\u2018This people honors me with their lips,<\/em> 8<\/sup>You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n 14<\/sup>Then he called the crowd again and said to them, \u201cListen to me, all of you, and understand:\u00a015<\/sup>there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n 21<\/sup>For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder,\u00a022<\/sup>adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly.\u00a023<\/sup>All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.\u201d (Mark 7)<\/em><\/p>\n Picture: A downtown, \u201cregister of historic places\u201d sanctuary. High gothic towers; stained glass windows, insured for more than most houses; vaulted ceilings; walls of ancient, sanctified stone. For decades, the faithful have gathered here for worship and Bible study; women\u2019s mission society and men\u2019s prayer breakfasts; for styrofoam cups of coffee and the holy banana bread of life.<\/p>\n But then\u2026 you know what comes next\u2026 dwindling numbers. The exodus of young children and families\u2014and of course, those mythical creatures, the Millenials. Crumbling stone, an aging organ, and it\u2019s going to cost us HOW MUCH to reinforce the foundation?? Then somebody says the word \u201cmildew\u201d in hushed tones, and there is much glancing about, as though a troubled demon has just entered the room. And the pastor\u2019s healthcare costs as much as the upkeep on the ancient roof. The finance meetings are fraught with unspoken reality \u2014we have to sell the building.<\/em><\/p>\n But that unspoken reality stays unspoken. And in the meantime\u2026 tradition is upheld and endowment funds are leaned upon heavily and mission becomes a fond memory of years past\u2014this thing they used to do, when the seats were full.<\/p>\n It happens all the time.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not that any church ever sits down one day and decides \u2014right now, today, we are going to stop being the Church. We are going to stop doing what we were called to do together; we\u2019re going to keep paying the light bills but stop serving our neighbors. It\u2019s never as intentional as that. But one little decision at a time\u2014one tedious meeting, one sad death, one building crisis at a time\u2014churches stop living and start existing.<\/p>\n This is how tradition and \u2018the way we\u2019ve always done it\u2019 and \u2018don\u2019t they know who we are\u2019 \u2014starts to take precedent over the gospel.<\/p>\n And THAT is where we find Jesus and the Disciples this morning\u2026 sitting in one of those tedious meetings, having one of those little crisis of construction moments\u2014when the Pharisees want to know, \u2018Jesus\u2014why are your guys not washing their hands? Don\u2019t they know who we are? Don\u2019t they know we do things?\u2019<\/p>\n For the Pharisees, the washing of hands before a meal was not just good hygiene. It was a matter of ritual. One of those \u2018this is who we are\u2019 things that set the people of God apart and made them a \u201cwe\u201d instead of a bunch of \u201cme\u2019s.\u201d The Pharisees see the disciples not washing their hands, and they turn it into one of those \u2018gotcha\u2019 moments when they can reveal Jesus as a fraud. It is an opportunity to discriminate<\/em>\u2014against Gentiles who have just converted; and also\u00a0incriminate<\/em>\u2014making Jesus look like a bad rabbi who does not really know his purity laws.<\/p>\n But Jesus tells them \u2014having faith is not just about the rules and rituals\u2014it is about having a right spirit. Nothing that you take into the body can be bad. What\u2019s more important is what the body does; the living faith, the product of the heart.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s important to remember that Jesus was a faithful Jewish leader\u2014he did not take the purity laws lightly. And beyond the importance of ritual\u2014 He knew the value of some good hand sanitizer. He knew that those laws were in place not just to establish community, but also for the GOOD of community. Still\u2014for all the religious AND practical importance of clean hands\u2014Jesus refuses to let the rules take on more importance than the INTENT of the rules\u2014which was always, and only, to point to the Glory of God.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve seen Jesus do this before. Often. And whether he was talking about healing on the sabbath, or eating with people who were socially unacceptable, or coming to dinner with dirty hands, the message is always the same\u2013the law matters, but NOT AS MUCH as the actual, real-live person in front of you. What matters more is the inner life; the workings of the heart. If you can love God and serve neighbor AND wash your hands, then all the better. But the ritual does not matter more than the inward transformation.<\/p>\n (If this were the gospel of Eric Taylor it might go: Clean hands, full hearts\u2026can\u2019t lose!)<\/p>\n \u00a0The rituals of faith, and the shared practices of community are important\u2026but not nearly as important as living the faith; as loving your neighbor, caring for God\u2019s people, and acting in ways that reflect the purity of a healthy inward spirit.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Somehow, over time\u2026 as the Christian movement grew and took on power and privilege over a couple of centuries, the disciples of Jesus started to sound less like Jesus himself; and more like the Pharisees<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n The Church\u2014as those followers came to call themselves\u2014started to care more about the rules and traditions meant to bind them together, and less about the hurting world they were called to serve through the good news. Obscure, unattainable morality code started to take precedence over human kindness and well\u2026 everything just went all to heck from there.<\/p>\n It isn\u2019t just Church where we see evidence of \u201cthis is how we do things\u201d taking precedence over people\u2026 Kind of like with our country\u2019s approach to gun legislation\u2026 Dogmatic attachment to the letter of the law, over and above the clear and growing threat to public safety\u2026<\/p>\n That is exactly the kind of blind adherence to tradition that Jesus warned against. Because that way leads to death, almost always.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just about religion, or even government. It\u2019s about how people will cling to a perceived certainty, every single time, over ambiguity that calls for in-the-moment discernment. Black\/white, right\/wrong sorts of answers have a certain appeal. They seem to make life easier. And so they often win out over the risk and reality of relationship.<\/p>\n The thing is\u2026 it\u2019s a fine line between easy answers and fundamentalism. It\u2019s a slippery downward slope, from \u201cthis is who we are and this is how we do things, NO MATTER WHAT,\u201d to \u201cthis is what we believe, and everybody who doesn\u2019t fall in line will be punished. Or\u00a0imprisoned, or deported, or executed.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s why every now and then, we take a few minutes to remember:<\/p>\n \u2013 what we preach is not as important as what we practice.<\/p>\n \u00a0-what goes into the body is not as important as the inner life of the spirit.<\/p>\n \u00a0-the rituals we repeat don\u2019t matter as much words from the heart.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u2013And coming to dinner with clean hands is not nearly as important as making room at the table.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Ritual is not all bad. Buildings are not always a burden. And Tradition has its place and purpose. But it\u2019s important to remember that tradition ITSELF is not the gift<\/em>. Rituals are not meant to take the place of actual faith, and buildings are not meant to be hiding places.<\/p>\n There is a church in Grand Rapids called Bethlehem Lutheran Church \u2014how great is that for a church name, like a place that is always just waiting for something to be born? \u2014 Bethlehem Lutheran had that big gothic, downtown, historic-register-of-places thing going on. They knew all about the hallowed be thy bricks prayer, and the styrofoam cup of God\u2019s blessing.<\/p>\n They also knew about the missing Millenials; and the crumbling plaster; and the futility of saying \u2018don\u2019t they know who we are,\u2019 even as the place fell down around their ears.<\/p>\n
\n but their hearts are far from me;<\/em>
\n 7<\/sup>in vain do they worship me,<\/em>
\n teaching human precepts as doctrines.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n![\"wash-71203_640\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/333\/2015\/08\/wash-71203_640-e1441042485708.jpg\")
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