God’s Commandment or Our Traditions
Sunday, September 1, 2024
15th Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 17
Officiant: Rev. Deb Lockhart, Deacon
The Epistle
James 1:17-27
Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for 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.
But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act-they will be blessed in their doing.
If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
The Gospel
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
When the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and 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.) So 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?” He 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;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.’
You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.”
Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.” For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
Let us pray:
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. Amen.
Sometimes God’s messages slip in quietly and other times it is like being gobsmacked!Today’s scripture readings is a hand to a forehead moment! God must be having a field day! This Mark passage has us witnessing…. that in holding too fast to traditions (old ways)….with the vice grip of control, we risk missing what Jesus is saying.
To paraphrase from the preaching commentary, Feasting on the Word…..this passage is a critique of how we as religious creatures too often exalt our rituals over our ethics, including our inclusiveness toward one another. We get so hung up on the religiosity of our set-apartness, we overlook the deeper truth that living out the heart of our religious tradition would instead lead us to right relationships—-like being kind, compassionate, or fair. We get all wrapped around the axle about the proper or only way to do this or that, and we overlook the deeper demand of serving God by doing good —-to each other, across the aisle and across the pews.
This message in Mark isn’t about eating with dirty hands——it is about putting so much importance on things such as cleanliness or being so set in our ways, that we miss the focus of what is important. If only we could see that often there is more than one “right” way to do most anything…..
For this moment, let’s hit the pause button in all this uncertainty, and listen to what God may be trying to tell us? And while we are listening, let’s listen to each other. I hear much these days and some of it sounds like the repetition of old stories—-really old stories that are said to justify behavior and attitude. What I hear is repetition but what I see is hurt inflicted on others in the name of being righteous about one’s own convictions. I also see how these old ways infect others, sometimes influence the thinking of newer folks in our midst.
I have only been with you all for some 2 years and in that time I have watched for the cues you’ve offered as to how to be part of these two churches. Together or separate? Commonalities versus differences? What are those differences based on? Tradition? Ritual? Old biases? Superiority? Have some of these differences been founded or based on truths…..or are they merely conveniences and means to control?
Let us remember that without God’s grace and mercy and His unconditional love, we are nothing……no matter what the stories we tell ourselves.
Today I am the the bearer of difficult news. Kaki will not be returning to us. She came to help cover the summer not just with regular worship but with the caring of a rector—-she wanted what was best for both churches and she fiercely believed she could meet the needs of both congregations….all of the time….every Sunday. To give each church what they wanted… It has taken its toll. Thankfully, Bobby is making great strides toward recovery. Kaki, has had to make the difficult decision to step aside from her call to care for Bobby and to spend precious time together for the near future. Kaki was (is) a wonderful example of living out her faith to the benefit of each of these parishes—-can we say the same was done on her behalf? Or for the priest before her or for the one to follow?
In the midst of all this change and uncertainty within these churches (our nation and our world), let us not forget why we are here…..not in this building, but why we are here, our purpose….
We are to be the eyes, the ears, and the arms and legs of Jesus. We are to be his disciples of today…… not by what we say, but by what we do. We are not talking about just being busy for the sake of looking good, but we are to act out our faith by living it….to borrow from a speech delivered recently…..when we see a need, we are to do something…..not sit around and discuss the old ways but to actually take action. This means caring for the other, loving one another, putting our own agendas aside so that we might serve God, just as Jesus taught throughout his entire life. In today’s Epistle, James asks us—-to be quick to listen, slow to speak (because we are so actively listening), and slow to anger. One commentary suggested that we humans go so far with telling ourselves stories of our own righteousness, that we stop working at becoming better Christians. The result is that we neither hear nor see ourselves with honesty and likewise, we don’t hear God much either.
Let me tell you why I am here…..as a deacon I have been sent here to love you—-just that, to love you and walk with you, including this journey you all are currently on. As a deacon in the Church, I am to study the Holy Scriptures, to seek nourishment from them, and to model my life upon them and to model my life after Jesus. I am to make Christ and his redemptive love known, by my word and example, with those with whom I live, and work, and worship. I am here to companion you, to share our love for Jesus, to offer pastoral care and prayer, and to find ways of bringing community into the church. I may sound direct this morning but if we need to hear directness, we need only to reread today’s passage. Jesus does not sugarcoat his words when he says it is what comes out of a person that defiles and does the damage. “It is from the human heart, that evil intentions come…” “You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition”.
Let us pray:
Merciful God, “in you (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) we live and move and have our being”. Help us to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and even slower to anger. Help us dismantle the tendency to hanging on too tightly those traditions and rituals that have never served you or served your church. Help us to align our will and heart with your will and purpose. Let us begin each day by simply asking for this grace. We ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son who taught us to love one another without agenda or gain. Amen.