Sermon-Sunday, Spetember 3rd
Mark 7: 1-23
Brothers and Sisters,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus tells you this week "..there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile."
The "geniuses" who put the lectionary together tried to pull a fast one on you this week. If you look on the back of the bulletin you will see that in selecting the Gospel passage this week they decided to omit verses from this passage.
And, as usually is the case when they do this type of thing, it got me wondering "What are they trying to hide?" So I read the missing verses and I decided that there was no reason to omit them and that is why you have two different copies of the Gospel lesson this week. Now, I don’t know why they left out verses 9-13, but there doesn’t really seem to be anything unscrupulous going on with that. I think maybe they just didn’t tie in to well with the other lessons. Regardless, it doesn’t hurt to read them either.
But what is it in verses 17-20 that the lectionary people are trying to hide from you? My guess is they were a little uneasy with the imagery of food entering into a person’s stomach and coming out into the sewer. Now, I don’t know what they were trying to hide. I mean the imagery is a little crude but is it offensive? And after all, they are the words of Christ Jesus, so I am sure He had a reason for using them.
Whatever the reason was for the omission, what the people who put the lectionary together ended up inadvertently demonstrating, with this omission, was the very need that you have to hear what Jesus was saying in today’s Gospel lesson.
There is obviously something in the words contained in verses 17-20 that they felt might offend you, or upset you, or disturb you, or defile you. They felt that these words, coming from outside of you, could potentially defile you, even though Jesus says that the exact opposite is true, that what goes out from inside is what defiles. Frankly it’s amazing to me that they didn’t notice the irony.
But the lectionary people are no different from any of God’s people. In the very next verse, one which thankfully did not get omitted, Jesus tells you that it is from the heart, from the inside of you that evil intentions come. And among these evil intentions He includes fornication, theft, murder, adultery, wickedness, deceit, and licentiousness. I’m not even sure what licentiousness means, but it doesn’t seem to be in very good company now does it?
How different is that from what you have been led to believe? How contrary is that to the mantra that we so often hear in our culture that it’s not what’s on the outside that matters but what’s on the inside? And how do you reconcile that with what Jesus says in today’s Gospel lesson about what is inside of us?
So often you will hear someone say to you, or perhaps you have even said to someone that you need to get in touch with your inner feelings. But what if the feelings that truly express who you are turn out to be wickedness, or deceitful or any one of those sins that Jesus mentions? And it’s easy to look at those and say "Well I’m not an adulterer, or a murderer, or a thief, so I must be okay on the insides."
But Jesus isn’t just talking about when the defilement that comes from within you reveals itself in an obvious manner. We can all see the danger in that. He’s also talking about something much more subtle and insidious than that.
Jesus is being confronted by a group of Pharisees and scribes who are disturbed that Jesus’ disciples are not following the traditions of the elders by washing their hands before they eat. What the Pharisees are talking about is a purity ritual. And this is not some legalistic, man-made doctrine that they made up just to be meticulous. This purification ritual goes back to Exodus when God commanded Moses essentially to begin this tradition.
And as we see in the Old Testament lesson for today from Deuteronomy, God commands Israel to heed to His statutes and ordinances and to observe them diligently. In observing the statutes and ordinances that God handed down to them, people would see just how close God is to His people Israel.
In the command that God gave to Moses that initiated the handwashing ritual, it’s written that it is done so that those who obey will not die. The commands are given to preserve God’s community and to show God’s faithfulness.
But the Pharisees and scribes had come to see it differently. To the Pharisees and scribes these commandments and ordinances were not something that they could look to and see God’s faithfulness. Instead they had become a way that they could look to themselves and decide who was ‘in’ and who was ‘out.’
Do you not still do this today? Don’t both congregations have written regulations about what behaviors are required for continued membership; worship attendance, receiving of communion, stewardship? I am not suggesting that you change any of your membership rules, I am simply pointing out that all across denominations, congregations, communities etc. you still have your own little purity rituals that get used as a way of determining who is in and who is out.
Jesus’ opposition is not to the rituals and rules themselves but in the way that they are applied. They have a purpose, but that purpose is not for what far too often they end being up used for, and that is as a means to look within yourselves and seek purification, salvation, and redemption from within. Jesus has already told you how futile that is, and yet you still do it.
Salvation, purification, and redemption does not come from within you. You cannot find the cure for sin from the very source of sin. Purification comes from outside of you and it keeps coming in spite of your own tendency to look within yourself.
I have been asked by different people, in many different ways how I know I am ‘saved.’ Time and time again, I give the same answer "I look to ‘the cross.’" Some people will understand and some sort of struggle with that, and they’ll say something like "Yeah, well what else?" or "But, what do you do to know that your saved?" Again, looking at yourself for purification, salvation and redemption is futile.
I will explain it to you this way. We all agree that salvation is a gift from God, purely the result of God’s unconditional love revealed to us in His Son Christ Jesus. Well, think of a time that anyone whom you would consider to be beloved, be it one of your children, grandchildren, your spouse, a friend or whoever, gave you a gift that was really special, and really touched your heart.
Now, how did you know that gift was for you? Was it because you were able to look within yourself, and get in touch with your feelings and then consciously decide that the gift was for you? Or was it because you were simply drawn into the reality of that special moment because of the generosity of your beloved? Was it that in the simple receiving of the gift and seeing the gift that you couldn’t help but believe? I’m guessing that’s probably more what it was like.
Well, that’s how you know that God’s gift of salvation is for you, by looking to the gift; by looking to the cross, to the empty tomb, to the baptismal font so you are reminded of how our Lord comes to you daily as you live in your baptism, to the Lord’s Supper as our Lord comes to you in the bread and the wine as will happen in a few minutes, and looking to scripture as our Lord speaks to you in His Word.
Rituals and regulations all have a purpose, but they should be applied in a way that leads you not to look to yourself and what you are doing, but outside of yourself to the gift of what has already been done for you on the cross; the gift of purification, redemption, and salvation. That is how you know you are saved.
Amen
Brothers and Sisters,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus tells you this week "..there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile."
The "geniuses" who put the lectionary together tried to pull a fast one on you this week. If you look on the back of the bulletin you will see that in selecting the Gospel passage this week they decided to omit verses from this passage.
And, as usually is the case when they do this type of thing, it got me wondering "What are they trying to hide?" So I read the missing verses and I decided that there was no reason to omit them and that is why you have two different copies of the Gospel lesson this week. Now, I don’t know why they left out verses 9-13, but there doesn’t really seem to be anything unscrupulous going on with that. I think maybe they just didn’t tie in to well with the other lessons. Regardless, it doesn’t hurt to read them either.
But what is it in verses 17-20 that the lectionary people are trying to hide from you? My guess is they were a little uneasy with the imagery of food entering into a person’s stomach and coming out into the sewer. Now, I don’t know what they were trying to hide. I mean the imagery is a little crude but is it offensive? And after all, they are the words of Christ Jesus, so I am sure He had a reason for using them.
Whatever the reason was for the omission, what the people who put the lectionary together ended up inadvertently demonstrating, with this omission, was the very need that you have to hear what Jesus was saying in today’s Gospel lesson.
There is obviously something in the words contained in verses 17-20 that they felt might offend you, or upset you, or disturb you, or defile you. They felt that these words, coming from outside of you, could potentially defile you, even though Jesus says that the exact opposite is true, that what goes out from inside is what defiles. Frankly it’s amazing to me that they didn’t notice the irony.
But the lectionary people are no different from any of God’s people. In the very next verse, one which thankfully did not get omitted, Jesus tells you that it is from the heart, from the inside of you that evil intentions come. And among these evil intentions He includes fornication, theft, murder, adultery, wickedness, deceit, and licentiousness. I’m not even sure what licentiousness means, but it doesn’t seem to be in very good company now does it?
How different is that from what you have been led to believe? How contrary is that to the mantra that we so often hear in our culture that it’s not what’s on the outside that matters but what’s on the inside? And how do you reconcile that with what Jesus says in today’s Gospel lesson about what is inside of us?
So often you will hear someone say to you, or perhaps you have even said to someone that you need to get in touch with your inner feelings. But what if the feelings that truly express who you are turn out to be wickedness, or deceitful or any one of those sins that Jesus mentions? And it’s easy to look at those and say "Well I’m not an adulterer, or a murderer, or a thief, so I must be okay on the insides."
But Jesus isn’t just talking about when the defilement that comes from within you reveals itself in an obvious manner. We can all see the danger in that. He’s also talking about something much more subtle and insidious than that.
Jesus is being confronted by a group of Pharisees and scribes who are disturbed that Jesus’ disciples are not following the traditions of the elders by washing their hands before they eat. What the Pharisees are talking about is a purity ritual. And this is not some legalistic, man-made doctrine that they made up just to be meticulous. This purification ritual goes back to Exodus when God commanded Moses essentially to begin this tradition.
And as we see in the Old Testament lesson for today from Deuteronomy, God commands Israel to heed to His statutes and ordinances and to observe them diligently. In observing the statutes and ordinances that God handed down to them, people would see just how close God is to His people Israel.
In the command that God gave to Moses that initiated the handwashing ritual, it’s written that it is done so that those who obey will not die. The commands are given to preserve God’s community and to show God’s faithfulness.
But the Pharisees and scribes had come to see it differently. To the Pharisees and scribes these commandments and ordinances were not something that they could look to and see God’s faithfulness. Instead they had become a way that they could look to themselves and decide who was ‘in’ and who was ‘out.’
Do you not still do this today? Don’t both congregations have written regulations about what behaviors are required for continued membership; worship attendance, receiving of communion, stewardship? I am not suggesting that you change any of your membership rules, I am simply pointing out that all across denominations, congregations, communities etc. you still have your own little purity rituals that get used as a way of determining who is in and who is out.
Jesus’ opposition is not to the rituals and rules themselves but in the way that they are applied. They have a purpose, but that purpose is not for what far too often they end being up used for, and that is as a means to look within yourselves and seek purification, salvation, and redemption from within. Jesus has already told you how futile that is, and yet you still do it.
Salvation, purification, and redemption does not come from within you. You cannot find the cure for sin from the very source of sin. Purification comes from outside of you and it keeps coming in spite of your own tendency to look within yourself.
I have been asked by different people, in many different ways how I know I am ‘saved.’ Time and time again, I give the same answer "I look to ‘the cross.’" Some people will understand and some sort of struggle with that, and they’ll say something like "Yeah, well what else?" or "But, what do you do to know that your saved?" Again, looking at yourself for purification, salvation and redemption is futile.
I will explain it to you this way. We all agree that salvation is a gift from God, purely the result of God’s unconditional love revealed to us in His Son Christ Jesus. Well, think of a time that anyone whom you would consider to be beloved, be it one of your children, grandchildren, your spouse, a friend or whoever, gave you a gift that was really special, and really touched your heart.
Now, how did you know that gift was for you? Was it because you were able to look within yourself, and get in touch with your feelings and then consciously decide that the gift was for you? Or was it because you were simply drawn into the reality of that special moment because of the generosity of your beloved? Was it that in the simple receiving of the gift and seeing the gift that you couldn’t help but believe? I’m guessing that’s probably more what it was like.
Well, that’s how you know that God’s gift of salvation is for you, by looking to the gift; by looking to the cross, to the empty tomb, to the baptismal font so you are reminded of how our Lord comes to you daily as you live in your baptism, to the Lord’s Supper as our Lord comes to you in the bread and the wine as will happen in a few minutes, and looking to scripture as our Lord speaks to you in His Word.
Rituals and regulations all have a purpose, but they should be applied in a way that leads you not to look to yourself and what you are doing, but outside of yourself to the gift of what has already been done for you on the cross; the gift of purification, redemption, and salvation. That is how you know you are saved.
Amen
posted by Steve at 5:34 AM
1 Comments:
I liked this-espeically the beginning and the line, "I am simply pointing out that all across denominations, congregations, communities etc. you still have your own little purity rituals that get used as a way of determining who is in and who is out."
Your explanation at the end could have turned into proclamation if you would have told them why they are unclean more and what Jesus is going to do about it.
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