He did a good thing for me

[AI translation] It may sound strange now, here at the ordination of the presbytery, to hear this Scripture in which Jesus sets a woman as an example to follow. Two thousand years ago, this woman's strange behaviour caused great consternation, but Jesus defended her: 'Leave her alone, why do you harm her?' he told the scholars, who were not appreciative, and he evaluated her action, saying, 'She has done a good thing for me.' (Mk 14,6) Can anyone get a greater accolade than that? She may have done a senseless thing, she may have done a half-hearted and clumsy thing, she may have been too bold, she may have done what she did at the wrong time, but one thing is certain: she did a good thing for Christ! And that is why this woman is an example to all of us, and especially to you, the elders of this congregation.Why was what this woman did good with Christ?
1) Because it was an act of grateful love for the Saviour! Surely this was not the first time in her life that she had met the Lord, but she had met Him before, and she had much to gain from Him! The reason he is acting so joyfully now is because he has so much to thank Jesus for. Only those who know what the Lord has done for them can truly serve Jesus. He who knows that he owes to him the forgiveness of his sins, the certainty of eternal life, the peace of his soul, the miracle of salvation from death and sin. And he who knows this will not regret any sacrifice for Christ! What this woman did may have been a waste. The wise Pharisees noted: What was this waste of oil for?
No one can understand this except one who already knows what he owes to Jesus! He who is always careful and wise, always calculated and deliberate in his service of Christ, who has never been able to give his time, his money, his service to the Lord with such holy prodigality, does not know what it means to love Jesus! You will become a true elder if you can love the Lord Jesus with such holy prodigality! Your ministry becomes truly presbyterial when you do it not because it is your duty, or because it is useful in any way, but solely because you love your redeeming Lord Jesus Christ with a great, grateful love!
2) Furthermore, what this woman did for Christ was good because it was a maximum performance! Thus Jesus said, "He did that which was His"! So she could do no more, she did all she could do. Her only real asset was a precious, precious oil in a precious, precious alabaster box. Who knows what he was saving it for? Now he sacrificed it all for Christ! He even broke the box so that he could never use it for anything else. He had reached the limit of his capacity to do his utmost for Christ.
God demands the personal maximum from each one of us. No more than one's strength, but no less than that! God does not want to overburden or exhaust anyone, but He wants the full strength of the one who serves Him! The Word of God, in speaking of the Shaphars, or servants of the Lord, remarks, "What is required of the Shaphars is that each one may be found faithful." (1 Cor 4:2) And to be faithful is to do all that is in one's power! Many of us are familiar with the book entitled, "Do all I can for His Lordship! This is your duty too! The presbyter whose faith is not just a habit, but a precious treasure which he wants to increase day by day, whose service for Christ is not just a pious word on his lips, but an earnest, prayerful endeavour, whose eternal life is not just a creedal item, but a living desire and hope, should do some serious self-examination every day and ask himself: have I done all I can today for the lordship of Christ? This will be the question that will be put to you at the last judgment! Blessed is the man to whom Jesus will say, "He has done all that he could" (Mk 14,8).
3) But what this woman did was good not only because it was done out of love and because it was a maximum effort, but also because it was done for Christ. The precious anointing that this woman poured on Jesus' head could have been used to perform a great, charitable, social act. It could have been sold and the price distributed among the poor! And yet Jesus, in contrast to this undoubtedly beneficial act, approves of the sinful woman's action. Jesus appreciates every service done for the purpose of shining the light of His glory before the world! In fact, it could be said: a service is only of value before Jesus if it is done for the purpose of shining and lifting up the light of His glory before the world!
There may be great sacrifices, services, zeal, which (though applauded by the world) are yet utterly worthless from the standpoint of the kingdom of God, because they have not increased the glory of Christ, but have won praise, recognition, and appreciation for man. And a service may be very humble and simple, and yet blessed if it is truly for the glory of Christ! It is not enough, then, to be zealous, it is not enough to sacrifice and labour! All things become vain zeal if they are not done with the express purpose of making manifest the kingdom of Christ on earth!
You have become presbyters at a time when God is forcing the church more and more to be a church, to be a true church. This also means that the presbyter must be a real presbyter, a real presbyter! In fact, there will be no other presbyter, no other member of the church of Christ, but a real one, a true one! In the hope that you all want to be such presbyters, here, before the living Lord and His church, take your oaths of office as a senior pastor and presbyter!
Amen
Date: 22 January 1950.