Text: Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23 (NIV)
1. The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and
2. saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were "unclean," that is, unwashed.
3. (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders.
4. When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles. )
5. So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with `unclean’ hands?"
6. He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: "`These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
7. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’
8. You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men."
14. Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen to me, everyone, and understand this.
15. Nothing outside a man can make him `unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him `unclean.’ "
21. For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,
22. greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.
23. All these evils come from inside and make a man `unclean.’"
It might surprise you to hear this, but couple of years ago I served in a Church where during the Lord’s supper, the Pastor wore a pair of latex gloves and used a pair of scissors to cut pieces of the bread as she served communion to the people. Obviously, this bothered me a lot and when I asked her about this, she mentioned that she did it for health reasons. Apparently, she did not want any germs from her hands transfer to the people and likewise did not want any germs from the people to come to her. The body and blood of Jesus when taken in faith is meant to cleanse and heal whereas in this situation the people were thinking of how it might cause health problems! I do not know how you would respond, but to me the sanctity of this holy act got lost in the traditions of “men” that Jesus was talking about. What a loss it is to observe the Lord’s supper in subjection to laws of health!
The Pharisees seemed to have a similar problem with Jesus’ disciples who ate without washing their hands. This issue evolved shortly after Jesus performed the miracle of feeding the 5000. The people had eaten bread and fish with unwashed hands and in that sense, they had broken Jewish ritual cleansing laws. These man made laws were being used to challenge God! Ultimately, the breaking of this law became one of the justifications to crucify our Lord and Savior. Isn’t it a shame that the only thing the people saw in the miracle was the breaking of a human law! The gospel of Jesus Christ is hidden from the hearts of those who do not believe. It is sad, but eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of men and women, the things which God has prepared for them that love him.
Washing of hands before eating food is not just an ancient Jewish custom. It continues to be a tradition in the East among a majority of Muslims, Hindus and other Asians of today who still use their fingers to eat. In fact, most restaurants in many of these countries have several hand washing sinks in the dining area. Personal hygiene and cleanliness is a great thing but it does nothing for the soul. Here in the United States we might not be washing our hands before we eat but certainly all of us take much care to see that we keep our bodies clean. Not only do we shower pretty much everyday, we also supplement this with deodorants, perfumes and clean clothing. I am sure that all of you have taken much care to make yourselves look good and presentable for Church this morning - you not only want to look good but you also want to smell good and that is great! You are clean outside, but ask yourself if the same can be said about your inside?
Jesus is not so concerned about cleaning our hands as he is about cleaning our hearts. In verse 15 He said “Nothing outside a man or woman can make them `unclean’ by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a man or woman that makes them `unclean.’ " And what are some these things on the inside? Scripture tells us they are evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. It is easy to cleanup on the outside but how many of us can boldly say that we are clean inside from all these things?
As you know, my wife teaches in a pre-school and once in a while children use bad language. When this happens, I have heard her tell the child that if they should do that again, she would have to wash their mouth with soap and water! You and I know that in a literal sense that is not a fix to the problem. Similarly for you and me, soap and water will not fix the problems that we have on the inside. What comes out is a result of what is within and the only way to clean out the mess inside is to allow Jesus to occupy those sinful spaces of our lives.
Quite often like the Pharisees there are also times when we too are quick to "size up" people or make a judgement on someone based on how they might look on the outside. All that glitters is not gold and at the same time all that does not glitter is not garbage. I would like to leave you with a story told by a Lady who lived across the street from John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore tells where she tells of how an old and ugly Fisherman had an inner beauty that brought great joy and happiness to her family.
The lady and her family lived downstairs and rented some rooms upstairs to out-patients of the hospital.
One summer evening as she was fixing supper, there was a knock at the door. She opened it to see a truly awful looking man who was hardly taller than her eight-year-old. His face was red and raw and seemed swollen and lopsided. Yet his voice was pleasant as he said, "Good evening. I’ve come to see if you’ve a room for just one night. I came for a treatment this morning from the eastern shore, and there’s no bus till morning." He said he’d been hunting for a room since noon but with no success, because no one seemed to have a room.
"I guess it’s my face...” he said, “I know it looks terrible, but my doctor says with a few more treatments it would be better"
For a moment the lady hesitated, but his next words convinced her. "I could sleep in this rocking chair on the porch. My bus leaves early in the morning." The lady asked that he rest on the porch while she found him a bed. When supper was ready, the old man was invited to join the family.
"No thank you. I have plenty" he said holding up a brown paper bag. When she had finished the dishes, she went out on the porch to talk with him a few minutes. It didn’t take long time to see that this old man had an oversized heart crowded into that tiny body. He told her he fished for a living to support his daughter, her five children, and her husband, who was hopelessly crippled from a back injury.
He didn’t tell it by way of complaint; in fact, every other sentence was prefaced with a thanks to God for a blessing. He was grateful that no pain accompanied his disease, which was apparently a form of skin cancer. He thanked God for giving him the strength to keep going. He said the Lord was the captain of his life and the Master of his soul.
At bedtime, the lady put a camp cot in the children’s room for him. When she awoke in the morning, the bed linens were neatly folded and the little man was out on the porch. He refused breakfast, but just before he left for his bus, haltingly, as if asking a great favor, he said, "Could I please come back and stay the next time I have a treatment? I won’t put you out a bit. I can sleep fine in a chair." He paused a moment and then added, "Your children made me feel at home. Grownups are bothered by my face, but children don’t seem to mind."
The lady said he was welcome to come again. And on his next trip he arrived a little after seven in the morning. As a gift, he brought a big fish and a quart of the largest oysters she had ever seen. He said he had caught them that morning before he left so that they’d be nice and fresh. She knew his bus left at 4:00 a.m. and wondered what time he had to get up in order to do this for them.
In the years he came to stay overnight with the family there was never a time that he did not bring fish or oysters or vegetables from his garden. Other times they received packages in the mail, always by special delivery; fish and oysters packed in a box of fresh young spinach or kale, every leaf carefully washed. Knowing that he must walk three miles to mail these, and knowing how little money he had, made the gifts doubly precious. When they received these little remembrances, the lady often thought of a comment their next-door neighbor made after he left that first morning. "Did you keep that awful looking man last night? I turned him away! You can lose roomers by putting up such people!" “Maybe we did lose roomers once or twice”, she said. “But oh! If only they could have known him, perhaps their illnesses would have been easier to bear. I know our family always will be grateful to have known him; from him we earned what it was to accept the bad without complaint and the good with gratitude to God”.
The fisherman might have been ugly and unclean on the outside, but on the inside he was filled with the presence of God. That is what God wants for you and me my friends; to be pure of heart. Be careful not to allow the customs and traditions of men to rule your life as opposed to holding high the cross. The world wants you to look good on the outside but God wants you to look good on the inside. At the end of this life it will not matter what perfume you used or how well you dressed if you are not in a right relationship with God.
Scripture teaches us that only the pure in heart shall see their God!
May God in his grace, create in each of us a new heart, and renew a right spirit within us so that we may see more clearly and love more dearly while the things of this world and its laws and traditions go strangely dim as we shine within, in the light of his glory and grace. Amen.
