Devotion Part 2: Extravagance

“Now while Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table. But when the disciples saw it, they were angry and said, ‘Why this waste? For this ointment could have been sold for a large sum, and the money given to the poor.’ But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, ‘Why do you trouble the woman? She has performed a good service for me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. By pouring this ointment on my body she has prepared me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.’” (from Matthew 26)

Here is another example of devotion, and about how we can love God. Now before getting into this, let me confess that at the time, I strongly agreed with the disciples who thought it a waste. After all, what they said was true: the poor could have been helped by selling the ointment and giving them the money. I mean, even Jesus said that serving the “least of these” was as good as serving Jesus himself!

So, how do we sort this out? Was Jesus contradicting himself?

No, Jesus did not contradict himself. He never advocated neglecting the poor, or anyone else in need. Nor did he in this case. Instead, he simply praised the woman for her extravagant devotion. 

But let’s think a bit more about this notion of extravagant devotion. At the time, honestly, most of us were totally shocked by her amazing generosity. The perfume she poured on Jesus was worth, by one account, “more than a year’s wages.” Why would she do this? Why would anyone do this? 

It was supposed that the woman was Mary Magdalene

Jan van Scorel circa 1530

I believe this episode takes us deeply into the notion of rationality. I mean, was her act rational in any sense? Most of us thought not. How could such extravagance be considered even remotely rational? A year’s wages poured out in just moments? No, not rational. Not at all.

But then, I asked myself, does God deal with us in any way that would be considered rational? Is he somehow bound by its limits? 

For me, as I reflected more on her act, I began to consider the role of rationality in our lives and if it has a place in our relationship with God. I understand that we humans have been given the gift of rationality, and that rational thoughts and actions keep us out of trouble. When we veer off the path of rationality, we can produce some very unpredictable and unpleasant outcomes. For the most part, we must stay within the bounds of rationality. For example, our entire judicial system of fairness depends on it.

But on the other hand, was anything about the Gospel of Jesus Christ rational? Why would YHWH, our creator, leave heaven to come to earth as a peasant baby? Why would he do so in a culture that over the centuries, had rebelled against him and repeatedly rejected him? Was that rational? And most of all, why would the power of the universe come to earth, leaving most of that power behind in heaven, with the express intent of sacrificing himself as an act of his love and forgiveness for our sins? For that matter, is the mercy of forgiveness itself a rational act? I invite you to comprehend any of that as rational in a way that most of us would imagine.

When challenged to show his power by his enemies, Jesus would not do it. His tormentors mocked him as he suffered on the cross, challenging him to “come down” and demonstrate why they should recognize him as Messiah. While what they said was certainly motivated by evil, it was nevertheless rational. Wouldn’t it have been the rational thing for Jesus to come down from the cross and show his power to his enemies? And for the Risen Christ to appear, not to peasant women and discredited disciples, but to the high priest? To Pilate?

And on a personal level, was it rational for Jesus to select twelve totally unqualified followers, including me, to bring the Gospel message to the entire world?

What does all of this amount to? I have reflected for a long time and have come to the conclusion that the Gospel of Jesus was not a story of rationality at all, but was instead, a story of extravagance: God’s extravagant love of sinful people who do not deserve his love; the irrational elevation of individuals of no account, just like our unnamed woman in the Gospel story; and the withholding of his immense power in lieu of his sacrificial love. 

Then, if the love of God is irrational, are we correct to stay within the limits of rationality in how we respond to him? Or are we invited to return his irrational love for us with an irrational and maybe even extravagant response?

So, perhaps the unnamed woman shouldn’t have been criticized for her extravagant act of love. In fact, the same Jesus who exhorted us to serve the poor expressed appreciation for her act of extravagant love. So much so, that he promised that her act would “be told in remembrance of her.” And it has been just as he said. No single act of serving the poor was given this same honor in the Gospel record.

Then, does Christ demand such extravagant devotion from us? I don’t believe that he does. But, as one who loved and still loves extravagantly himself, he surely appreciates that kind of devotion. And he honors it, just as he did with the unnamed woman. Just as he did with the poor widow who gave her whole life savings into the temple treasury (from Mark 12).

And finally, as I reflect on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, I am reminded that this one act, this single demonstration of extravagant devotion, was the only time when one of God’s children showed so much love of our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. And considering what Jesus was facing in his journey to Jerusalem, I can understand how much he appreciated her love.

Rationality surely has its place. However, with regard to the devotion that we express toward our heavenly Father, it clearly also has its limits. Maybe, in fact, I can somehow find a way to express my devotion to Christ with such extravagance, like the woman in this story.

We were too shocked and angry to ask the woman why she did what she did. In any case, I don’t believe her answer would have been rational. More than likely, she would simply have replied, “Because I love him.”

We truly are loved extravagantly. Perhaps we can return that love with just a touch of that same extravagance.

Copyright 2022 Robert Westheimer. All rights reserved.