Proper 12 (GA)

Matthew 26:1-13

26 When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, ² “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”

³ Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, ⁴ and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. ⁵ But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.”

⁶ Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, ⁷ a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. ⁸ And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? ⁹ For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.” ¹⁰ But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. ¹¹ For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. ¹² In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. ¹³ Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

Jesus tells us the certain purpose for his coming into the flesh. The Passover is still two days but don't forget when it comes the Son of Man will be crucified. The Son of Man has not come to rule or to be served but he has come to die. So when the woman comes and pours this "very expensive ointment" upon his head, it is not to anoint him to become King, but for his burial.

There are many things in this world that can consume our time. Mother Theresa spent the greater part of her life helping the poor and needed of this world. There are many others who spend their entire life trying to help people get off the streets. There are even more people that spend time working with children to help make sure they do not end up out on the street. But are there any less poor people today than yesterday?

The easy answer would be to change the definition of poor. If poor means not earning money, then maybe there are less poor people than yesterday when poor meant not earning a living wage. But Jesus tells us the poor will always be with us. There are always more children that will need to be placed in homes. There are always more people starving to death in some part of the world. There are always more things that need to be done to help our neighbor.

Here is the good news. The passover is only in two days. When the passover comes Jesus Christ will crucified and all of us will become rich. We will not become rich in physical wealth, but we will become rich in spiritual well being. Whether you are living on the street, with twenty people in a small room, 5 people in a four bedroom house, or one person in a 10 bedroom house, Jesus Christ has been crucified for the forgiveness of your sins. Jesus Christ has made you rich through his sacrifice for your sins.