Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
1 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, 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 defiled 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 merely human rules.’
8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”
“Living From the Heart”
Words can be cheap and deceiving. We often sound different then we are inside. This is what makes communication so difficult and hypocrisy so easy, for all of us!
No one sets out to be a hypocrite. We too easily become one when we let our greed, jealousy, pride, folly keep us from being congruent from the inside out.
When our hearts are right with God, our words and deeds are going to be right for others. Such is the Kingdom of God in our midst.
Hypocrisy is anything in our lives which is not right for others, but only for us, no matter how we try to cover up what is in our hearts by words and pious platitudes.
This is not pleasing to God, nor is it of the Kingdom of God.
“A Call For Deep Things”
“The most apparent meaning of this (text) could be summarized as a criticism of surface things and a call for deep things.” (Source unknown)
Religion is not meant to be something we play at; it is not meant to be superficial, mechanical, ritualistic. It is meant to be something which comes from the heart - a heart touched by the love and grace of God.
Observing the traditions of the elders is not what is important. Living as one who has been touched by the love of God is.
This means we need to see the spiritual quality of everything we do and I mean everything!
God is in the business of changing us and deepening us. Opening us up and making us real. To be truly religious is to let God have my heart. When God has my heart, God is going to change things and rearrange my priorities and cause me to do things I otherwise would never do.
A man once said to Mother Teresa,“I wouldn’t do what you do for a million dollars.” To which she replied, “Neither would I. But I will for the love of God!”
To worship is to open our hearts to change from the inside out. It is to be challenged to be sensitized over and over again as to what it is God really desires - justice rolling down like waters and human kind truly loving one another, seeking to understand, accept differences, and live in peace.
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