First Love

Prayer

A Beautiful Thing

What stirs your heart? What’s your experience when you see something beautiful? (mountaintop view, a sunset that fills skies with bright colors) When someone has done something beautiful for you, felt extravagant? Just last week I received a surprise gift in the mail, a gift that was more generous than I would have imagined…as I held it, looked at the card it came in, tears came to my eyes, I was so touched by it. It was a beautiful gift.

Jesus receives such a gift in the last week of his life, right before the last supper he shares with his disciples. Here’s how the story begins, Matthew 26:6-9...While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, 7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. 8 When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9 “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”

So, here’s what’s happening - Jesus is with his disciples in the town of Bethany, which sits right outside of Jerusalem, at the home of a man known as Simon the Leper (perhaps a former leper). While they are having dinner, a woman comes to him with a jar of perfume. This is no ordinary perfume - this is costly stuff, the jar is worth almost an entire year’s worth of wages. This woman takes the entire jar of perfume and pours it on Jesus’ head.

The disciples are not impressed - in fact, they are indignant. What a waste! And isn’t it a waste?! An entire jar of perfume - it’s a little much, isn’t it? And this is family heirloom stuff, super pricey - why would she do this? Jesus probably didn’t want all this - he certainly didn’t need a jarful of perfume. So let’s see what Jesus has to say.

Matthew 26:10-13...Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. 12 When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. 13 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Jesus doesn’t rebuke her - he rebukes the disciples! Why are you bothering this woman?? She has done a beautiful thing to me. Jesus sees her act as beautiful. An extravagant gift of love. Soul stirring act. Love poured out. So beautiful in fact, that this act will be memorialized - “Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Now, in the gospel of John, we learn that his woman is Mary, the sister of Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead. Which would explain why she was so eager to display her love to Jesus with such an extravagant act. What’s striking about her act is that even she doesn’t recognize the full significance of it, she’s simply trying to express her love and gratitude. And Jesus receives it as such. But recognizes it as even more than that - an act that speaks toward the extravagant gift of love that he is going to do - the beautiful thing - his dying for our sake. Jesus receives this anointing as preparation for his burial, an act pointing to his impending death.

Tragically, this extravagant act of love toward Jesus seems to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for Judas - it is immediately after this event that he goes to the chief priests, offering to deliver Jesus into their hands for a price. While Mary’s heart, her soul, is opened to Jesus, love abundantly poured out, Judas’ heart has become hardened, whatever love he had for Jesus extinguished.

Repentance of the Soul

Story provides a strong contrast of hearts moving in opposite directions when it comes to Jesus - one overflowing with love, desire to express that love in beautifully extravagant ways, versus a heart that has become hardened, closed, to the point where it pursues evil instead of good, willing to betray a friend.

In our sermon series, the Magnificent Kingdom, we’ve been talking about what it means, as Jesus commands us to - repent, in light of the fact that the Kingdom of God, the reign of God, has come into our midst.

And that repentance is far more than just changing our behavior - instead, it is a whole-hearted transformation. Metanoia is the Greek word for it. It involves all of who we are - how we see and understand what is true, what we value and prioritize - therefore what our lives will be about. How we act - our attitudes, behaviors.

We started breaking down last week what we mean by wholehearted repentance by talking about repentance of the mind, how we think, what we understand to be true. That’s what repentance of the mind is primarily concerned with - truth. What is. And we spent our time looking at how repentance of the mind moves us toward seeing and understanding spiritual realities - the reality of God himself, his presence with us right here and now. His Spirit, the power of the Spirit, in us. That we ourselves are spiritual beings, cut off from God by our sin, restored only through Jesus Christ (and on and on).

Next Sunday we’ll focus on repentance of the will, which has to do with the good. Are we willing to live in obedience to God’s good will, to live for and serve him? And because we live for and serve him, to serve others? Remember, all these aspects make up our hearts, the center of who we are - our minds, our will, and what we’re going to focus on today, our souls.

Repentance of the soul. Soul is the animating life within us, our spiritual vitality, deepest part of who we are, our emotions, our passion. With our minds, the concern was orthodoxy, right belief, right teaching. With our souls, it’s orthopathy - right passions. Are we stirred toward the right things (Jesus and his kingdom)? Are our loves in right order - or are they disordered? What we value, what we treasure - repentance of the souls moves us toward treasuring the highest goods (God above all).

Years ago a Christian professor and speaker had a book called “Who Switched the Price Tags?”, based on a story about a group of thieves who broke into a store late one night - but instead of taking anything, they switched the price tags, so that the higher priced items were now incredibly cheap, and vice versa. The point of the book is to say that we’ve done the same - we treasure things of little value, while placing little value on what are the greatest treasures.

Story in Matthew that we looked at is a perfect example of this - Jesus affirms Mary’s gift, he receives her beautiful act of love towards him because it is passion, love, rightly ordered - Jesus above everything else. She’s willing to pour out the entire jar of costly perfume because she knows that Jesus is far, far more valuable, more precious than a bottle of perfume, no matter how expensive or beautifully scented it may be.

Disciples weren’t entirely wrong in recognizing that showing generosity to the poor is a good thing. It is, in fact, a very good thing, certainly better than hoarding up our material wealth. But not as precious as taking advantage of honoring Jesus while he was in their midst - and right as he is about to pay the ultimate price by making the ultimate sacrifice.

Repentance of the soul is getting the price tags correctly. Treasuring, loving those things which are of highest value.

Call to First Love

We actually have wonderful examples of Jesus calling churches to repentance in various ways that help us see the broadness of wholehearted repentance. In Revelation chapters 2 & 3, Jesus gives instructions for letters to be written to seven different churches. Each church is affirmed for their faithfulness displayed in different ways, but each church is also called to repent in different ways as well.

We see examples of Jesus rebuking churches for tolerating false teachings. In Revelation 2, Jesus calls the church in Pergamum out for tolerating the teaching of Balaam, “who taught Balak to entire the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality.” They also had among them those who held to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore, he commands them.

He does something similar to the church at Thyatira for tolerating a woman named Jezebel, a false prophet. Jesus is calling them to a repentance of the mind. To contend for the truth, for orthodoxy, right belief.

But I want us to focus on examples of Jesus calling churches to a repentance of the soul, churches where their passions, their loves, have become disordered. Their hearts have become apathetic (no pathos, no passion), or altogether hardened.

We see it in the very first letter Jesus sends, the one to the church at Ephesus, in Revelation 2:1-7…Jesus begins with affirming how they have demonstrated faithfulness in both will and mind, vv. 2-3: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

I hope you see that their will, their willingness to do the good - even at a cost - is affirmed by Jesus here. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance…you have persevered and have endured hardships for my name and have not grown weary. That’s a will that has repented, it is for Jesus, a church that obeys him, does the work.

We also see repentance of the mind, a love for truth - I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. Later, in verse six he affirms that they hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which he hates as well.

But then this, Revelation 2:4-5, Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

You have forsaken the love you had at first. When you first believed in me, Jesus is saying, you loved me well. Your heart was for me, above all else. You used to do this with passion. By the way, notice here why continual repentance is so necessary - we can lose what we’ve gained if we’re not careful - which is exactly what happened with the Ephesians. They had this great love for Jesus, then they forsook it.

Their hearts have fallen far away from Jesus. They’re doing the right things, deeds, persevering, holding to the truth - but without love for Jesus. Their hearts have gone cold, distant, apathetic. Perhaps they are simply acting out of a strong sense of duty or self righteousness - something other than love is motivating them. They need a repentance of the soul.

We see something similar in Revelation 3, in Jesus’ letter to the church at Laodicea, vv. 14-18 - To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

Jesus does not hold back on his rebuke here - you guys are lukewarm. You’re tepid, no passion, no soul, no emotion. Jesus would rather they be all in or all out - hot or cold! He wants them to show some heart, to express it, rather than just, “meh”. That one line - you’re so distasteful I’m about to spit you out of my mouth! Reminds me of, as a kid, drinking water out of a garden hose…really vivid image Jesus is using here!

Jesus reveals why they are lukewarm - they’ve become too satisfied with their stuff. Their passion, their hearts, have been toward their wealth. Jesus lays it right out - you think you’re rich and all is ok, but you have no idea how impoverished you really are (and he doesn’t hold back in telling them - wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, naked). There’s a heavy price when we switch the price tags, it costs us.

All because they embraced material riches over spiritual riches, the good things God alone can give them. They treasured the wrong things. Jesus gives his best wisdom - if you want what’s best, if you really want to be rich, come to me - I’ll give what true gold, refined in fire (reference to faith), best of clothing - covers your shame and guilt. There’s no clothing in world that can offer that.

Jesus doesn’t just tell them to repent, he shows them what repentance of the soul looks like. Because that’s essential - How do we experience a transformation of our souls so that we will embrace Jesus as our first love? So that we will be “hot,” full of passion, alive for Jesus? We can see what Jesus offered the church at Laodicea...

Revelation 3:19-20 - Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

It’s amazingly simple - Jesus is telling them, let me come to you. Open your heart to me, let me be with you. Receive my love, and love me in return. This is what Jesus is inviting us into - relationship, friendship - for us to know him as he knows us.

This requires our response, our repentance, a change of heart. Yes, Jesus, I do want to be with you. I desire you. Here’s the thing - Jesus will not break down the door. He won’t crawl through the window. He will, however, stand at the door and knock, letting us know that he is here and ready and wanting to be with us. It is up to us to get up, walk over, open the door and let Jesus in.

This brings us to Spiritual Disciplines - where we are intentional about letting Jesus in so we can be with him, so we can engage in the repentance of our souls. We engage in activities that stir our hearts toward Jesus, souls longing for him. So we aren’t lukewarm toward Jesus. So he - and he alone - is our first love.

So, let me ask you today - how is your soul? How is your heart toward Jesus? How easily and readily do you affirm to Jesus, I love you?

Before I commend soul training exercises to you this week, I want to talk a moment about beauty. Because beauty is one of the three transcendentals, one of the three things that draws our attention to God himself. They transcend material reality because they point to spiritual reality. We pay attention to them in order to pay attention to God and his Magnificent Kingdom. And the three transcendentals are truth (which correlates to repentance of mind), goodness (which correlates to repentance of the will) and beauty (which correlates to repentance of the soul). As we encounter these three things - truth, goodness, beauty - they have the power to draw our hearts toward Jesus.

Beauty is fascinating to think about - because it serves no practical purpose. It has no utility. But it has the ability to draw us in, to stir our souls, to evoke our emotions. Thomas Aquinas described beauty as that which, when seen, pleases. Dallas Willard said that beauty is goodness made manifest to the senses. God’s goodness is made manifest to us.

So Mary’s act of pouring out the perfume was beautiful in one sense, that perfume smells good, it pleases our sense of smell. But Jesus referred to it as a beautiful thing because it was such a visible act of extravagant love, a costly sacrifice to the one who was about to make the costliest sacrifice. An act for all to see. Goodness made manifest to the senses.

So here’s what I want to encourage you to do this week - be attentive to beauty this week. Beauty as you might experience it through the various senses - sight (beauty in creation all around us - a great time of year for that, you might see an act of tenderness, extravagant gift. Perhaps through hearing (song, voice that captivates you), smell (smells of spring), taste, touch.

As you experience the beauty, respond in praise. Wow! Thank you, Lord. Praise you. Receive it as a gift from God. As James Bryan Smith encourages us to do - take a moment to remember that the beauty surrounding us is God’s way of wooing us into a loving relationship.

Second soul-training exercise I would commend to you is to take 15 minutes to be in quiet and to pray through Revelation 3:19-20, the passage of Jesus standing at the door and knocking. Read it through slowly and carefully several times. Then engage in what’s known as imaginative prayer - picture the scene in your mind. Jesus, knocking at the door. Notice your response to realizing it’s him. Imagine yourself opening the door, letting him in. What does he say to you? What do you say to him? Picture the two of you sitting and talking. What does Jesus want to say to you - let him say it. Let the Holy Spirit be your guide.

Close this morning by expressing our love to Jesus.