Today’s Reading: Mark 7:1-23; Psalm 51
The religious leaders were curious about Jesus in one moment and then annoyed by him in the next. Their world had revolved around following rules and traditions, but Jesus’ focus was on the inward condition of the heart over the outward display of religious practices. They were busy displaying self-righteousness, instead of relying on God’s righteousness to be lived out in them. On this day, they asked Jesus why his disciples did not follow the tradition of performing the hand-washing ceremony before they ate.
NOT ABOUT CLEAN HANDS BUT CLEAN HEARTS
Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,
‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship is a farce,
for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’
For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.”
Then he said, “You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition. For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ In this way, you let them disregard their needy parents. And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others.” – Mark 7:6-13
Jesus was not opposed to the practice of washing your hands before you eat. In fact, it’s a really good idea to come to the dinner table with clean hands. What Jesus was emphasizing is that it is more important to come with clean hearts than clean hands; the focus is not on an outward display of religion, but inward evidence of relationship. We should not get caught up on our favorite best practices of religion yet willfully disregard the needs of those around us. We should not get so caught up in our service to the Church that we forget to serve our Christ.
NOT AN OUTWARD DISPLAY OF RELIGION, BUT INWARD EVIDENCE OF RELATIONSHIP
Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” he said, “and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.”
Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowd, and his disciples asked him what he meant by the parable he had just used. “Don’t you understand either?” he asked. “Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.)
And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” – Mark 7:14-23
CLEAN HANDS ARE EASIER THAN CLEAN HEARTS.
I think one of the reasons we try to clean up our outward performance is because we know the fickleness of our hearts. But if God looks at my heart, I’m doomed. To try to purify my own heart and thoughts is impossible. My hands may look clean on the outside, but I look down and see the guilt of all my hands have done. How can a holy God accept me? I am overwhelmed with shame, for it is impossible to get the stains off my hands and I have failed to tame the desires of my heart.
Oh but we serve a generous God — a God of mercy and compassion. He does not require us to come to him as perfect, sinless servants. No, God’s love for us is so amazing that He is the One who performs the transformation within us. When we surrender our hearts and hands to Him, His Spirit moves in and begins to work in us. Day by day, we begin to see a difference in what we desire because the Spirit is aligning our hearts with God’s. He is removing the stain of our sins and cleansing us with His righteousness. Together let’s pray this prayer from Psalm 51:
Have mercy on me, O God,
because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion,
blot out the stain of my sins.
Wash me clean from my guilt.
Purify me from my sin.
For I recognize my rebellion;
it haunts me day and night.
Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your sight.
You will be proved right in what you say,
and your judgment against me is just.
For I was born a sinner—
yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
But you desire honesty from the womb,
teaching me wisdom even there.
Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Oh, give me back my joy again;
you have broken me—
now let me rejoice.
Don’t keep looking at my sins.
Remove the stain of my guilt.
Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me.
Do not banish me from your presence,
and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. – Psalm 51:1-11