end result was BEAUTIFUL!   (It is also our greatest expression of worship...where our relationship with the Lord is concerned.)

*Remember, submission does not mean being a door mat.  It does not mean I cannot express my opinion.  It does not mean that I am silent, passive, and just roll over and play dead.  It simply means that I choose who my “headship” is and willingly let that one make the decisions.  Takes a lot of pressure off of me, for sure!

Storyline: Sarah #2 (God's Princess)

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.  Instead, let your beauty come from your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.  For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful.  They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him lord.  You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.

1 Peter 3:4-6

Let’s talk about beauty.  Every woman longs to be beautiful.  It’s why the beauty industry is a multi-trillion dollar one.  We women will try anything to enhance the way we look.  We spend a fortune to look like we weigh less (or have a perfectly curved body), have a flawless complexion, as well as, perfectly coiffed hair and painted acrylic nails.  Yes, even boobs have become a “fashion accessory.”  We women amaze me.   And, lest you think I think there’s something wrong with this, I am just like you.  I work hard at looking good, particularly for my guy; and, it is a LOT OF WORK – exhausting and expensive.  The guys don’t make it any easier.  They want us to look good.  No question, the outside is important to them.  In one book I read recently, a number of men were surveyed, and the author concluded that well over 80% of men connect how much their wives love them with how well they continue to take care of themselves physically.  This can be a bit disheartening.

So, I find it refreshing that a man, Peter, to be exact, wants women to know the balance between outside appearances and inner beauty.  Remember God, the Holy Spirit is directing his writing, so it’s really God trying to tell us something...  The example God, via Peter, picks of a beautiful woman is Sarah, the wife of Abraham.  We know Sarah was physically beautiful.  So much so that when a famine hit the land where Abraham and Sarah lived and had to trek down to Egypt for a time, Abraham convinced his bride (then in her 60’s!) that she needed to lie about their relationship and tell folks she was his sister.  He was afraid Pharaoh would kill him in order to take Sarah as his wife. Really??!  Abraham nearly escaped by the skin of his teeth (taking Sarah with him) when Pharaoh discovered the truth.  But, Abraham hadn’t learned his lesson. Nope! The story repeated itself nearly 20 years later.  Again, God protected Sarah from Abimelech, but barely.  No question, Sarah was a good looking woman; but, her beauty was more than skin deep.  It surfaced from the depths of her heart.

This is God’s message to you and me.  We are definitely to be caretakers of the temple he’s given us – the outer man.  He doesn’t tell us not to braid our hair, nor to wear pretty jewelry.  A better translation reads – “Don’t let your beauty come merely from the outside...”  In other words, be a good steward of your outer appearances; just don’t become a slave to them.  Don’t spend so much money, you go into debt.  Keep things in perspective (i.e. I find it really hard to spend money on having beautiful nails, when what I’d spend a month could support a child through Compassion).  Or, don’t spend so much time on yourself that you don’t have time for things that are of greater importance – developing depth of character, for example.

Peter says the following three things are characteristics of a truly beautiful woman:  gentleness (which can also be translated humble), quietness (one who is undisturbed, at peace), and submission (intentional choice to come under the authority of another in obedience). 

So...how much time do you spend in front of the mirror as opposed to spending time in the mirror of God’s Word?

How much time do you spend looking for the right clothes to wear instead of taking time to “clothe yourselves with kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (Col 3:12)?”

How much time do you take with personal hygiene as opposed to being “cleansed with the water of the word?”

I think you get the idea.  I have some adjustments to make.  You?