1 | MONDAY | MICHAEL MARÉCHAUX
The Art of Loving
Legend has it that Picasso was at a Parisian market when an admirer approached and asked if he could do a quick sketch on a paper napkin for her.
Picasso politely agreed, promptly created a drawing, and handed back the napkin — but not before asking for a million Francs.
The lady was shocked: “How can you ask for so much? It took you five minutes to draw this!”
“No”, Picasso replied, “It took me 40 years to draw this in five minutes.”
The lady failed to see the true value of what was in front of her, based upon the length of time it took Picasso. In today’s passage it the opposite could be said the be true.
Mark 14:3-9 (NIV)
“While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly. “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
Unlike the woman in the Parisian market, we have an example of recognition in the passage. At the table, the woman recognised the significance of who was before her. Her alabaster jar sealed to preserve the perfume’s fragrance. Breaking it was an act of love, of honour, of total devotion. There was permanency to this act. No means of closing the jar again to preserve the leftovers. She knew exactly how worthy the recipient of her gift was and without hesitation she paid in full.
Her heart of worship is focused on Christ rather than on social expectations or material calculations. It’s offensive. Onlookers see it as a waste. It makes them uncomfortable.
How often do we hold back devotion to conform to social pressures, or to our own interpretation of what is right or wrong, comfortable or convenient. To what feels worth it or not.
Olivia Dean recently released an album entitled “the art of loving”. It opens with a 40 second intro track in which she sings;
"Gotta throw some paint",
“Something lost and something gained In the art of loving”
Much like art, love and sacrifice is rarely neat and tidy. It’s messy and can be costly. You don’t have to look far in the bible to find that and todays passage doesn’t exactly try to hide it. It was said that the woman was wasteful but in the art of loving she gained something far more special.
Prayer
Father help us to see you for all you are worth. Break down our worldly notions of value. Help us to honour your sacrifice this Easter as we reflect on what sacrifice might look like in our own lives. I ask that we as a church family would love you unashamedly. That we would see your beauty afresh and have no choice but to throw some paint, “waste” some perfume and embrace the art of loving.