Healing Rays of Righteousness

The story is told that when Abraham Lincoln was a lawyer in Springfield, Illinois, he took a trip down the Mississippi River to visit New Orleans. While there, he went to see a slave market and watched as people of color were brought out on the slave block and auctioned off to the highest bidder. They brought a young woman out, with clothing awry, hair disheveled, and eyes flashing anger as men examined her to decide on their level of bidding.

Lincoln suddenly found himself so incensed that he began to bid and kept bidding until he bought her. He walked down the aisle to the platform, took the rope that bound her wrists, and led her to the edge of the crowd. There he stopped and untied the rope. The young woman rubbed her wrists to relieve the pain and promote the circulation.
Lincoln looked at her and said, “You are free to go.” She looked up at him in amazement: “What’s that, Massa?” Lincoln again said, “You are free to go.” With tears running down her cheeks, she fell to her knees and declared, “Then, Massa, I want to go with you.”

This is the Wednesday before “Holy Week” – during which we remember and retell the story of Jesus’ entering Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover with his disciples. But anger and confusion soon lifted its sword and he is arrested, scorned, beaten, mocked, and crucified as a criminal. And from the cross he looked down in love upon us humans and prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34).

Forgiveness is always costly. For God to forgive our sin debt and set us free from slavery to sin it cost the life of his only Son, Jesus. To be forgiven is to be set free from Satan’s grip on us. To be forgiven invites us to gratefully journey with the One who dearly paid our debt of sin. How grateful are we to Jesus and his bloody sacrifice in our behalf?

There is another story about gratitude that Jesus said will never be forgotten. It’s the story of Mary pouring costly perfume over the feet of Jesus and wiping them with her hair. (John 12:1-8). The perfume was very expensive, 300 denarii, the yearly income for a laborer in Palestine. Why did Mary take the most precious thing she possessed and pour it all on Jesus?

Mary’s act of pouring out expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet was a tremendous outpouring of her wholehearted love, gratitude, and devotion to the one person who meant so much to her. The sacrifice of costly perfume was her most adequate expression of her love for Jesus.

Mary had experienced a great salvation, and I can imagine hearing her singing as the fragrant perfume drifts through the house, past the voices of criticism and condemnation, and out to the crowded streets of onlookers, “Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small; love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”

William Barclay writes that “Love is not love if it nicely calculates the cost. It gives its all and its only regret is that it has not more to give.”

We claim that gratitude is the hallmark of Christianity. If that is true, then why is the sin of ingratitude so prevalent today. Far too many who call themselves Christian are like the little boy who was given an orange by a generous man. The boy’s mother said to the boy, “What do you say to the nice man?” The boy thought for a moment and handed the orange back to the man and said, “Peel it.”

The person who thinks life has cheated them and owes them something, who is always complaining about life and criticizing others, will never enjoy the abundant life Jesus promises or be a blessing to others. Only those who, like Mary, feel they can never repay God for his amazing grace and loving-kindness, will overflow with love, gratitude and generosity toward God and others.

Jesus says of Mary, “I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven – as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” (Luke 7:47). How much forgiveness have you and I needed? How much have we shown God that we love him? God eagerly invites our lavish response of gratitude as we remember Jesus’ suffering and death in freeing us from slavery.

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – April 1, 2020
http://www.geigler13.wordpress.com
Ray M. Geigley