That Which Defiles - Matthew 15:1-11
15 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother' and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ 5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6 they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 “‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’”
10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”
Reflection:
It was the late Brennan Manning who said, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” (Brennan Manning)
While Jesus is about bringing in the kingdom of heaven on earth as it is in heaven, the religious leaders are busy trying to protect their power and authority, and the traditions they have created to keep control. There is only one major problem here, the traditions they have created have nothing to do with the Word of God. They have become so obsessed with the laws they have created, they are more worried about a ceremonial hand washing than someone who is trying to honor their mother or father with a gift that otherwise could have been put in the temple treasury. Jesus is so disturbed by the spirit of their interaction, that he calls them "hypocrites".
We know the word comes from the Greek word, which means to put on a mask, which Greek actors put on in their plays and performance. Jesus sights Isaiah's prophesy which says, "their lips honor me but their hearts are far from me!" What does this mean? It means we could be going through all the motions and involving ourselves in religious activity and our heart could be as cold as a stone! In fact, this is one of the greatest deterrents to people who watch the church from the outside. They cry, "they are a bunch of hypocrites!"
Most importantly Jesus describes this process as one in which we begin to regard our traditions as more important than the commands of God! This is often called legalism. Legalism is a poor substitute for the Gospel and is actually antithetical to it. St. Paul says, "It is for freedom that Christ Jesus set us free. Stand firm and do not be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." If any of you have come from a legalistic tradition you know what that slavery is like. It is rules, rules, rules, and then interpretation of those rules. And really all we really need is the simplicity and profundity of the Ten Commandments, as we are led by the Holy Spirit to carry them out. Note apart from the power of the Holy Spirit working the power of Christ within us we could never obey the law. So I am not talking about a new legalism here.
It is easy to cast stones at that the Pharisees and their hypocrisy, but the reality is we all have to watch out for this tendency. We tend to judge others by our own standards of righteousness, rather than seeing others as Christ would see them. After all with all that we have been forgiven, it would be hypocritical for is to judge others by standards we deem fit. The key word here is freedom. Jesus has set you free to live a life worthy of your calling in Him. As you live a life in Christ loving and serving Him, you will not repel others from the Good News, but draw them to it. Why? Because it is Christ in you the hope of glory that is attracting people to Him. We can't credit for it but we can take joy in it because this is what we were made for, to be a reflection of His grace as His adopted sons and daughters. This is what an unbelieving world will find believe-able!!
Jesus, help us not to get caught up in vain traditions, but honor you with our lips and lives as Your Holy Spirit transforms us from the inside out to be more like you every day. Amen.
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother' and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ 5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6 they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 “‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’”
10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”
Reflection:
It was the late Brennan Manning who said, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” (Brennan Manning)
While Jesus is about bringing in the kingdom of heaven on earth as it is in heaven, the religious leaders are busy trying to protect their power and authority, and the traditions they have created to keep control. There is only one major problem here, the traditions they have created have nothing to do with the Word of God. They have become so obsessed with the laws they have created, they are more worried about a ceremonial hand washing than someone who is trying to honor their mother or father with a gift that otherwise could have been put in the temple treasury. Jesus is so disturbed by the spirit of their interaction, that he calls them "hypocrites".
We know the word comes from the Greek word, which means to put on a mask, which Greek actors put on in their plays and performance. Jesus sights Isaiah's prophesy which says, "their lips honor me but their hearts are far from me!" What does this mean? It means we could be going through all the motions and involving ourselves in religious activity and our heart could be as cold as a stone! In fact, this is one of the greatest deterrents to people who watch the church from the outside. They cry, "they are a bunch of hypocrites!"
Most importantly Jesus describes this process as one in which we begin to regard our traditions as more important than the commands of God! This is often called legalism. Legalism is a poor substitute for the Gospel and is actually antithetical to it. St. Paul says, "It is for freedom that Christ Jesus set us free. Stand firm and do not be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." If any of you have come from a legalistic tradition you know what that slavery is like. It is rules, rules, rules, and then interpretation of those rules. And really all we really need is the simplicity and profundity of the Ten Commandments, as we are led by the Holy Spirit to carry them out. Note apart from the power of the Holy Spirit working the power of Christ within us we could never obey the law. So I am not talking about a new legalism here.
It is easy to cast stones at that the Pharisees and their hypocrisy, but the reality is we all have to watch out for this tendency. We tend to judge others by our own standards of righteousness, rather than seeing others as Christ would see them. After all with all that we have been forgiven, it would be hypocritical for is to judge others by standards we deem fit. The key word here is freedom. Jesus has set you free to live a life worthy of your calling in Him. As you live a life in Christ loving and serving Him, you will not repel others from the Good News, but draw them to it. Why? Because it is Christ in you the hope of glory that is attracting people to Him. We can't credit for it but we can take joy in it because this is what we were made for, to be a reflection of His grace as His adopted sons and daughters. This is what an unbelieving world will find believe-able!!
Jesus, help us not to get caught up in vain traditions, but honor you with our lips and lives as Your Holy Spirit transforms us from the inside out to be more like you every day. Amen.
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