Title: Thanks for Breaking the Alabaster
Contents
Every fall, the church celebrates Thanksgiving. This Thanksgiving Day is believed to have originated in the United States. On June 21, 1621, while 102 Puritans were crossing the Atlantic on the Mayflower in search of religious freedom, they landed on the coast of Massachusetts in North America. Today's Boston area. So, I worked hard to harvest crops in the fall, and I was so grateful that I invited the natives to give thanks and share food of joy with my neighbors. So, it is not an exaggeration to say that the beginning of the United States began with faith and gratitude. Today, on Thanksgiving Day, I would like to think of the gratitude of Simon and Mary who served Jesus in the town of Bethany.
1. Simon gave a feast.
There was a feast filled with joy at Simon's house. Simon was a leper who had been cast out of the world and was healed by the power of Jesus. He was so grateful for the grace that he invited Jesus. It is a banquet of thanks where the recipient of the grace invites the beneficiary. It is the reward of a disciple who does not forget the teacher's silver work. It's a boeun feast. Thank you for giving me health.
2. Mary's perfume.
Simon entertained Jesus with a supper, but Mary brought expensive perfume and poured it on his head to show the virtue of mercy. Mark's name is 'a woman' and John's name is 'Mary'. This Mary was so grateful that her brother Lazarus had been dead for four days and brought back something that smelled of decay, so she brought this precious perfume and poured it on her. It was said that this perfume oil was made in India and cost three hundred denarii, which was equivalent to a year's wages for workers at the time. Pouring this perfume on Jesus expresses the highest devotion. This is as noble as Mary's blood. You could even call it life.
3. It is the thanks that breaks the alabaster.
Breaking the alabaster is an act of 1) sincerity. 2) It is a faith that gives everything. 3) This is the spirit of true gratitude. Mary's devotion to anoint Jesus with perfume is great. And there is a greater truth in the fact that the alabaster containing the perfume was broken. He poured perfume on his head and feet. Mark's head and John's feet. It ended up being swollen from head to toe. It was said that the alabaster was broken and poured. Alabaster refers to the body. That grace means sacrificing service for the Lord because there is no way to repay it even after renewing the business. It means that you generously sacrificed everything, both your valuables and your body. The last thing to think about is the method issue of how to be grateful.
(1) You must give thanks with a willing heart.
2 Corinthians 9:7/ “Each one shall do just as he has decided in his heart. Do not do it grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.' Of course, you cannot force yourself to give thanks, and you cannot force yourself to do God's work or force yourself to give thanks.
(2) We must give thanks with all our might.
Deuteronomy 16:10/2 Corinthians 8:3 says, 'Give your gifts voluntarily, counting on your strength, as the Lord your God has blessed you.' is. In doing so, it becomes a gift acceptable to God (two lepton of the widow).
(3) You must give thanks with a joyful heart.
Deuteronomy 16:11 Second half / "Rejoice before the LORD your God in the place the LORD your God chooses to put his name. It is a message to give thanks, but to give it with joy and joy. As theologian Paul Tillich once said, "A life of gratitude is already a blessing in itself." Giving thanks with a happy heart makes your heart happy and gives you a sense of satisfaction. Joy wells up in the heart. Therefore, I hope that all members of the church will always give thanks to God to please God, devote themselves to the body of the church with a voluntary spirit, and live a life that glorifies God (1 Thessalonians 5:18).