The Getty and Matthew 26:6-13

While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked. "This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor."

Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."

Some friends and I visited the J. Paul Getty Museum in Brentwood yesterday, which houses five galleries and a central garden that contains over 500 types of plants. However, the Getty Center is probably most known for its unique architectural design. Located on the Santa Monica hills, the Center offers breathtaking views of both the city of Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean. Natural light illuminates the interior and is adjusted by a system of computerized shades. The exterior of the building is made of blocks of a beige stone called travertine, which ends up looking immaculately white against the blue Los Angeles sky.

The Getty Center is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. And thanks to individuals with a lot of money to invest and a lot of love for the visual arts, the museum is open to the public, free of charge (except for parking).

That being said, the maintenance of the Getty is (obviously) quite costly. The building itself cost about 1.2 billion to construct, and who knows the net worth of all the paintings, sculptures, photographs and sketches in the galleries, or of the plants in the central garden. A lot of time, energy, and finances were put into this thing to make it happen. And I couldn't help but wonder, as beautiful as the Getty is, couldn't all this money have gone to something more...useful?

As Christians (and as members of the human race), shouldn't we prioritize giving to the poor above our own, seemingly selfish need for aesthetic fulfillment? How much could have been done in the name of justice and mercy with 1.2 billion dollars? I love the arts but, shouldn't I love the needy even more?

So, of course, this issue was addressed somewhat on the car ride home--mostly with this guy--and I continued to think about it when I was back in the apartment later that evening. Then, this morning, the passage from Matthew came to mind. And although a perfect correlation can't necessarily be made between the pouring of expensive perfume on Jesus' feet and the construction of a billion-dollar museum building, there are at least some parallels that can be drawn.

Similar to the myrrh that was poured from the alabaster jar, works of art are costly, precious acts of worship. They are a testament to God's graciousness in giving humans the capacity to create beautiful things for each other that inspire and stir the deepest emotions within us. Art moves the soul (or, it moves our "soulishness," depending on who you talk to). It touches the depths of what it means to be human. And I would guess that it gives God much pleasure to see His children serve each other in such a profound way, using the creative gifts that He blessed them with.

So, although we are called to serve the less fortunate, we are also called to worship, and part of worship is taking the time to invest in, appreciate, and be awestruck by the beauty that we, as the human race, are capable of creating, thanks to a loving Heavenly Father.

The poor will always be with us, but the arts are something that must be deliberately nurtured in order to be kept alive, and worship itself is something that must be that is initiated by us. I guess the key is just finding a good balance.