X-Ray Vision?

September 2, 2012

Mark 7:1-23

Rev. Ericka Parkinson Kilbourne

7Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him,²they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them.³(For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders;⁴and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.)⁵So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?”⁶He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,

‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
⁷in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.’

⁸You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.”

¹⁴Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand:¹⁵there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.” ²¹For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder,²²adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly.²³All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

            Many of you may know that Mike, Hannah, and I had the opportunity to travel up North in Michigan and Wisconsin this past week, and we are all grateful for your willingness to offer time off for us to find renewal for our bodies and spirits!

We returned from our week long vacation on Friday night, and so naturally, I had it in my mind that we needed to go to the grocery store yesterday, in order to get ready for life as usual, and fully stock the apartment that had been left bare for a week.

            No, I didn’t think about the fact that it was the prime shopping day for everyone else in the city…it being a Saturday, the first day of the month and Labor Day weekend.  I just knew we needed groceries, I didn’t intend to go shopping with 1000 other people!

            No one was happy while shopping.  Couples were bickering at each other, children were arguing with their parents, parents were yelling at their children. Faces looked grim, worried, troubled, and stressed. I’m going to be honest with you, Mike and I argued on the way to the grocery store.  Of course, I can’t remember now what we argued about…but it sure was important yesterday.

            Everyone was walking around  looking for things to fill their bodies, to feed their families, or themselves for the week, some were looking at healthy options in the produce aisle, others were considering options with the potato chips and candy.  Regardless of their place in the store, most of my neighbors whom I met yesterday seemed troubled in some way.

            In this particular scripture, the Pharisees and scribes are deeply troubled about Jesus and his disciples-particularly about the way that they choose to eat.  You see, there were very specific washing rituals that were common for Jews at the time and these were supposed to signify ones devotion to God.  Yet, Jesus and his disciples did not participate in the rituals. And before the young ones get the idea that Jesus didn’t wash his hands before dinner, and therefore you don’t have to wash your hands before dinner…it’s commonly understood that they did wash their hands…just not in the specific religious way that was expected of them.

            And this made the Pharisees and the Scribes mad!  “How could he talk about God and about our religion, if he doesn’t follow the way that we have been taught?  How dare they eat in such a way that does not show honor to God and to God’s creation?”

            Jesus’ answer is one that, according to Mark, receives no answer from the Pharisees.  Jesus is known for these responses that leaves his listeners silent, contemplating, a bit rebuked, and perhaps ready for change.

            He quotes from Isaiah, asserting that the generation of religious leaders and followers with whom he’s speaking are ones who honor God with their lips..their actions, but not their hearts.  He asserts that their worship is in vain because they are teaching human precepts as doctrines.

            And then he gets to the heart of his statement.  He tells them that there is nothing that goes into the body that defiles…but it is what comes out…what defiles our humanity is the substance of our actions which come from within…from our heart…from our spirit…from our soul.  Not necessarily anything those scribes and Pharisees could really argue with. 

            The Pharisees and Scribes knew how to change their own and each other’s eating habits, in order for everyone to look as if they were connected with God…that their souls were nourished by God’s wisdom.  But it was another thing to deal with their own souls, and the souls of others.  The very thought of this left them speechless…left to walk away in anger, maybe, OR….to think, to pray, and perhaps to discern God’s leading in response to Jesus’ answer.

If you’re anything like me, there are times in your life when you want to make real changes.  You notice things on the outside that need changing…a cleaner house, a more trim shape, a more balanced family budget, a newer car…or perhaps just one that runs well, we look at our habits, what we eat, what we drink, how often we exercise, and we think that if we change these things we might feel better.  And we begin with these actions, these material objects, these outer manifestations of ourselves, and too often we end up disappointed…because nothing seems to be transformed.

            Jesus tells us that our very selves…our soul…exists within.  As I walked through Meijer yesterday, I wondered what I could see with X-ray vision as I passed by the mirror.  What was informing my grumpiness?  Sure, I like everyone around me was performing my human duty, my family duty, by shopping for and purchasing food for the week…to fill my body, to fill the bodies of my family.

            But, what was lacking?  What wasn’t being fed?

            If I had X-ray vision to look within my soul and the souls of those around me…I wonder what I might have found?  What might you find if you look within?

            A spirit which has not had the opportunity to truly sit and be in the presence of God?

            A soul which has been filled with so much  guilt or shame over the years that the words I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry continue to be said, but grace is hard to come by?

            An inner spirit struggling with both regret and resentment for things and experiences in the past…but not finding a place to safely put them…to move on…to live life with joy?

            An inner sanctum of the self that has not had the opportunity to seek God’s wisdom because the noises and the needs of the world have been so great and so loud that this particular inner sanctuary of the soul has not been entered in years.

            Next week is rally Sunday, the day when our Christian Education season begins. At 9am, the education hour, there will be Sunday school for pre-schoolers, elementary aged kids, and youth.  For adults, our regular Present Word Bible Study will continue in the library, an interactive faith study will be offered in the Edith Boyd Lounge, a New Members class will meet upstairs, and one of our Missional Transformation Discernment groups will also meet during the 9am Education hour.  For six-weeks, small discernment groups will be offered during the week on Monday mornings, Monday evenings, Tuesday afternoons, and two are offered on Thursday mornings.  The Presbyterian Women will meet on Saturday to learn about the new Bible study for the year, and they will continue to meet in Circles to discern the wisdom which comes from the scripture and from God’s leading in their conversations.  These are all opportunities for our souls to be fed.  For, while we will be studying scripture, using our brains and our intellect, all the while, God is present in that study, tending to our spirits.

            Especially in our discernment groups, the questions within the study will not focus just upon regurgitating the “correct answer,” just to recap the day’s scripture. The act of discernment is to identify, to hear, to listen for God’s calling to you, to us, through the reading of scripture, through the praying of prayers, through conversing about God’s word.

            How will God’s action in your life transform you from within? According to this scripture, when we are transformed from within, our relationships are healthier, we make wiser choices, and we live more peaceful and harmonious lives.  After reflecting on this scripture, and reflecting upon my own restless and sometimes grumpy spirit, I’m convinced that allowing God to transform my inner being is about as important, if not more important, than a weekly visit to the grocery store.  How about you?