THE PULPIT: mobius strip christianity

Mark 7

1One day some Pharisees and teachers of religious law arrived from Jerusalem to confront Jesus. 2They noticed that some of Jesus' disciples failed to follow the usual Jewish ritual of hand washing before eating. 3(The Jews, especially the Pharisees, do not eat until they have poured water over their cupped hands,[a] as required by their ancient traditions. 4Similarly, they eat nothing bought from the market unless they have immersed their hands in water. This is but one of many traditions they have clung to--such as their ceremony of washing cups, pitchers, and kettles.[b]) 5So the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked him, "Why don't your disciples follow our age-old customs? For they eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony."

6Jesus replied, "You hypocrites! Isaiah was prophesying about you when he said,
7
`These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far away.
Their worship is a farce,
for they replace God's commands with their own man-made teachings.'[c]

8For you ignore God's specific laws and substitute your own traditions."

9Then he said, "You reject God's laws in order to hold on to your own traditions. 10For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: `Honor your father and mother,' and `Anyone who speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death.'[d] 11But 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 could have given to you.'[e] 12You let them disregard their needy parents. 13As such, you break the law of God in order to protect your own tradition. And this is only one example. There are many, many others."

14Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. "All of you listen," he said, "and try to understand. 15You are not defiled by what you eat; you are defiled by what you say and do![f]"

17Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowds, and his disciples asked him what he meant by the statement he had made. 18"Don't you understand either?" he asked. "Can't you see that what you eat won't defile you? 19Food doesn't come in contact with your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then comes out again." (By saying this, he showed that every kind of food is acceptable.)

20And then he added, "It is the thought-life that defiles you. 21For from within, out of a person's heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, eagerness for lustful pleasure, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you and make you unacceptable to God."

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It is said there are two sides to every coin. This is good because if there were only one side then how would we settle our disputes? Paper, Rock, Scissors is an option but there are just too many variants. Some people add other elements like dynamite. It blows up rocks and burns up paper, but scissors cut the wick and diffuse it. And there are draws. Both people throw out the same sheet of paper. That is just too much work. There is always the oldie but the goodie, Eany Meany Miney Moe. However, everyone knows that the one saying it can rig it to land anywhere he or she wants. Tossing a coin is just the easiest and most reliable method of decision-making we have. So I guess we will have to stick with it.

Today’s scriptures bring to light one of the biggest coins in our world: Religion. This debate has gone on for centuries. What is the most important aspect of religion? Beliefs or behaviors? Relationships or Rituals? Works or Faith? Within modern Christianity this debate continues. It is often the argument Protestants use to distinguish between their view of salvation and a Roman Catholic view of salvation. We see the tension in the Epistles. Paul is all about justification by faith and freedom from the law. James, on the other hand, seems to present a compelling argument emphasizing works and behavior. This dispute has been around as long as there has been religion.

Jesus was not immune from this two-sided coin either. In today’s gospel lesson, we find Him and His disciples eating. “Finally,” they thought, “we’ve finally caught them blatantly breaking the law.” And indeed they had. You see, Jesus’ disciples forgot to wash their hands before eating. In today’s world, we cringe at the thought of all those yucky germs getting on our food and into our system. We could get sick. But for the Pharisees, any number of things could render a person unclean. Certainly eating unclean food could make a person unclean. It was all about the law and ceremony and traditions.

And so they challenge Jesus, but thought they would be sneaky. Instead of accusing him, they asked him, “why do you all not wash your hands before you eat? Why do you think you are above the traditions of the faith?” Jesus, as always, had a provocative retort. He quotes Scripture. “You honor me with you words, but your hearts are far from me; you worship me in vain, teaching your laws as God’s laws.” O how the tables turned. What began as an issue of behavior became an issue of belief…what started as a discussion of ritual, became a discussion of relationship…what was initially a discussion of works, was now a discussion of faith. The coin has flipped and the Pharisees are not too comfortable.

But Jesus did not stop there. When he was finished with the Pharisees, he gathered the crowd around him. He wanted to make sure that no one missed the point. He said to them, “it is not what goes into your body that defiles you or makes you unclean, but what comes out of your life that defiles you or makes you unclean.” He still was not done, as he continued teaching the disciples once the others had left. “Food,” he said, “just enters the stomach, is used up. It is what comes out from the heart that is a problem.”

That settles it. The life of holiness is all about a heart relationship with God. We do not have to worry about the Law. We do not have to be tied up by the traditions of the Church. All we have to have is a good relationship with God in our heart. This sounds great, but it posed a small problem for the Pharisees, the crowd and even for the disciples. What should they do with all of their rich history? Should they just ignore it and make a new history? And what about all of their deeply meaningful traditions? Just throw them away? It was all they knew. It was a way of life. It guided them, it taught them, and now Jesus comes along saying it is all worthless. All that matters is that they have a personal relationship with him.

We often find ourselves in the same sticky situation. Our theology is built predominantly on a reliance on personal relationship. Often holiness is equated with nothing more than a state of the heart. “I believe and therefore I am a Christian.” We teach our children that going to church does not make a person a Christian. Giving a tithe does not make a person a Christian. Even daily devotions do not make a person a Christian. All that makes a person a Christian is a right belief, a right relationship. Faith is all that matters.

This idea is even thoroughly ingrained in our denominational structure. Our Church structure is grounded deeply in the free church movement, where the basic idea is that it is up to each individual church to decide what is best for it. We are skeptical of anything that smacks of tradition. We often speak of rituals as empty and meaningless. Tradition is the archenemy of vibrant, living, relationships. As long as we have a loving, personal relationship with Jesus, all else is OK! Relationship is all that matters, ritual is of little importance. Faith is what saves us, not our works.

If we really believe that, then what do we do with going to church? It does not save us, but can we be Christian and not part of a worshipping community? Can we receive the grace of God and not be active ministers of the grace of God? Can we be forgiven and yet not practice forgiveness? These questions arise as long as we insist on viewing faith and works, ritual and relationship, belief and behavior as a two-sided coin. Scripture paints for us a different picture. True holiness is found only at the intersection of inward being and outward doing.

In the gospel lesson, we see Jesus confronting the very notion that it is either heads or tails. Jesus, when addressing the Pharisees quotes Isaiah. “They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” He clarifies his point as he shares with the crowd and with the disciples. The things that come out are what defile. What comes out comes from the heart. There is a direct connection, for Jesus, between inward being and outward doing. He is not upset that they give God honor with their lips, but he is upset that the condition of their inner being lacks consistency with their outward doing.

He in no way invalidates the law. Rather, he reinforces it. He is simply correcting a misunderstanding and misuse of the law of God. Meat does not defile a person. A person is defiled by the fact that he or she is disobeying a command of God. Disobedience, action, behavior, is what defiles…not the thing itself. Jesus is not speaking out against tradition, or works, or behavior. He is not saying that one is more important than the other. What he is saying is that when our lives are properly aligned they are one and the same thing!

He is giving us a new metaphor, rejecting the image of the two-sided coin. I have a strip of paper for you all. Could I get one of you to help me pass these out? …. This is a typical strip of paper. Like the coin, the strip of paper has two sides. If you have a pen or a pencil, go ahead and write on one side the word “FAITH.” On the other, write the word “WORKS.” Here we have the same metaphor as the coin. The problem is that the coin is inflexible. It cannot be bent, and shape. Our lives are bendable and shapeable. The Holy Spirit is working all the time to bend us, to shape us so that we will reflect the holiness of Christ. The Spirit is working constantly that our lives might be aligned properly to God.

Take that strip of paper, holding it at each end. Give it one half of a twist. Now bring the ends together so it makes a loop. Hold it together with two fingers. Everybody got it? Now you have a strip of paper that has been bent and shape and brought into proper alignment. Now with your free hand, place your pointer finger on the faith side of the loop. Now trace that side of the strip until you come to the end. Having difficulties finding where one side stops and the other starts?

Jesus introduces this new metaphor. Not a two-side coin, but a one sided life. We cannot separate our inner being from out outward doing. We cannot be saved by our actions, nor can we just take care of our inner being and not be doers. James understands very well the importance of being and doing. Many accuse James of preaching a works righteousness, but that simply is not the case. James echoes his big brother in this morning’s Epistle lesson. “…Your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.” Here we see clearly that James sees the importance of inner being. Do not be angry. It does not produce righteousness. Rather be meek…receive the word. Salvation lies in receiving the Word.

James wisely does not stop there. He goes on to argue that we simply CANNOT be just hearers or receivers. We must also be doers. James too finds a vital connection between our being and our doing. Those who fail to do, forget what they heard. They forget what they received. Faith must be reinforced…faith must give birth to works. Relationships must express themselves in ritual. Beliefs must manifest and confirm themselves in our behavior.

Our lives cannot be two-sided coins. Rather our lives must be bent and shaped by the Spirit so that there is unity in our being and doing. One author commented, “Life for disciples involves both ‘hearing’ and ‘doing.’ … ‘ Doing the Word’ means, that ‘in’ and ‘through Christ,’ God has given Christians new life! That life unfolds itself in practical everyday living. It means there is a necessary connection between accepting the gospel, and acting according to it! The faith of disciples of Jesus involves a way of life which can and must be practiced!” True holiness is found only at the intersection of inward being and outward doing, to the glory of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

The closing hymn today is #308, Come Holy Spirit. As we sing it, consider the Word and consider your life. If you have considered the Word this morning and found that your life is a two-sided coin, pray that the Holy Spirit of God would bend and shape your life that your life might find the unity and the wholeness demanded of the Holy People of God. Perhaps this morning you feel the Spirit tugging at your heart asking you to have a relationship with him. Perhaps you have found that you are a person of deep faith, but your life is producing little good fruit. Commit to letting your life be bent and shaped until your life comes to proper alignment. This bending and shaping is a daily choice. It is a daily commitment, but this is a great place to start. Today is the best time to submit to the Spirit’s work. If you need to get your life bent and shaped. Come forward this morning. Start the shaping of your life by kneeling here at the foot of the cross.