March 21 - Serve together and get connected

In today’s gospel, the crucifixion is less than a week away and Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. He and His disciples stop in Bethany at the house of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Most of you recognize that as scene 2 in Walk Through Jerusalem.

It’s a few days after Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead there in Bethany. Now, as they are having dinner, Lazarus’ sister Mary comes to Jesus and does a beautiful, but extravagant thing for our Lord. Mary brings an alabaster jar of very expensive ointment. She pours the costly perfumed oil on Jesus. An extravagant act showing her love for him - her dedication to the Lord.

A few years ago there was a true story about a man in New York City who was kidnapped. His kidnappers called his wife and asked for $100,000 ransom. She talked them down to $30,000. The story had a happy ending: the man returned home unharmed, the money was recovered, and the kidnappers were caught and sent to jail. But, don't you wonder what happened when the man got home and found that his wife haggled for a discount? Imagine what the negotiations must have been like: "$100,000 for that old guy? You've got to be kidding. Just look at him! You want $100,000 for that? $30,000 is my top offer."

I suppose some can identify with the wife in that story, but for some reason I find myself identifying with the husband. I'd like to think if I were in a similar situation, my wife would spare no expense to get me back. She wouldn't haggle over the price or say, 'Well, let me think about it. I’ll get back to you.' Sometimes it's O.K. to be extravagant!

That is what today’s Gospel is about. Mary’s extravagant act. Why did she do it?

Pouring lavish amounts of oil was the way priests and kings were consecrated. The anointing marked that person for divine service. And the word “anointed” is the English equivalent to both the Hebrew and Greek words for “Messiah”. So was Mary expressing her conviction that Jesus is the Messiah?

Pouring that expensive oil on Jesus was an extravagant act, expressing her total commitment to her Lord – a way of saying she is “all in with Jesus.”

How do we show our commitment to the Lord? How can we demonstrate that we are “all in with Jesus”? We can’t duplicate Mary’s act of devotion, so what could we do?

Each Sunday we pray Blessed are You, O Lord our God, maker of all things. Through your goodness we have these gifts to offer. With them we offer ourselves to your service, and dedicate our lives to the care and redemption of all that you have made…We commit ourselves to the Lord by promising to serve Him. You can not serve God directly – and we serve God by serving others. Our acts of service express our dedication to the Lord.

Whenever you use your talents, your time, your energy, to help in some way, that is serving. The Bible calls that ministry. So our Sunday bulletin, on page 1, says, “Ministers – all the members of the congregation.” We are all ministers, servants of the Lord.

Each of you has been blessed with one of God’s many wonderful gifts, to be used in the service of others. So use your gift well. 1 Peter 4:10 CEV

We all have gifts and talents, skills and abilities – some came naturally and some were developed over time. Some studies indicate that the average adult has about 500 different skills and abilities. Some are ordinary, others extraordinary.

While you’re aware of many of your talents and abilities, others lay dominant – untapped and unused. To discern them, you have to try using them. As you volunteer to serve, you have the opportunity to grow as an individual, because it will bring forth talents you didn’t know you had.

We are all parts of Christ’s one body and each of us have different work to do Romans 12:5 NLT

Think about the different talents and abilities that have to come together to prepare for Sunday worship. Long before the service, some people are cleaning – others getting the bulletins together. Some are preparing to teach and others are rehearsing music. The coffee has to be made and the elements prepared for Holy Communion – the ushers and greeters get ready for duty – all individuals combined as one body to worship God.

Why do all those members faithfully work behind the scenes? They often don’t get any recognition or thanks. Maybe because it feels good to use your time and abilities – your gifts – in service to God. It’s a way you thank him for His blessings – and it is also fulfilling. Paul Vischer, the creator of Veggie Tales and the voice of Bob the Tomato said “There is no happier place than the intersection of God’s will and your giftedness.” Giving of yourself in the Lord’s service brings personal satisfaction - a sense of fulfillment.

But maybe the best reason for serving is simply for the glory of God. We serve - offer ourselves - that we might bring glory to His name. A good illustration of that is gardening. The point is to have beautiful plants and flowers that lead us to admire the glory of God’s creation. Paul uses gardening as a metaphor:

The one who plants and the one who waters work as a team with the same purpose... but God is the one who makes the plants grow... We work together as partners... 1 Corinthians 3:8

Okay Laura, Paul didn’t mention ‘weeding’, but if you read on, he did that too.

The point is, whether it’s gardening or some other way of serving, we work with and for the Lord, with the goal of bringing glory to God. That others may see, and glorify His name.

Each of us is to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?” Romans 5:12 Msg.

One way to discern your talents – to put them into use – is simply to ask “How can I help?” We circulated a clip board that lists some of the areas in which we need some help – everything from yard work to cleaning. But there are a lot of other tasks. So this Saturday Bill Craig is organizing another “Work Day”, and they’ll be a list of tasks. We need to get in shape for “Walk Through Jerusalem”, and Easter, so we have stuff to do inside the building and outside. We’ve got something for everyone. Just come on Saturday morning and ask “How can I help?”

We work together as partners who belong to God. 1 Corinthians 3:9 nlt

Partners - you didn’t know Paul spoke Texan. Partners, we need each other to serve because nobody has all the talents – all the abilities. Maybe God planned it that way so we would realize that we need each other - we’re inter-dependent. We can get more done together.

One way to connect – to get closer to other members is to work together.

The giant redwood trees in California can grow hundreds of feet tall – they are the biggest living things on the planet. Why don’t they get blown over in a storm?

They have a shallow roots system – but the roots of each tree intertwine with the roots of the other trees. When the high winds come they hold each other up.

That’s could be a picture of the church community. As we serve together we get connected to one another – our roots become intertwined and we hold each other up.

Serving God by serving others requires a sacrifice of your time. You give up something else to be of help. So it calls for a commitment, as we pray each Sunday: we offer ourselves to your service, and dedicate our lives…

Remember Mary in the gospel. She expressed her commitment to Christ in an extravagant way – pouring that costly oil over him. It showed she was “all in” with Jesus.

“All in” is a term from Texas hold’em poker. “All in” means pushing all your chips into the pot. – totally committed to playing that hand.

There’s another expression from the game – “Limping in”. That means wagering only the minimum amount necessary to get into a hand. “Limping in” means you’re not totally committed to playing the hand. You limp in and wait to see what cards might turn up.

In the gospel, Mary was “all in with Jesus” – she showed her commitment in an extravagant way.

Are you “all in with Jesus” – totally committed?

Or are you just “limping in”? Only doing enough to stay in the game, but not really fully committed?

Is it time to up your commitment to the Lord by going more of your time and talent to in His service?

All of you, serve each other in humility, for God sets himself against the proud, but shows favor to the humble. 1 Peter 5:5 NLT

In Walk Through Jerusalem’s third scene, we remember how Jesus washed his disciples’ feet at the last supper. He took on the role of a humble servant, reminding us that as His followers we are all called to serve each other in humility.

So we pray; Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love, show us how to serve the neighbors we have from you