12 November 2019
Text: Matt 26:1-19
In the name of +
Jesus. Amen.
“And
when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum
and given to the poor.”
The
poor body of Christ is criticized at every end by the devil, the world, and our
sinful flesh. We Americans are among the
richest people on the planet. Even the
poorest among us live like kings compared to our great-grandparents’
generation. And yet we are criticized
for not doing enough “for the poor.”
The
Church is criticized for being rich – as if every pastor rolls around in gold
coins while drinking champagne every night, as if our congregations have a
fleet of private jets and expensive real estate holdings. Most of our churches are hanging financially
by a thread. And yet, as we are able, we
have beautiful vestments and dignified church architecture. In some cases, these altars, fonts, pulpits,
and pews were paid for by laborers a hundred years ago, whose offerings were
counted in cents, not dollars. And
today, the pastor’s albs and stoles and chasubles are often gifts of the
people, offered in love for their pastors to wear for the sake of the dignity
of the Gospel.
Notice
how Jesus dismisses the crass criticism of the disciples: “Why do you trouble
the woman? For she has done a beautiful
thing to me.”
Nobody
begrudges a family for spending thousands of dollars on their daughter’s
wedding. Nobody criticizes a man for
buying his beloved a diamond ring. Why? Because these are sacrificial acts of love. What kind of parents would host their daughter’s
wedding in a McDonald’s restaurant – assuming that these parents were not genuinely
impoverished? And what kind of a man
would buy his bride-to-be a plastic ring from a gumball machine – assuming that
he had the means to buy her a real ring?
These
things are tokens of love. And they are
not things that are often repeated. They
are symbols of sacrifice, and gratitude.
For we are the Bride of Christ, dear friends. And what has He done for us? He has given His life as the perfect Bridegroom. He has died to save us. He gives us eternal life! And we offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving in
response to His propitious sacrifice of blood that saves us. And we join in the Eucharist, that is, the Thanksgiving
meal of His body and blood for our salvation. Our gifts to the Lord are not to be scorned –
especially when they are treasures to be lovingly used for generations,
proclaiming the Gospel without words, and confessing the Lord Jesus’ saving act
upon the cross.
“You
will always have the poor with you,” says our Lord. Indeed, we will always have opportunities to
help our brethren in need. But in our
state of relative wealth, we don’t need to rob Jesus to feed the hungry. In fact, we can do both if we are willing to
give up some of our own creature comforts out of love: both for our neighbor and
for our Lord. For we do a beautiful
thing when we adorn the Gospel in beauty. And what’s more, we make all rich in faith by
proclaiming the Gospel – in word and in deed. Amen!
In the name of the Father
and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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