big vs. small

I came across these two passages of Scripture today - two very different responses of worship.

From Mark 12:

41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.

 43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."

Then from Mark 14:

3 While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

 4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, "Why this waste of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor." And they rebuked her harshly.

 6 "Leave her alone," said Jesus. "Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8 She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9 I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."

One response was very simple, small, understated, unassuming, and inexpensive by most people's standards.  You could describe it as reverent.  The other was bold, extravagant, edgy, and expensive by anyone's standards.  You could describe it as raucous.

But Jesus delights in both... instead of pitting one against the other, or favoring the one as closer to what God desires than the other.

Though these responses of worship look vastly different on the surface, they do have one thing in common:

Both were reckless.

I think we'd do well to stop pitting worship responses against one another, contrasting one with the other, or debating the merits of one over the other.  As long as the response is as reckless as the love that has prompted it, we can't really go wrong.