This week's theme remains: love deeply. I appreciated Pastor John's sermon this weekend, because he talked about how love costs something. This isn't necessarily financial costs or material costs, but love that costs us ourselves. When we love, we put our very selves on the line. An email that I received this week reminded me that agape love, unconditional love, is a verb. Love is an action. When we love deeply, our lives are asked to change. It's risky because we don't know how the receiver of the love will respond to us. But this reality shouldn't hinder us. When we love deeply, we are called to activate that love and do something. So, for the next three days, we're going to focus on three "do's" when we love deeply: 1) Do the unexpected, 2) Do the unaffordable and 3) Do it now.
Today we focus on what it means to do the unexpected when we love deeply. So what does this mean? Let's look at scripture for some guidance. Take the story of Mary who anoints Jesus' feet with a jar of expensive perfume. It's found in John 12:1-8.
Six days before the Passover ceremonies began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus - the man he had raised from the dead. A dinner was prepared in Jesus' honor. Martha served, and Lazarus sat at the table with him. Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from the essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus' feet with it and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him said, "That perfume was worth a year's wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor." Not that he cared for the poor - he was a thief and since he was in charge of the disciples' money, he often stole some for himself. Jesus replied, "Leave her alone. She did it in preparation for my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me." From the New Living Translation of the Bible
I borrow a story from a colleague of mine. Every birthday and Christmas he attempts to find the 'perfect' gift for his wife - the gift that reduces her to tears - a gift so extravagant that she never would have anticipated such generosity and thoughtfulness coming from her husband of so many years. Every year he gives these gifts out of great love for his wife. When Mary takes expensive perfume that was worth a years' wages and anoints Jesus' feet, she does it out of great love for him.
Who can you surprise with your love today? How can you be extravagant with your love? Send an email, write a card, ask someone how they're doing and open your ears to listen to them, spend 20 minutes with your child or grandchild and give them your undivided attention, turn the TV off and go for a walk with someone. Do the unexpected so that the one to whom you showed great love says, "I wasn't expecting that today!"
-Pastor Rhonda
