What do you get someone who has everything? The perpetual birthday/Christmas
question. What gift can we find for someone who really doesn’t need anything we
might be able to give?
My parents are now in their 80s, and we have long ago
exhausted every possible gift idea. It helps that my father responds to anything
chocolate like it’s manna from heaven, and that if it has a Steeler emblem on
it, it should be treated as gold. But even so, how many Steeler ties can you
wear to church each week? My mother is a bit easier, but only because she is
classy enough, and kind enough, to act like, yes, really! THIS dishtowel is
actually the best one ever!
Of course, at its best, we are not giving gifts to actually
give the other person something, but to express to them our love and care. And
this paves the way for us to ask—What can we give to Jesus our Lord? We well
know that Jesus doesn’t NEED anything. We can’t give Him something that He doesn’t
already have. We can’t give Him any more glory than is already His. We can’t
give the Lord of creation our money, it’s His to begin with. We can’t give Him
our lives—He already owns them. But, that doesn’t mean we don’t have that drive
to give to Him, that yearning to show Him our love and devotion by offering
Him… well… what He already owns!
Now, some people will distort this—many people have distorted this—so that our giving
is somehow a way of making God pleased with us. Our offerings, our gifts to the
Lord, are seen, not as a free expression of adoration, but as a means of
currying favor. We do things for our God with the hope that He will do good
things in return. What a horrid relationship that is! Can you imagine voicing
that out loud on Christmas morning—“Here, mom, here’s my gift to you; but just
so you know, I’m only giving it to you so you feel compelled to give me
something good in return.” AHHHH! Sure, it’s wonderful to get gifts. Sure, I
want to give gifts to those who give them to me. But, not because they give me gifts, but because our relationship is marked
by love, respect, and devotion.
So, if not to win God’s approval or His blessings, why do we
so desperately want to give something, anything to Him? Because, that’s what you
do when you love someone—you give, and give, and give to another. Every
birthday, every Christmas, we dig and dig, seeking the right gift—the gift that
will not provide them something they don’t already have, but to give them the
gift that expresses the depth of our relationship.
In our text this week, Mary, the sister of Lazarus, gives an
extravagant, wonderful gift to Jesus. Never once is there a hint that she is
doing so to earn His pleasure, or that she is trying to get something from Him.
Her gift is motivated from her desire to express her adoration, her love, her
devotion to Jesus her Lord.
It is my prayer that we too will give all we have out of
love to our Savior, Jesus Christ.
As you prepare for worship this week, read John 12:1-11.
1. Give a quick scan at the verses
immediately before this story. How do they shape the storyline here?
2. In verse 1 we are told that the
Passover is coming. What implications are present from that statement?
3. Notice how they describe
Lazarus—we just left him, I don’t think the author needed to mention this… but
he did. Why?
4. Both Martha and Mary make an
appearance here. Notice that they are “in character”. Is this a good thing or
bad?
5. Just like there is a
description of Lazarus, there is a description given of Judas. Why do you think
the author describes him thus?
6. In verse 5, Judas questions the
value of anointing Jesus as Mary has done, drawing the contrast with using the
money to help others. What current church debates might follow this same pattern?
7. Jesus’ comment that the poor
will always be with us means what? What attitude is Jesus trying to bring forth
in His followers?
