Economically
speaking, my mother’s family was poor.
They lived in a house with no running water and no indoor toilet. Papa and Mae, and their children
Evelyn, June, and Doris, my mom, shared their 4-room house with “old people.” There were always at least one or 2
elderly people living with them—sometimes they were relatives, at other times
they were simply elderly folks who had no one else to care for them. They ate what Mae grew in the garden
and what Papa hunted or fished or received in trade for the many odd jobs he
did. From the outside, it may have
appeared as if they were destitute.
But neither my mom, nor my aunt, nor my uncle nor my Papa ever described
those times as desperate or despairing.
Not only did they always have enough to eat, they always had enough to
share—to share with the hoboes who found their way to Mae’s back door, to share
with their hill country cousins—whose Christmases consisted of the fruit and
nuts and toy Papa and Mae managed to provide, to share with the “old people”
who lived with them. They enjoyed
life together. When I was a child,
my Papa told me story after story about my mom and her siblings growing
up—about the jokes Papa played on them and the adventures they had in “their
backyard”—the whole town of Angleton.
From the outside, it appeared as if they were destitute, but from inside
the family, they were experiencing, full, happy, memorable lives. My mom and aunt still talk about those
days as “good times.”
What’s
on the outside—what the world sees—isn’t always what’s real or what’s truly
important. That’s what Jesus is
talking about in today’s text.
Jesus
has been in ministry for some time now, and he and his disciples are tired and
hungry. In today’s text, they are
sitting down to eat what should be a nice, quiet just-the-family-of-disciples
meal. And what happens? When I
was a child, there was a TV show called “Bewitched.” Samantha Stevens was a suburban housewife and a witch. Although
her mortal husband banned magic in their home, her wacky relatives were always creating
some kind of magic mayhem. She had
a nosy neighbor named Gladys Kravitz who was suspicious of Samantha and all the
goings on at her house. In today’s text, when Jesus and his disciples sit down
to what should be a nice, quiet just-the-family-of-disciples meal, some
Jerusalem Pharisees show up. Like
Gladys Kravitz, they are snooping around.
Since this was supposed to be a private meal, I picture the Pharisees,
like Gladys, skulking in the bushes and peeking in the windows. Like Gladys, they’re looking for some
dirt—some dirt they can smear over Jesus’ reputation and smudge his popularity
with.
They’re
looking for some dirt—and they find it, they think. “Jesus, we noticed your disciples did not follow the ritual
washing of hands before the meal.”
Now, friends, this washing of hands is mentioned in Leviticus as a
ritual for the priests prior to their eating the sacrificial meat. Over hundreds of years, some Jews—not
all but some—had determined that whatever was prescribed for the priests should
be embraced by all Jews who wanted to fully live into their set apart status.
Set
apart status? Well, if
we remember back to Exodus, freeing the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt, at Mt.
Sinai God made a covenant with them.
You will be my holy—my set-apart
people. You will be my treasured
possession among all the peoples, and I will be your God.[1] The word Pharisees means “the ones set apart.” The Pharisees took this set
apart-ness as what can be seen, what can be quantified, what is on the outside.
The Pharisees took this set apart-ness as set apart = elevated and set apart =
better than.
Like
Gladys Kravitz, they’re snooping around, looking for some dirt, ready to point
their fingers and say “gotcha.” But
Jesus—tired from back-to-back healings and on-the-go teaching, Jesus—frustrated
by not getting to spend renewal and re-creation time with his disciples,
Jesus—is not in a pastoral mood—at least not with the Pharisees. For
he realizes they are not there to engage, to relate to or seek communion
with. He realizes they are there
to divide, to separate, to tear apart. Rolling
his eyes at these religious leaders, he takes a breath and lets them have
it. “Isaiah really knew what he was talking about
when he prophesied about you hypocrites—when he wrote, This people honors me
with their lips,
but their hearts are far away from me.[2]
To
the Pharisees, Jesus says, “Your heart is not guiding your practice.” As Isaiah
had with the Jewish leaders before the Babylonian exile, Jesus declares to the
Pharisees standing in front of him in Galilee: God’s acceptance depends not on correct performance of
ritual acts but on ethical behavior.
It’s not scrupulous observance of cleanliness laws, but morality that
interests God.[3] Turning to the crowds, Jesus
continues. It’s not what’s on the
outside that matters but what’s on the inside. It’s the state of your heart that matters. The attitudes
that stem from your heart and the actions that proceed from your heart—that’s
what matters to God.
Jesus’
words are meant for us today as well.
Like it or not, at times we are the Pharisees— following rules without
examining the reasons supporting them; practicing traditions without
questioning whether they are exclusive and considering who those practices
might hurt; focusing on the rote of ritual without internalizing its
meaning. Using “religious rules
inappropriately, we separate ourselves from one other.”[4] Separated from others, we are separated
from the God who creates us and calls us into relationship.
Jesus’
words apply to us today. For at
times, we are the crowd—needing to be reminded that “the evil intentions that come from our
hearts—greed, deceit, envy, and arrogance—the self-centered intentions that
bubble up from within us, separate us from God”[5]
and from one another.
Separation
from God or separation from one another—separation is not God’s will for
us. Relationship is what we are
created for. Healthy, strong,
loving relationship is God’s will for us:
relationship—blossoming from hearts that seek out others, hearts that
seek out those who share our desire to follow Christ. Healthy, strong, loving
relationship is God’s will for us:
relationship—blossoming from hearts that seek out those who are lonely,
despairing, doubting, and fearful.
Relationship—that’s what my mom’s family’s good memories are built
on. Relationship—that’s what
provided the full, happy, memorable lives they experienced.
Relationship—healthy,
strong, loving relationship—that’s what we hope to build and involve everyone
in here at First Presbyterian Church as our new church year begins. Small groups will be forming—people
will be coming together by age. Our pre-schoolers will build relationship
playing and singing in the nursery—during Sunday School and—after joining us
for the 1st part of worship—during our sermon and pastoral prayer.
Our elementary school aged children will continue to build relationships with
each other singing, learning, and engaging in activities together in Sunday
School from 9:30 – 10: 15. Our younger elementary-aged children will continue
to build relationships with each other during our sermon and pastoral prayer
because they’ll be playing and sharing a snack together in another room. Our
middle schoolers will begin to build relationships with one another through
song & study, discussion, service, and fellowship. This will happen on Sunday mornings—in
Sunday School—and in monthly outside-of-Sunday-School activities they plan.
Relationship—healthy,
strong, loving relationship—that’s what we hope to build and involve everyone
in here at First Presbyterian Church as our new church year begins. Small groups will be forming—people
will be coming together by interest.
From now until Christmas, on Sunday mornings, our established adult
group will continue to explore Why Jesus Matters—at their previously established
time—9:15 – 10:00. On Sunday
mornings, another group of adults will come together for short-term studies on
topics that bubble up from within the group. They will meet from 9:30 – 10:15.
Small groups will be forming—people will be coming together by interest. Mid-morning, mid-week, anyone
interested in Bible study is invited to examine the metaphors John uses to
describe Jesus. Small groups will
be forming—people will be coming together by interest. On Sunday evenings, anyone interested
in what Presbyterians believe and why—is invited to join the discussion and
background study while munching on various snacks.
Relationship—healthy,
strong, loving relationship—that’s what we hope to build and involve everyone
in here at First Presbyterian Church as our new church year begins. Small
groups will be forming—people will be coming together by gender and
purpose. Women interested in Bible
study and service will meet monthly—on the 2nd Friday
afternoon. Using the Presbyterian
Womens’ Horizon Bible study, they will learn about the “general epistles” and
plan service projects together. Small groups will be forming—people will be
coming together by gender and purpose. Hungry men will meet early on the fourth
Wednesday morning each month at one of 4 local churches for a hearty, tasty
breakfast; for fellowship; and for prayer. Relationship—healthy, strong, loving
relationship—that’s what we hope to build and involve everyone in here at First
Presbyterian Church as our new church year begins. Relationship—inviting everyone to discover God’s
transforming love.
It’s
not what’s on the outside that matters.
We can be short or tall or somewhere in-between; young or old or
somewhere in between; handsome or pretty or homely or somewhere in-between;
slender or hefty or somewhere in between.
It’s not what’s on the outside that matters. It’s what’s on the inside that matters—what’s in our hearts. What matters is that moved by God’s
love for us, we extend a loving invitation to others—to those we already know and
to those we are yet to meet. We
extend an invitation to join us in these newly-forming small-group
relationships. It’s not what’s on
the outside that matters. It’s
what’s on the inside that matters—what’s in our hearts. What matters is that
God’s love—bubbling up from within our hearts—pours out of us in our thoughts
and attitudes, in our words and actions.
What matters is that we love so much we choose to accompany each other
on this journey we call life.
[1] Exodus 19: 5 – 6
[2] Mark 7: 6 (Common English
Bible)
[3] Douglas R. A. Hare. “Mark 7: 1 – 8, 14 – 15, 21 - 23 Exegetical Perspective,” in Feasting on the Word, Year B, vol. 4. Edited by David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor.
Louisville: Westminster John Knox
Press, 2009. p. 23.
[4] Amy C. Howe.
“Mark 7: 1 – 8, 14 – 15, 21 - 23
Pastoral Perspective,” in Feasting
on the Word, Year B, vol. 4.
Edited by David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009. p.
24.
[5] Amy C. Howe.
“Mark 7: 1 – 8, 14 – 15, 21 - 23
Pastoral Perspective,” in Feasting
on the Word, Year B, vol. 4.
Edited by David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009. p.
24.
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