Have you ever had an argument with someone and figured out that the thing you’re arguing about isn’t the real problem?
That’s what’s going on in our Gospel today. The Pharisees and scribes or teachers from Jerusalem are asking Jesus why his disciples don’t wash their hands before they eat. But their questions aren’t really about handwashing.
Their questions are about identity. The Pharisees understood their Jewish identity – their religious faith – within a particular framework of beliefs and traditions and Jesus’ disciples weren’t following the same script they were following. That had to mean that either the disciples were wrong, or they were wrong; their very identity as God’s people was at stake.
From the beginning, the Law that was given to Moses provided the structure for life with God and with the people around us, but over time, the Israelites, and truth be told, Christians, have added to the Law, establishing human practices and traditions that are rooted in the commandments we have from God.
Sometimes those additions are plainly manipulative. In the sixteenth century when the Church began to sell indulgences to pay for the cathedral, they were promising people that the price you paid for the indulgences bought your salvation or that of a beloved. Luther railed against church authorities because they had reduced divine grace to a transaction.
Other times, we make additions begin from a place of heartfelt concern. Because it is important not to break the commandments – and consequently break or turn away from relationship with God – we add a fence or a hedge for protection around the commandments.
Take the third commandment that says, “Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy.” In the South especially, “blue laws” were a fence around the commandment, prohibiting some activities on Sundays to encourage the public observance of Sunday as a Christian Sabbath. In some traditions, observing the Sabbath still means ceasing all work, including cooking or using tools because those activities could be considered “work.” But those restrictions are someone else’s interpretation of the commandment from God, not the commandment itself.
Where we get into real trouble is when our human traditions become disconnected from God’s own commands. That’s what has happened in our gospel text.
There is no biblical law about washing hands before eating, but there is a requirement that priests wash hands and feet before ministering at the altar (Exodus 30:17–21). This was understood to include washing hands before eating holy meat from the sacrifices. The Pharisees took seriously the command of Exodus 19:6, “You shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.” They argued that this meant that all Israelites should be as holy as priests, and that consequently all Jews should wash their hands before eating.[i]
The established traditions of the elders weren’t inherently bad. But the more alienated the man-made traditions became from the Word of God, the easier it was for them to become weapons to use against people, to divide people and to turn people away.
And that’s why Jesus answers the way he does when he is questioned about his disciples’ behavior. The Pharisees and scribes are sweating the small stuff. They are paying attention to the dirt under a person’s fingernails and not to their heart. And Jesus reminds them that it isn’t the things that we encounter in the world that defile us, but what is inside us.
In the psalm for today, the psalmist writes,
The ones who abide in God’s tent or dwell on God’s holy hill, are those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart; (15:2)
That doesn’t mean we get to stand on that holy hill and point
fingers at all those other people who don’t get it right. Instead, it calls us
to take an inventory of where our own hearts are:
are we near to God or far?
It doesn’t matter how much spit and polish you use or how put together you appear if your heart is turned away from God.
It doesn’t matter how many Bible verses you know if they remain words on a page instead of being written on your heart.
It doesn’t matter how often you show up in church if it’s only to complete a checklist or a transaction instead of being in relationship with the God who created you and calls you loved and forgiven.
Inside each one of us Jesus sees a beloved child of God. And as children of God, we are called to live not according to human traditions or by the evil intentions Jesus names in our gospel text, but according to God’s commands.
Luther’s explanation of the first article of the Apostles’ Creed tells us:
God protects [us] against all danger and shields and preserves [us] from all evil. And all this is done out of pure, fatherly, and divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness of mine at all! For all of this [we] owe it to God to thank and praise, serve and obey him.
When we find our identity in God as God’s children, our response
is obedience to God, and that - not human traditions or empty praise - is
what God desires from us.
Let us pray…
Holy God,
Thank you for giving us your law to structure our lives according to
your Word. Thank you for protecting us against evil.
Thank you that in your abundant grace and mercy you see us as your
beloved children.
Help us remember that you desire to be in relationship with us
more than you ever want us empty words or meaningless actions, and enable us by
your Spirit to follow your Son Jesus and be faithful and obedient.
We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
[i] Bartlett, David L.; Taylor, Barbara Brown. Feasting on the Word:
Year B, Volume 4: Season after Pentecost 2 (Propers 17-Reign of Christ)
(Feasting on the Word: Year B volume) (Kindle Locations 943-947). Presbyterian
Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition.
