Extravagant Love

March 29, 2004

This Sunday, Palm Sunday, begins Holy Week. We retrace the path Jesus journeyed, from his triumphant entry into Jerusalem to his passion, trial, death and resurrection on Easter Sunday. Having seen “The Passion”, I hope this year’s Holy Week will be especially meaningful to you.
In yesterday's sermon, we saw one of the rare acts of kindness just prior Jesus' passion when Mary, Martha and Lazarus' sister, anointed Jesus with oil (John 12:1-8).

Dr. William Barclay captured the essence when he wrote: "Mary took the most precious thing she possessed and spent it all on Jesus. Love is not love if it nicely calculates the cost. It gives its all and its only regret is that it has not still more to give. O. Henry, the master of the short story, has a moving story called "The Gift of the Magi." A young American couple, Della and Jim, were very poor but very much in love. Each had one unique possession. Della's hair was her glory. When she let it down it almost served as a robe. Jim had a gold watch which had come to him from his father and was his pride. It was the day before Christmas, and Della had exactly one dollar eighty-seven cents to buy Jim a present. She went out and sold her hair for twenty dollars; and with the proceeds bought a platinum fob for Jim's precious watch. When Jim came home at night and saw Della's shorn head, he stopped as if stupefied. It was not that he did not like it or love her any less; for she was lovelier than ever. Slowly he handed her his gift; it was a set of expensive tortoise-shell combs with jeweled edges for her lovely hair--and he had sold his gold watch to buy them. Each had given the other all there was to give. Real love cannot think of any other way to give."

Be “extravagant” in showing love to those we truly love.

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