Sunday 04/03/22 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “Enjoy The Journey!” (“New Life Is Coming” Series: Part 5 of 7)
Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 126
New Testament Scripture: Philippians 3:4b-14
Gospel Lesson: John 12:1-8
So, I remember about 3-4
years ago I saw something on TV and on Facebook that just said, “YOLO”. It was
in all capital letters, it was the letter Y, the letter O, the letter L, and another
letter O. I thought, “YOLO,” well what is that? Well, I had to look this up. The
fact that I had to look this up meant two things though my friends. One, I was
no longer cool and with it, because I had to look this up, and two I was
getting older. When I did look this up, I discovered what the famed “YOLO”
meant.
Does anyone here know what
“YOLO” means? It means “You Only Live Once.” Before I knew what this meant, I thought
“YOLO” was a World Cup Soccer player who played for Brazil. I was wrong.
For us Christians we would
say that yes, we live only one earthly life, and then we live one eternal life with
God. So, on some level, yes, we all already know “YOLO.” This expression however,
“YOLO” is not designed to just tell us a commonsense fact, it is designed to
tell us to essentially not worry about tomorrow.
If understand the meaning
of “YOLO” or “You Only Live Once,” we should not really worry about the future,
or save or plan ahead. Instead, we should just live for today, as tomorrow is
promised to no one.
Well, as nice as “YOLO”
might sound in the moment, most of us know that if we lived every day of our
lives with a “YOLO,” or a “You Only Live Once” mentality, we might end up
making some poor choices. Further, we might not have planned much for the future,
as every day we lived only for the moment and never planned ahead. You see the bible
does not tell us not to consider the future, only to not worry about it. It is
a fine line and a balance for sure. Should we be consumed with the future? No.
We also should be foolish and unwise either.
The reality my friends is that
whatever we have here on earth, we are but stewards of. We are caretakes of all
that God allows us to have, to possess, and to own. We have what we have in
part because of our God given gifts and graces, and we should remember that we are,
but caretakers of what God has given us.
Am I saying that we should
never have any fun then? No, I am not saying this at all. We have a “YOLO”
example in our gospel of John reading for this morning. As a result, I want us
to think about extravagant kindness, generosity, and giving. Is it ever proper,
is it ever fitting, to do something extremely generous, over the top, and kind
for someone once and a while? I would say yes, and that such extreme generosity
from time to time is a good thing. Periodic extreme generosity though, is much
different than “YOLO.”
For those of us that have been
participating in our Lent Study, called “Why Easter Matters,” by Pastor Andy
Stanley, we heard in session 2, in part, about our gospel lesson for this
morning. Pastor Andy Stanley talked about the story of Mary anointing Jesus’
feet with a bottle of costly perfume. Mary pours a pound of costly perfume made
of nard of Jesus’ feet and anoints his feet using her hair. The whole house and
likely beyond was filled with fragrant perfume that was often used to anoint the
body of someone who died. Such a bottle of perfume made of nard was quite
costly. Imagine spending an entire year of your income on such a bottle of
perfume. Imagine just spending an entire year of income on something else?
I mean “YOLO” right? What
would make you spend that kind of money, so quickly, if you had it spend? What special
circumstance would have to exist to be moved to such unbelievable generosity?
Before diving into this
morning’s gospel lesson more specifically, Psalm 126 for this morning, once
again reminds us about God restoring our fortunes, our hope, our joy, and it
reminds us of what is possible through God (Ps. 126, NRSV). What would make us
spend a years’ worth of income though?
In looking at our reading
from the Book of Philippians for this morning, the Apostle Paul said that he
was a person from a great family, who had great faith, and had great social standing.
Yet, the Apostle Paul says none of these things compare to Christ, as all he
has, all he has done, and all he has accomplished is rubbish compared to Christ
(Phil. 3:4b-9, NRSV). The Apostle Paul, therefore, is putting the value of
everything he is and has, below the value that he has in Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:10-14,
NRSV).
In looking more deeply at
our gospel of John lesson for this morning and thinking of this idea of “YOLO”
or “You Only Live Once,” lets talk about Mary pouring a bottle of perfume worth
a year’s wages on Jesus’ feet. Remember that the bottle of perfume, once again,
which included a pound of perfume made from pure nard, cost about a year’s
wages. This was a sign of extravagant generosity.
In looking at the gospel
of John reading for this morning, it says starting in John 12:1, once again:
12 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume (Jn. 12:1-3, NRSV).
So, six days
before the Passover, Jesus went to Lazarus’ house in Bethany for a dinner
party. Lazarus, the one that Jesus raised from the dead, he invited Jesus over,
and Mary and Martha were there. At this dinner, Mary decided to take a pound of
costly perfume, break it open, and anointed Jesus’ feet with it. Mary used her
hair as the applicator for anointing the oil. The fragrance filled the house
and likely poured out of the house. This perfume was costly, and usually used,
again, to anoint a dead body. The fact that it was used so quickly and so excessively
was shocking. It we the equivalency of someone buying a new car or even a
house. Can you imagine such extreme generosity?
I would like
to share a very recent story of such generosity. This story is actually about
the retired NBA player Shaquille O’Neal. Here is the story dated February 24,
2022:
“Shaquille O'Neal's generosity knows no bounds. Shaq is one of the wealthiest players in the NBA, having amassed a small fortune during his career in the NBA as a superstar. On top of that, he made a lot of smart business decisions and investments and is reaping the reward for that these days” Shaquille O'Neal is clearly a very wealthy man. But unlike a lot of wealthy people, Shaq uses his money to give back to the community. O'Neal has been very generous on numerous occasions. When he once bought a bike for a young kid, he explained that every time he leaves the house, he wants to bless someone and help the needy. His latest endeavor in that vein is truly remarkable. Shaquille O'Neal visited a family of 11 to take them out to dinner. Not only that, but he also bought dinner for another family at the restaurant. After the dinner, he took them to a Mercedes-Benz showroom and bought them a new car. And as if that was not enough, he spent a lot of time with their children, teaching them about the value of family and love. When he saw that the family also had a damaged mini-van, he took them to a Ford dealership and bought them a new mini-van so that they wouldn't have to struggle with their old one. Shaq's generosity is truly the stuff of dreams. He once saw a kid at a store who was upset because his parents couldn't afford his shoes, so he bought the kid 2 pairs. And another time, he generously tipped a server at a restaurant $4000 simply because they asked him for it. O'Neal's willingness to give back to the community is a true inspiration to us all. And it also serves as a reminder that we should all strive to help those who are in need. If there were more people like Shaquille O'Neal in the world, it would surely be a much better place (https://fadeawayworld.net/nba-media/shaquille-oneal-bought-a-family-of-11-a-new-15-passenger-mini-van-a-new-truck-and-took-the-entire-family-out-to-dinner-thank-you-shaq-a-million-times-you-have-been-such-a-blessing-to-us-in-so-many-ways).
Now most of us
are not capable of the level of extreme generosity that I just read regarding
Shaquille O’Neal, but we are capable showing our own signs of extreme generosity.
Yet, some may always question our motives.
Specifically
in our gospel lesson for this morning, once again, Judas Iscariot, the one who
sold Jesus out for thirty pieces of silver, was shocked and appalled by Mary
pouring the perfume on Jesus’ feet. In fact, the gospel of John reading picks
up once again in 12:4 saying:
4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” 6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me” (Jn. 12:4-8, NRSV).
So, it is “YOLO”
or “You Only Live Once”? Or is it good, biblical, and Christian to sometimes
show excessive measures of generosity, love, and giving? I say that it is. How
we do this and when we do this, well this is between us and God. When we do
such things on different levels though, it changes people, and it also changes
us. When I was given a too scale model version of this church, built for me, I
felt that was extreme, excessive, and extravagant generosity. I treasure my own
personal Sidney United Methodist Church.
Can such
things change the world, even if they only happen here or there? Well, if they
did not, would I be preaching this story about Mary anointing Jesus’ feet with
perfume this morning? If it were not so out of the ordinary and so extreme,
would it have even made it into the bible? We do not hear about what food was
served at this dinner, or what people drank in this story this morning. We do
hear about the perfume on Jesus’ feet though, and this extravagant generosity
continues to change the world.
In this season of “New Life,” we are offered new life in Christ daily, Christ will
raise from the dead, on Easter, and we are coming into “New Life” as this pandemic
winds down. As we work hard, as we toil, let us remember once and awhile my friends,
to “Enjoy the Journey!” Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment