“And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.” (Mark 14:3 NKJV)
Sacrifice is not a concept that anyone really enjoys. Although we are hearing the word more often these days due to price inflation in such core areas as food and energy, most of us do everything we can to avoid having to make sacrifices. As ironic as it sounds, we will make sacrifices in one area to circumvent having to make a sacrifice in another. This is not the kind of sacrifice being displayed in today’s text about the woman involved. What had this woman done as to be specially remembered? The Bible records many famous women. Why didn’t our Lord tell us to remember them? The woman in question loved Jesus very much and was not ashamed to let others know about it. She also did not count the cost. She not only believed with her heart but also worked out with her hands. There’s no greater joy than seeing someone invest in something they deeply care about.
The focus of this message is drawn from the last statement of the above text. “Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head” Breaking something believed to be housing a precious content means a great deal. The implication of such is that the previous content is not for any other thing other that the purpose for which it was broken. Mary broke the alabaster flask because she would not use it for anything else. If she had only taken the lid off, it could have been used for something else; but she made a complete sacrifice, and broke the box. When Moses smote the rock with his rod, he broke the rock, and the water poured out. Gideon’s three hundred men broke their pitchers to let out the light. Jesus broke His own body on the cross that He might save the world. So those who would have the highest Christian experience must break their boxes/ flasks.
This breaking of flasks or boxes connotes a great sacrifice which would stand out from among countless ones daily offered by people the world over. The kind of sacrifice that will not only catch people’s attention but may be considered wasteful or unnecessary by many is the type expected of us today as we carry out two major divine assignments on this great day. The first assignment is to support our women as they raise funds to support God’s work in this parish and beyond.
This is a great opportunity we must maximally use to unlock and access unique blessings from the Lord. The woman in our text gave her most costly possession to Christ. Many Christians keep back the costly things to themselves and justify their action with statements such as “I urgently need this” or the more selfish ones, “I got them through my hard labour”.
However, the sanctified soul feels there is nothing too good or costly to for sacrifice for Christ. We urge the men to join the women in breaking the flasks today and release the precious ointments for the Lord. The family head that sold their piece of land in Acts 4 and brought the money to the church was not a fool neither did he regret the action.
The second assignment is to raise fund for the exclusive use of God’s servants and their families. This fund will also enable the Church and the Diocese to minister to the needs of widows of God’s servants departed and their children.
God, from the Old Testament times makes provision for His priests through the people in whose behalf they offer sacrifices. God commanded all the other eleven tribes of Israel to pay tithes for the upkeep of the tribe of Levi, the priestly tribe. “ ….I have given to the Levites as their portion the tithe of the Israelites which they set aside as an offering to the Lord” (Lev. 18:24). When Jesus sent out the seventy on missions, he commanded them to make no provision for their welfare; this is with clear understanding that those to whom they were sent would make provisions for their upkeep (Luke 10:4). He added “for truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear my name will by no means loose the reward” (Mark 9:41). St Paul addressing the congregation of the Corinthian Church long ago, asked – “if we have sown Spiritual good among you, is it too much if we reap your material benefits?”
Dear friend, God wants to give you a blessing that will transforrm your life. As we obey God’s voice today and break that flask for His use, He will surprise you with abundance and unimaginable blessings in all aspects of your life. As we file out today to sow our seeds to the Church and in the lives of our ministers, the Lord who blessed Isaac will also bless us, He will make us rich, we shall prosper more and more until we become wealthy and fulfilled, both spiritually and materially.
Have a week of pleasant surprises as you determine to please the Lord with what is very special to you.
Your brother, Vicar & Archdeacon
S. Igein Isemede