Hidden Beauty

True Beauty Sermon Series

We began two weeks ago with talking about beauty - true beauty, beauty in its larger, fuller sense, beyond skin deep.

We did it by looking at Hebrew word tov, which is used repeatedly in Genesis 1 describing God’s reaction to his creation…at the end of each of the six days of creation, God steps back looks at his work, and declares, it is tov.

It is good, beautiful, well-crafted, working just the way it’s supposed to.

And then we looked at Jesus as the personification of beauty - he is the most beautiful person ever, because of his love, his goodness, his wisdom, his playfulness. He lived exactly how we’re supposed to. He lived a perfect human life. A beautiful life.

Today, we’re going to talk about Hidden Beauty, beauty where we may not recognize it.

There was a movie from 1980 that left a deep impression on me, The Elephant Man.

Based on true story of man by name of Joseph Merrick who lived in London, England in the late 1800’s.

Early in childhood Merrick began to develop deformities on his body - by the age of 17, he was a grotesque figure, covered with tumors. His head was twice normal size, right arm swollen in length and breadth - his right hand measured 12 inches at the waist, utterly unusable.

He was discovered by kindly doctor doing the only work he could find - he was the center piece of a freak show. The doctor, Frederick Treves, took him to local hospital for care and treatment.

There’s a scene in movie where doctor is attempting to discern how intelligent Merrick is - can he learn? Merrick barely speaks, his voice garbled, seems capable of only repeating a few things Treves says to him.

Because of this, Board of Governors of the hospital don’t believe the hospital is right place for him - decide he must leave.

That is until, out of blue, Merrick begins to recite Psalm 23…The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me lie down in green pastures, he leadeth me by still waters. He restoreth my soul.

As unlikely as it seemed, this pitiable creature, who had endured untold mockery and mistreatment, who spoke with slurred speech, in midst of all those deformities, that bulbous head, was an intelligent, kind and gracious soul…hidden beauty.

Hidden Beauty…that’s what we want to look into this morning.

Prayer / Scripture - Matthew 26:6-13

The Hidden Beauty of Extravagant Act

Just to provide a little context, our story this morning takes place in the final week of Jesus’ life. At beginning of that week, Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, riding donkey, event we remember on this Palm Sunday.

All week long, Jesus made his way in and out of city of Jerusalem, teaching in the temple courts. All the while confrontations growing between Jesus and religious leaders.

On the day after this event, Jesus and his disciples will gather for Last Supper.

But this evening, Jesus is in Bethany, a town just outside of Jerusalem, at the home of Simon the Leper (we presume that Simon is a former leper, that he was healed by Jesus, which is why he’s hosting him at his house).

If you can picture the scene, the guests are gathered around what would have been a triclinium, a U-shaped table that lay low to the ground. Guests would have been reclining, lying down, propped up on their elbows, as they ate.

In midst of this, a woman comes to Jesus with a jar of perfume. Two important things to note here.

One, this jar of perfume is very expensive, worth 300 denarii. A denarius was a day’s wage for common worker. So, this perfume was worth an entire year’s wages.

Translate that to today, an entire year’s wages - we’re talking thousands and thousands of dollars.

Second, she doesn’t sprinkle on just a little bit. This is no, “a little dab will do ya”. She pours the entire jar of perfume on his head.

Honestly, the smell must have been overwhelming, maybe burnt the nostrils a bit, made your eyes water.

And not just overwhelming, but a huge waste. Why so much? Way over doing it here.

It’s no wonder disciples are like, wait-a-minute!

She could have done something far better with that perfume - sold it and given the money to the poor.

Just think of how many people that money could have helped. This woman just wasted whole thing.

I gotta tell you, I would have been right there with them - I’m a saver, I hate to see things go to waste - hate throwing food out (just ask my kids). If something’s broken - can this be fixed?

But Jesus doesn’t join in on the attacks. No, Jesus does a shocking thing - he defends her. Why are you bothering her? Why are you attacking her? You see this as waste, bad thing. It’s not.

Now notice what Jesus says here, “She has done a beautiful thing to me.” The word used here, kalos, is Greek equivalent of Hebrew word, tov - good, beautiful, working the way it’s supposed to.

In other words, Jesus is telling them, you are missing beauty in this act. There’s something beautiful happening right here, something so beautiful that according to Jesus, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done here will also be told, in memory of her. That beautiful.

They can’t see the beauty of it. Primary reason they can’t see the beauty of this act is because of the ugliness in their own hearts.

Text tells us they were indignant - how dare she!

Being indignant comes out of pride. Sense of moral superiority.

Out of that superiority, you express moral outrage.

There’s no shortage of that today. So easy to step into sense of being indignant.

We learn from Gospel of John that Judas was particularly upset because he was group treasurer, and as keeper of their money bag, he used to help himself a little to funds. He was thief.

Thief quick to point out what he saw as moral failings of others.

But Jesus sees the beauty. He recognizes that this over-the-top act is an expression of this woman’s love and devotion to him.

Jesus receives it as such, “The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.”

Jesus is telling them that he won’t be there much longer, her act is preparing him for death.

Here’s thing - we have no idea if this woman really knew and understood Jesus was going to his death.

Best guess is she didn’t - in John’s gospel, woman is revealed as being Mary (of Mary and Martha). Best guess is that she did this out of utter gratitude for Jesus raising her brother, Lazarus, from dead.

Knowing that, you can see why she was willing to pour entire jar out on Jesus - what’s $30,000 when you have your brother back alive?!

Part of what this story tells us is that Jesus recognizes beauty of anything we do for him. Any act that is done out of love for Jesus - whether it be a large, extravagant act - like Mary pouring an incredibly expensive jar of perfume on him - or a small, seemingly insignificant act - like poor widow placing two small copper coins (financially, worth almost nothing) into the temple treasury.

Both are beautiful gifts because of the heart with which they were given, acts of love and faith.

That’s hidden beauty Jesus sees and recognizes - the beauty disciples have hard time seeing.

Of course, there was another act of hidden beauty that was about to take place.

Act that this woman, unwittingly, was preparing Jesus for - his burial.

The hidden beauty of the cross.

The Hidden Beauty of Cross

If you think about it, the whole arc of Jesus’ life was one of hidden beauty

Jesus came to us as common man. A laborer who, when he worked as carpenter, probably made a denarius a day. All glory and majesty and splendor of God himself hidden in very ordinary appearance.

Yet, for those who had eyes to see it, his beauty shone through - we talked the other week about how crowds surrounded him. They were drawn to Jesus - because of his tender mercies, compassion, his generosity, his fierce love for the outcast.

Reactions to Jesus revealed so much about him - and us

It was tax collector, prostitutes - outcasts - who were most unabashed about coming to and delighting in Jesus.

It was religious leaders, self-important, the beautiful people - who were often ones most threatened by him - who were “indignant”

But it’s what we remember this week, this Holy Week - that if we have eyes to see it, we will see the most beautiful thing Jesus has done for us, his willing self-sacrifice, his death on cross.

It is the most beautiful and, perhaps, the most hidden.

Among those gathered there that day, very few saw it. When you read the gospels, the sheer vitriol that comes against Jesus is astounding.

And not just how ugly it was, but how quickly the tide turned against him

At beginning of week - on day we celebrate today, Palm Sunday - the crowds are cheering him on, waving their palm branches, proclaiming his praise, Hosanna to God in the highest!

By Friday, the cries have turned to, “Crucify him.” It’s become a mob mentality, a mob willing to cry out for blood. As far as they are concerned, this man is not only not worth living - he should suffer in his death. Suffer the cruel pain and indignity of the cross.

Because who would want to be associated with common criminal - a man declared guilty - a man deemed worthy of the shame of crucifixion?

A man the religious authorities had officially declared to be a blasphemer - he was certainly not the Messiah, the Savior

But, rather, a fraud, a pretender - a man now worthy of scorn and mockery being heaped upon him.

What they missed - and what it’s all too easy for us to miss - is the hidden beauty. Beauty of this ultimate act of love and grace, hidden behind the mask of a bloody, beaten face.

Hidden beauty of a life willingly sacrificed for sake of others, almost unrecognizable in the midst of shameful manner in which he dies.

Don’t miss it. See beauty. Receive it as the incredible extravagant gift that it is. This is no tragic waste. Like jar of perfume, Jesus comes to us and pours out everything - his entire life - for us. Let it cover over you.

Our Hidden Beauty

It’s not simply the beauty of Jesus love and self sacrifice - which is amazing enough - but why Jesus chose to do this.

Why was Jesus so willing to endure all of the mockery and indignation and ugliness - our ugliness?

Because he sees hidden beauty in us. In every single one of us.

He knows what we were created to be as those made in his image - not just tov, but tov meod…exceedingly good, amazingly beautiful.

Let’s be honest - at times that can be hard for us to see that in others. And in ourselves.

I’ve been the on call chaplain for CAMC-TV for month of March, had several calls last week, one evening, I went to visit a woman in the ICU. We spend some time talking, praying.

At the very end, as I’m about to leave, she asks for help in finding mattresses - home they lived in burned down

She and her two sons, both of whom over 30, living on her Social Security!

I was feeling indignation rising up in me…if I met those two young men, I’d have a hard time seeing the tov in them.

Here’s thing - Jesus sees beauty in all of us. In you. In me. In that woman lying in hospital bed. In her adult sons.

Why he went to cross. To bring that beauty out of us. To draw it out, compelled by his love.

This is how we become beautiful, by knowing and experiencing Jesus’ beauty, his love, his grace - especially in cross. Beauty attracts beauty. True beauty attracts true beauty - it draws it out of us.

Let me finish with this - another scene from Elephant Man.

Scene at Dr. Treves’ house, doctor and his wife have brought Merrick to their home as a gesture of friendship, and to expose him to basic social skills. Doctor and his wife are high society in London - formal living room, they’re all dressed up, drinking tea.

In their time together, Merrick notices family photos on mantel - and that begins a conversation on their families.

Surprisingly, Merrick asks the doctor and his wife if they would like to see a picture of his mother, a woman he hasn’t seen in years. Of course they would. The small photo is of a beautiful young woman.

And as this man, this terribly deformed man, looks at the picture of his mother, he says…I must’ve been a great disappointment to her…if only, I could find her, so she could see me with such lovely friends here now…perhaps she could love me as I am…I’ve tried so hard to be good.

It’s heartbreaking scene…I tear up every time, every time.

Largely because Merrick is truly a beautiful man. Kind, thoughtful. It’s love and beauty of the doctor and his wife who drew it out of him. They saw the hidden beauty. It’s what Jesus sees in us.

This is beauty of Jesus. He loves you as you are.

There is no need to try so hard to be good. You are no disappointment to Jesus.

He’s known, he’s known all along. He knows the worst parts of us far, far better than we do. He knows all of it - there is nothing hidden from him.

And yet, he still did it. He still went to cross. He still went and offered his life for our sakes, this willing, gracious gift - for us, that we might be forgiven.

This extravagant act of love and devotion. It is a beautiful thing Jesus has done for us.

My hope and prayer is that it you would see the hidden beauty - that in midst of sheer ugly brutality of cross, you would see beauty of Jesus himself - receive this beautiful thing he was done for you.

And as you do, you might see hidden beauty all around you. In yourself. In others.