» J. H. Jowett. » V. W. H. Myers, iit. Paul. » Ibid.
358 THE GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE
3. The extravagance of love. — It undoubtedly was an im- prudent thing for a woman to do, for perhaps at a later hour of the same day she was unable to meet the necessities of her subsistence ; but a beautiful intention we like all the better if it is not too careful and too calculating. Her act is like that of Mary when she broke her alabaster cruse and poured the costly spikenard on her Saviour's head. If Mary had been more economical with the spikenard less of its fragrance might have floated down to our own day. Both acts were extravagant and reckless, but their very recklessness is one of their charms.
^ I was preaching a missionary sermon in the village of L'Original, in the province of Quebec, to a congregation of forty. A student who was with me pointed out an old Koman Catholic lady who had come to hecir the missionary sermon. My subject was " China and her need." At the close of the sermon this lady rose and left the building. I feared that I had said something which gave her offence. But while we were singing the last hymn she returned, walked to the front of the church and handed a piece of money to the steward, who afterwards told me what she said, and they were precious words. " Take that and give it to that man for China, and may God bless him and save the heathen. I only have thirty cents, five of which I brought with me for collection, but when I heard of China's need I thought I would go home and get the twenty-five cents and give it, and keep the five cents for myself." I shall ever see in that old lady, whose name is unknown to me, a facsimile of that " certain poor widow" casting her two mites into the treasury, and I believe that the word of commendation from the Christ will be no less in the one case than in the other.^
In the long run all love is paid by love, Though undervalued by the hosts of earth;
The great eternal government above
Keeps strict account and will redeem its wo th.
Give thy love freely; do not count the cost;
So beautiful a thing is never lost In the long run.^
4. Another thought which the story told by the Evangelist may suggest to us is that each single life is an offertory, a con- tribution, made to the great sum of human influences and examples Every day, in our business and in our time of
» G. 1. Campbell. ' Ella Wlieelcr Wiioox.
ST. MARK 359
leisure, by the words we speak, by the force of our example, direct or indirect, by the unconscious revelations we make of our true selves, by the standards we apply to our own conduct and that of our fellow-men, by the opinions we express, the aims we pursue, the moral principles we support or discourage, we are casting something of our own into that invisible treasury which will abide there as a witness for or against us.
^ Some faint resemblance to this idea of a common treasury to which all in their several ways contribute may be seen in the demands and expectations of men and women when united in social groups. What the writers of the New Testament call " the world " has its own code of unwritten laws, together with its own peculiar sanctions. If you desire to stand well with " people in society " you must contribute something towards the general stock of comfort, of pleasure, or of amusement — something that ordinary minds, not overburdened with intelligence, can appreciate. Either you must be rich, and spend your money freely in lavish entertainments, in which case much will be forgiven you ; or you must have a reputation for being clever ; or you must have done something remarkable; or you must possess the happy knack of saying or doing the right thing in awkward situations. In one way or another, by self-assertion or by tact and adroitness, you must prove yourself to be an important social unit, and then you may count upon your special contribution to the world's treasury being stamped with approval. The unpardonable offence is to be a cipher, to stand for nothing that a materialised society values or cares for. It is in this way that the vulgarised minds interpret the Gospel precepts, ** Give, and it shall be given to you." " To him that hath shall be given, and he shall have more abundantly." The rich and powerful are welcome as the " benefactors " of society, and society rewards them with its smiles. Modest and humble goodness may pass by with its slender offering, rich only in the coin of love and self-sacrifice, but such coinage has no appreciable value in the eyes of the " children of this world." They are not concerned to ask whether your motives are pure and disinterested or whether your so-called "charity" is but a form of self-advertisement. All they care to know is how much you are able to give as your solid contribution to the material wealth and enjoyment of this life, which are, in their judgment, the only things that have any real value.^