The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 2 — Section 170

preaching Christ to the heathen world. But missions are costly things, and often they proouce but_ little visible fruit for many days. They 11eem to spend their fragrance on t.be desert 111r. And how long and loud w&11 this compll\int 1-"' To what purpose is this waste?' Might not the money and labour of Christian people be hotter bestowed ? Are there not poor at home to be fed and clothed? and are there not home-heathen to be taught? Let such duties &11 these be exhausted before thinking of • the regions beyond.'" No I Utility is one staudard of action; but both in the service of God and man it is far from being the only standard. III. THE VERDICT OF J F.sus. "Let her alone: against the day of my burial bath sho kept this." Instead of directly rebuking the disciple, he contents himself with vindi- cating her whom they were wounding with their words. But there is more ln his words than meets the ear. "Let her &lone," he seems to say to J ud&S, " for there is nothing in common between her and you, between a child of light and a child of darkne1.<s. And let her alone, ye unthinking disciples. Allow her gratitude to flow unchecked in the channel which it has worn for itself. Why trouble ye the woman at such a moment as this? She bath done what she could, and she bath done more than any of you are aware of, for my hour is near at hand. If ye saw her do this on the day of my burial, would ye say to her then, ' To what purpose is this waste?' Would ye thmk then of balancing the claims of common charity against the claims of unbounded gratitude? But since she has come beforehand with her offering, it is all the more precious in my sight. She alone ha,; grasped the thought that my earthly ministry is drawing to a close. The poor ye have always with you; she alone has laid it to heart that me ye have not al ways." Thus Judas was silenced, and the disciples were overawed, and Mary was com- forted, and the poor were not forgotten. What lessons are taught by this episode in th~~:r.l history? In its outward form and substance the act of :Mary can never be re . It stands alone. A few days came and went, and never again was Jesus to be indebted to the sons of men for a place where to lay his head; never again were his feet to be wearied with the hot and dusty paths of this world. Henceforth those who knew Christ in his humiliation were to know him so no more; and we need no, say that to idolize his empty sepulchre, or to pray towards it as some do, or, saddest of all, to waste the blood of Christian nations in fighting for its possession, is at best to seek the living among the dead. "Hearts on high I" was the watchword of the ancient Church. " Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death bath no more dominion over him." 1. But ask yourselves-Have you anything of Mary's spirit in your hearts-the spirit of love and gratitude to the Redeemer? Where that spirit exists it will tend to diffuse itself over the ordinary duties and charities of life, so that what you do you will " do heartily as to tbe Lord, and Iiot unto man." But more than this. It is of the nature of love to be ingenious and original in its ways of expressing itself, and opportunities will sometimes occur of honouring Christ in ways which no one could prescribe to yon-it may be in supporting his cause, it may be in showing kind- ness to his people; and these yon will think it a privilege to embrace simply for his sake. Nothing was further from :Mary's thoughts than the fame which followed her action; any such calculation of consequences would have spoiled the ~acri.fice. _And so it will ever be with the good works that spring from love to Christ. The impulse which inspires them comes from within, and not from the world without. Hence they will evermore be spontaneous and free, and yet all the more, in the apostle's language, they will be as "the odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable and well-pleasing to '.iod." 2. When you witness any act of self-sacrifice in a great or good cause, beware of the spirit of jealousy and detraction. Let a work be ever so good, it is always pos- sible to find fault with it on one ground or another-to call generosity extravagance, and zeal ostentation. .Ah I there is a kind of criticism which sees some mote in the most honest eye, some vein of selfishness in the kindest heart, which is quick to detect unworthy motives, and "vaunteth itself" in its own acuteness in so doing. Verily this wisdom cometh not from above, and yet how strangely congenial it is to our fallen nature I It was in a moment of hallowed enthusiasm that Mary poured her spikenard on J<,sus' feet; but even Jesus' disciples murmured till the Master stamped the offering v.ith tbe broad seal of his approbation, and called it" a good work" I 3. We do no dis- Loriour to the atfoctin" word8, "Me ye have not always," if we allow them to suggest u, us the homely co~i;cl, •· Be kind to your friends while you have theI11," Are tl:iere cu. xn. 1-50.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN. 177