Anointing Jesus Sermon Womans Day 2013 August 9, 2013 On this womens day, as I have been asked to share,

, I have been reflecting on the worship of women in the Bible, and one woman in particular stands out in my heart of a great worshipper of God. This is a woman who truly loves Jesus and shows her love to him well This is something we all strive for maybe with Jesus but often times we see it more clearly in our relationships Think about those first weeks and months of a new relationship. Its almost a game of showering one another with praise, love, gifts, and affection. I remember vividly when Casey and I first started dating, and the lengths we went to show one another that we cherished the other. I went to Europe and bought him a trinket or gift from every little place. He took me on a special day out on Valentines Day to the circus. For each of these gifts, we were so excited to give them and the response of the one receiving the gift left much to be desired. Casey couldnt care less about a showering of random trinkets and I was less then thrilled to be at a circus feet from elephant poop while in my high heel shoes. Both of us were at a loss with these gifts, not at all what we had wanted, but an effort had been made on the part of the other to show love and care. The saying goes Its the thought that counts, and we often say that to make ourselves feel better when something doesnt go as planned. Casey and I both love to tell the other person of a gift we were THINKING OF or TRYING to get but couldnt. And we say its the thought that counts. Well maybe that holds a little true, but I often feel like its an excuse. If I am only thinking about how I would like to love Casey but never really showing him, then how does that really translate to him? It may be the intention in my heart but a reciprocal love is not given and shown to the other person so it is missing a huge part of its intention. The intention of love is not for me to think about loving another person, but to actually SHOW the other person love. I must think about how the other person would receive love and then translate my feelings into a way they would receive them.

 This may sound exhausting, but its the way it works. And leave it to a WOMAN to show us in scripture how this kind of true love is poured out before Jesus. READ: John 12:1-11 John identifies this woman as the sister of Martha who was Mary. The alabaster jar was a flask or small jar made of white semi-transparent stone. It was a container that was used to hold perfumes or ointments Nard was a very expensive perfume that was given as a gift or to anoint someone for a special occasion or burial. It was very expensive because it was from the Himalayan mountains and was worth 300 denarii and the normal person made one denarii a day! So it was a years worth of wages! The breaking of the flask was perhaps an expression of the wholeheartedness of her devotion. Having served its purpose, it would never be used again Her actions not only demonstrated her own love and devotion to her Savior but it also showed that she had a real insight into HIS true purpose and ministry Have you ever thought about that? The way we worship Jesus shows what we believe about Jesus. The ways we worship Jesus show what we believe about Gods heart There are three things that are revealed by her act of worship, three ways that she saw Jesus that the other disciples missed at that moment. She saw Jesus as king, priest, and the spotless lamb. 1. King: such an extravagant gift could only be lavished on a king. It would be inappropriate for anyone else, but that was who Jesus was to her. 2. Priest: she was anointing Jesus because he was her priest and she wanted him to make atonement for her and find her forgiven 3. The Lamb: at this time Jesus was telling his disciples that he was going to die, but they were unable to understand. Mary was preparing him for death even though it was also hard for her to understand and something she didnt want.

Jesus is all these titles and so much more. Jesus is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He is the Alpha and Omega. He is the Bread of Life, Emmanuel and the Deliverer. Christ is the Cornerstone, the First and the Last, and the Good Shepherd. Jesus is the Head of the Church,
2

 But all these titles cant even compare to the truth of simply KNOWING and LOVING Jesus. This is what is so beautiful about this act of worship for Jesus. Its not enough even to just know who Jesus is, we have to move to KNOWING Him and then sharing our own love with him. Marys heart is overflowing with love for Jesus, and then she thinks, HOW WOULD JESUS RECEIVE MY LOVE.

the Holy One, and the Lamb of God. Jesus is the Life and the LIGHT. Jesus is Messiah and Morning Star. Jesus is the Rising Son, the Root of Jesse, and the Second Adam. Jesus is both Slave and Son. He is the Son of Mary and the Son of God. He has made himself the Living Stone, the True Vine, and the Wonderful Counselor. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Jesus is the One who Is and the One to Come. Jesus is our most HOLY GOD!

Her act isnt stuck in her heart, she goes to great length to translate her worship and love to Jesus so that he can receive it and feel loved. Have you ever considered that not only does Jesus want to love us, but that he wants to feel loved back by us? He is obviously BLESSED by this act of love by Mary and enjoys it, so why wouldnt he want the same from us? Have you ever asked Jesus, how do you WANT me to love you? How can I show you my love? This was the intent in Marys heart, and it definitely translated on that fated day. She doesnt count the cost, she doesnt care who sees her, she is totally consumed in her love for her Savior and pours it all out for Jesus What strikes me the most about this act of worship is its EXTRAVAGENCE. Mary took the most precious thing she possessed and poured it out over Jesus in her love for him. Love is not love when it nicely calculates the cost. There is a story that I have heard called The Gift of the Maji by an author called O Henri. Jim and his wife, Della, are a couple living in a modest flat. They each have only one possession in which they take pride: Della's beautiful
3

long, flowing hair, almost to her knees and Jim's shiny gold watch, which had belonged to his father and grandfather. On Christmas Eve, with only $1.87 in hand, and desperate to find a gift for Jim, Della sells her hair for $20, and eventually finds a platinum fob chain for Jim's watch for $21. She found the perfect gift at last and runs home and begins to prepare dinner, with 87 cents left. When Jim comes home, he looks at Della with a strange expression. Della then admits to Jim that she sold her hair to buy him his present. Jim gives Della her present an assortment of expensive hair accessories (referred to as The Combs), useless now that her hair is short. Della then shows Jim the chain she bought for him, to which Jim says he sold his watch to get the money to buy her combs. Although Jim and Della are now left with gifts that neither one can use, they realize how far they are willing to go to show their love for each other, and how priceless their love really is Love cant just be love in our hearts, but it must be something that is translated into action and can be received by the one we love. This must mean the most in our life with Jesus We must have a love for him that goes beyond our own thoughts of him into lavishing our love upon him We see such a sharp contrast here because the disciples were spending their time not worshipping Jesus but focused on Mary and judging and criticizing her. This story has become so familiar to us that we miss that more often we are the disciples sitting at the table rather than Mary showering love on Jesus. We know a lot about Jesus and we think about our love for Jesus, but so often we dont translate that into actual LOVE for Jesus "Religious people find God useful. Christians find God beautiful." Tim Keller But the difference in these two groups of people the disciples love versus Marys love cannot be overstated. They are worlds apart. Just ask someone who has ever been loved.

 In my own marriage I know this. I know Casey knows a lot ABOUT me and I even believe that Casey thinks about how he loves and appreciates me, but until he SHOWS that love for me I dont really take it all in. This past year he really did something that went beyond the thought and SHOWED me his love. I came in one afternoon and all over my house were different colored signs with handwritten notes from Casey. They said Best wife ever or Best Dancer Ever or Best Cook Ever. There were almost 20 of them. I felt so appreciated, so celebrated, so loved. It had definitely translated into my heart that day. On this womens day we need to reflect on what this woman did to truly love Jesus and what it meant to him. Do we just find Jesus useful or do we find him BEAUTIFUL? Do we just KNOW who Jesus is or do we SHOWER him with our love. Because it would matter to us, and it matters to him.