Readings for today: 1 Samuel 29-31, John 11:55-12:19, Psalms 118:1-18, Proverbs 15:24-26
Recently I had dinner with someone who asked me why the Christian God had an ego. I asked him what he meant. He talked about how the God of the Bible seems overly concerned about His own glory. His own honor. His own fame. He demands too much from us. All our gold. All our wealth. All our time and attention. He wondered if God was co-dependent or insecure and said he could never worship a God like that. I asked him what would make God more worthy of worship in his mind? He answered with a laundry list of human needs - poverty, violence, drought, famine, etc. - that God could take care of and if He did, He would be more worthy of worship.
It’s tempting to use God as a means to accomplish our own ends. Judas looked with disdain on the extravagant offering Mary gave to Jesus. The ointment she “wasted” on Jesus’ feet could have been sold and given to the poor. Surely Jesus didn’t need such extravagance? Surely Jesus didn’t need such devotion? Surely Jesus would side with Judas and rebuke Mary for her sin? He must have been shocked when Jesus instead turns and rebukes him. "Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me." (John 12:7-8) Jesus knew the future. He knew what was coming. He knew Mary - however unwittingly - was anointing him for his burial. Her act of devotion was preparing Him for His death. All Judas could see was the immediate needs before him and even those were an excuse for him to line his own pockets. He was not focused on Jesus. Jesus was a means to another end for Judas and the same was true for all the disciples. They believed Jesus would restore the kingdom of Israel and they would be granted places of honor. None of them truly understood what was happening except for women like Mary. Women who were fully devoted to Jesus. Women who loved Him for who He was not just for what He could do for them.
God is worthy of our worship. He is worthy of all our honor and devotion. He is worthy of the best we have to offer. Our gifts. Our time. Our talent. And yet how many of us see God as a means to another end? Perhaps we see Him as the means of blessing in our own lives and so we give and serve with the expectation that we will get something in return. Perhaps we see God as the means of solving the world’s problems and so we serve with the expectation that God will relieve human suffering and pain. Perhaps we see God as the means of eternal salvation so we raise our hand. Pray our prayer. Check the boxes and then go about life as usual assuming we’ve got our “get out of hell” free card. Friends, God will not allow Himself to be used. He will not be reduced to some genie in a bottle. He does not exist to serve us. We exist to serve Him. We exist to love Him. We exist to worship Him. This is why we were created and it is why Jesus affirms Mary. She saw Him clearly whereas Judas did not.
God doesn’t have an ego. He doesn’t need us. He lives in perfect communion with Himself - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The great news is that He wants us to share in His life. He invites us into relationship with Him. He loves us and reaches out for us and longs to draw us close. There will always be problems in this world. The poor. The hurting. The suffering. God never intended this world to be this way and in fact, He is preparing a world for us where all tears will be wiped away and sin and death will be no more. He sees more and knows more than we do so perhaps a little humility is in order? Perhaps God is God and we are not? Perhaps He knows what’s best for us and it transcends the needs of this present world?
Readings for tomorrow: 2 Samuel 1:1-2:11, John 12:20-50, Psalms 118:19-29, Proverbs 15:27-28