Extravagant Love
Read Mark 14:1-9
“Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” –Mark 14:9
On February 1, 1976, Elvis Presley welcomed a couple of out-of-town guests at his home in Graceland. The two gentlemen—Jerry Kennedy and Ron Pietrafeso—were law enforcement officers from the Denver area; they had previously served as Elvis’ bodyguards when he traveled there. The three men reminisced about a particular sandwich at a Denver-area restaurant called “The Colorado Mine Company.” This sandwich, named “Fool’s Gold,” consisted of a full loaf of hollowed-out bread, an entire can of peanut butter, an entire jar of blueberry preserves, and a full pound of bacon. A single sandwich sold for $50 and contained over 8,000 calories!
On the spot, Elvis decided that he needed to have that sandwich—that very night. So the three friends boarded Elvis’ private jet—the Lisa Marie—and flew two hours to the Denver airport, arriving at 1:40 am. The chefs from the Colorado Mine Company met them at the hangar with twenty-two “Fool’s Gold” sandwiches in tow. Elvis invited the pilots and chefs to join them in enjoying the sandwiches, which they washed down with Perrier & champagne. Three hours later, the friends returned to Graceland without ever having left the Denver airport.
The total cost of Elvis’ midnight snack? $16,000 (roughly $75,000 in today’s dollars)!
As ridiculous as that expense sounds, that’s probably what the disciples were feeling when an unknown woman approached Jesus at Simon the Leper’s home and broke open an alabaster jar of pure nard and poured it upon Jesus’ head. This was the very finest ointment that money could buy—a single jar could have been sold for a whole year’s wages! The disciples grumbled to themselves: What a waste!
Jesus had a different way of describing this woman’s act: It was beautiful. “She has poured oil upon me to prepare for my burial.” Her extravagant offering—not counting the cost, not holding anything back—was a foretaste of the offering Jesus would make for the world. A gift of extravagant love, a gift so great it could never be measured, only received and treasured.
Have you ever been the recipient of a gift you could not adequately measure? Who has loved you with a no-holding-back, no-counting-the-cost kind of love? What would it look like for you to love Jesus with that kind of love?
As you go through your day, look for one opportunity to “break the bank” to express love for someone. Just take the cost of a single “Fool’s Gold” sandwich—fifty dollars. Consider the challenge of giving $50 to someone today as an act of extravagant and unexpected love. If it feels appropriate, share with them that this gift is just a sign of the amazing offering that Jesus made for us.
Help me, Lord, to be less measured and controlling in my giving. May I love You—and love those around me—as freely and shamelessly as the woman of Bethany loved. Amen.