Proper 17 -- Song
of Solomon 2:1-8; Psalm 45:1–2, 7-10; James
1:17-27; Mark
7:1–8, 14– 15, 21-23
A homily by Fr. Gene Tucker given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois, on Sunday, September 2, 2012.
“CLEAN ON THE OUTSIDE, OR PURE ON THE INSIDE?”
(Homily text: Mark 7: 1 – 8, 14 – 15, 21 - 23)
Rules are very important. Having rules gives an organization – be it
the Church, a fraternal organization, a government, etc. – structure and
identity. Having rules provides a way
for leaders of organizations to be accountable to the organization’s
membership.
But rules can take on a life of
their own. They can become important
simply for the sake of themselves. When
that happens, oftentimes people can’t remember why a rule ever came into
existence in the first place.
Rules can take on a life of their
own…that is the bottom line of the exchange that we read about between Jesus
and His enemies, the Pharisees and the Scribes, in this morning’s gospel text.
“Why do your disciples not live
according to the tradition of the elders
(italics mine, of course), but eat with hands defiled?” the Pharisees and the
Scribes ask.
The way these questioners ask the
question provides the basis for Jesus’ response: He separates out the commandments of God from
the traditions that human beings have created, in this case, the traditions of the elders of the people.
The picture that the New Testament
paints of the Pharisees and the Scribes isn’t a pretty one: They seem to be entirely focused on details of ritual. Remember that ritual is something that can
be seen. So, we can honestly say, I
think, that the Pharisees and their allies are concerned with putting on a good
show. They seem to be concerned mainly
with the way things look.
Doing things for show must have been
a hallmark of these religious leaders…Jesus takes them to task in another
passage when He says, “They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make
their phylacteries (phylacteries are the small boxes with scriptural sayings
inside them that are worn on the forehead and on the left arm) broad and their
fringes (these are the fringes at the corners of outer garments) long, and they
love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, and
salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by men.” (Matthew 23: 5 – 7)
Jesus’ attack in the same chapter
(Matthew 23) contrasts the outward actions and appearance of the Pharisees and
the Scribes with their inner spiritual condition. The Lord says, “Woe to you, Scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse
the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion
and rapacity.” (Verse 25)
How did things get so far
out-of-order in the Judaism of 2,000 years ago?
One reason for the imbalance is due,
I think, to group identity…God’s chosen people had had their identity
threatened for over 300 years. Ever
since the conquest of the Holy Land by Alexander the Great in 332 BC, Greek
influence had threatened to engulf and submerge Jewish identity. Following
Alexander’s death in 323 BC, his empire was divided up and the Holy Land came
under increasingly dangerous occupation. These Greek occupiers tried to
completely stamp out Jewish identity and belief. In response, the Maccabean Revolt succeeded
in throwing off the oppressive occupation in the middle of the second century BC. The successes of the Maccabeans lasted until
the conquest of the Holy Land under the Roman general Pompey in 63 BC. With the arrival of the Romans, Jewish
identity was, once again, threatened.
The people of Jesus’ time lived with the constant presence of, and
threat from, Roman occupation.
So, given their recent history, it
was natural for the Jews to try to find ways to preserve not only their
identity, but their religious beliefs.
One way to do that was by making an
outward demonstration of one’s Jewish identity.
Adherence to the Torah’s commandments in things like the Sabbath
observance and the dietary laws was one way.
Another way was to avoid as much contact as possible with non-Jewish
persons.
Yet another way was to observe the
categories of what was considered to be clean, and what was considered to be
unclean. These categories stem, in part, from the Law of Moses, the Torah.
But in today’s incident, it appears
that the categories of clean and unclean have become even more sharply defined,
going far beyond the requirements of the Torah. The distinctions that the Pharisees and the
Scribes complain about seem to have been created the leaders of the people,
referred to in today’s passage as “the elders”.
Jesus distinguishes between the requirements of Torah and the traditions that are added to it.
We said earlier on in this homily
that rules can take on a life of their own.
That seems to be the case in the
situation before us: The rules have
become more important than just about anything else, including the importance
of allowing God’s law to permeate into the innermost parts of a person’s heart
and mind. Jesus sums the condition up
this way as He says (quoting Isaiah), “This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as
doctrines the precepts of men.”[1]
Jesus is aiming at a holistic approach to a relationship with God: Proper worship is important, but so is the inner disposition of one’s heart. One’s behavior is important, but so is the love we must have for God and for others, a love that must govern our behavior.
Jesus is aiming at a holistic approach to a relationship with God: Proper worship is important, but so is the inner disposition of one’s heart. One’s behavior is important, but so is the love we must have for God and for others, a love that must govern our behavior.
Rules can take on a life of their
own. Worship which incorporates a formal
liturgy, which is governed by established ways of doing things, can also take
on a life of its own.
Ever know someone whose main focus
seems to be on doing liturgical worship properly? Such persons seem to know all the fine points
of liturgical worship practices. Some
can even cite the origins of liturgical practice, or can cite rubrics to show
that they know how worship ought to be done.
I used to sing with a person like that.
But even if we aren’t liturgical experts,
the beauty of worshipping in a rich tradition such as that of the Anglican
Church can be an attraction all its own.
Here, the temptation might be to think that enjoying beautiful,
well-done worship is all that is required of us.
If that happens, then our focus is
removed from the totality of what God wants of us: to worship Him in beauty and in truth, and to
allow our worship to shape and redefine who we are as Christians, so that
everything we think, say and do will reflect a quest for God’s holiness in our
lives.
Put another way, God wants our
minds, our hearts and our hands to reflect the love that we have for Him, and
for others, as well. Living the
Christian life is a “package deal”. Our
Christian identity flows from our heart and our minds outward into our hands
and onto our lips.
May the Holy Spirit enable us to be
devoted entirely and completely to the work God has given us, showing by our
actions, by our words, by our attitudes and our thoughts, that our outsides
match our insides. Only then will our
actions reflect God’s holiness, matching the purity of the heart that only God
can supply.
AMEN.
[1] Jesus is quoting Isaiah 29:13 in the Greek
version of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint.
