Some background
about the Pharisees and Sadducees:
The Torah is
the first 5 books of the Old Testament.
The Sadducees
taught that the written Torah was the only source of revelation or Law.
The Pharisees
believed that the Law that God gave to Moses was twofold, consisting of the
Written Law, the Torah, and the Oral Law—i.e., the teachings of the prophets
and the oral traditions of the Jewish people.[i]
The Sadducees
were the party of high priests, aristocratic families, and merchants—the
wealthier elements of the population. They generally represented the
conservative view within Judaism.
While the
Pharisees, claimed the authority of piety and learning, the Sadducees claimed
that of birth and social and economic position. During the long period of the
two parties’ struggle—which lasted until the Romans’ destruction of Jerusalem
in 70 AD—the Sadducees dominated the Temple and its priesthood.[ii]
In the
reading we heard this morning it is the Pharisees asking Jesus a question - why
don’t your disciples wash their hands the right way, the traditional way.
Washing our
hands is important in terms of physical hygiene, but here they are not talking
about germs and dirt; but being unfit to worship God.
For the Pharisees
the tradition was important. You wash your hands the correct way or you will
not be suitable to worship God.
Jesus quotes
Isaiah:
“All
of you praise me with your words,
but
you never really think about me.”
Some other
translations are:
These people
make a big show of saying the right thing,
but their heart isn’t in it.
They act like
they are worshiping me,
but they don’t mean it. [Mark 7:6 The
Message]
Their worship
is nothing more than a charade! [TPT]
These people
mouth all the right words,
but their hearts aren’t in it.
Their worship is just one big sham.[iii]
I think you
get the idea.
To me the reading we heard this morning is not
about handwashing or washing the cooking pans. It is about what makes us right
with God.
Is it tradition?
Is it the Law of Moses in the first five books of
the Old Testament?
Is it singing the right hymns or saying the right
prayers?
Is it turning up to church on Sunday morning?
Or is it something else?
What is it
that makes us suitable or not suitable to worship God?
If we are separated
from God or not suitable to worship God because of what comes out of our hearts,
rather then what we eat, what can we do to change that?
I am not sure
washing our hearts the way we wash our hands is possible, or even if it would
work.
This passage encourages
us to explore some important questions–
1. how important is tradition
2. what is the Law and how do we
interpret the Law in this day and place?
3. how do we have good things come from within
us?
Tradition: is
it important? Some aspects of tradition will be important to different people. For
example, the tradition here is to stand as the offering is brought forward,
that doesn’t happen everywhere. The idea
behind it is that you are offering yourself as well as what is in the offering
plate to God. Do you feel that when you stand?
In some
churches the tradition is to stand for the Bible reading, in others you stand to
pray, others kneel to pray.
I know from
conversations that for some of you the tradition is that communion is served so
that all eat and drink at the one time. For others the tradition is that you
come forward to the communion rail. There are reasons for both, we just don’t a
have large enough communion rail for everyone at the one time.
There are
lots of traditions in churches, families, clubs and countries. Being a tradition
doesn’t make something good or bad, but it helps to see what is behind the
tradition.
For the Pharisees
what made you unsuitable to worship God was not only sin,
but also not
following tradition,
or working in
a job where you handled dead bodies,
or one of
many everyday situations people found themselves in.
What about the
Law of God: Do we only recognise the Torah, like the Sadducees, or are we like
the Pharisees and recognise the Torah and the Prophets and the oral tradition?
Or is there something
more to our relationship with God that neither the Sadducees nor Pharisees were
aware of.
We live in a different
time, a post resurrection time. For us
as Christians our relationship with God is not defined by tradition or the
Torah, but by the love of God shown in the life, death and resurrection of
Jesus.
If you asked
me to define the Law, I would say, love God, love neighbour and love each
other.
I wonder what
you think makes people unsuitable to worship God.
are there
times when you feel like you are not able to worship God?
….
One of my
favourite hymns is ‘Come as you are’,
the idea of
God wanting us to be in relationship with God,
to sit with God
no matter what is happening or has happened.
“Come as you
are that’s how I want you.
Come as you are, feel quite at home.
….
Nothing can
change the love that I bear you.
All will be
well, just come as you are.”
Our relationship
with God is not about hand washing, or even bible reading, though both are
helpful things to do.
Our relationship
with God is based on God and God’s love rather than anything we do.
That doesn’t mean
our words and actions do not have consequences.
What is it
that makes us suitable to worship God?
What keeps our
actions and words suitable for God – hearts that are full of God.
We could look
at Micah 6:8
The LORD God
has told us
what is right
and what he demands:
“See that
justice is done,
let mercy be
your first concern,
and humbly obey your God.”
or Paul’s
letter to the church at Philippi while he was in prison:
Philippians
4:8
Finally, my
friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and
proper. Don’t ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of
praise.
Contemporary English Version (CEV) Copyright
© 1995 by American Bible Society
What makes us
fit to worship God -it is not our hygiene or our dress style or our address.
God cleanses
us from the
evil that comes from within us - evil thoughts, vulgar deeds, stealing, greed,
meanness, deceit, pride, foolishness and more.
What makes us
fit to worship God is God.
God’s love and
grace
The love of
God shown in the life and death and resurrection of Jesus
The grace of
God shown to each of us in forgiveness.
Gospel
Reflection
Lord,
let our hearts not be
far from you.
let our hearts not be
far from you.
Help us
reach out to our neighbour,
even when we are busy or tired.
Let us tear down walls
when we’d
rather
let them stand.
even when we are busy or tired.
Let us tear down walls
when we’d
rather
let them stand.
Stretch
us, please.
Whether
we are
visiting a prisoner,
visiting a prisoner,
offering
a smile,
feeding
the hungry,
be within us so that whatever we do,
we do with your love.
be within us so that whatever we do,
we do with your love.
Let the
world know we are your disciples
not because our hands are clean,
but because they are soiled
with the mark of your
people.
not because our hands are clean,
but because they are soiled
with the mark of your
people.
~ written by Anne Osdieck,
and posted on Saint Louis University’s The Center for Liturgy web
site. http://liturgy.slu.edu/
We take some time to listen to spirit.
[i]
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pharisee
[ii]
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sadducee
[iii]
http://laughingbird.net/ScriptureParaphrases.html
