What Goes In Must Come Out

In our reading from Matthew Chapter 15 (verses 10-28), the Scribes and Pharisees ask Jesus why the disciples are not following the tradition of the elders “for they do not wash their hands when they eat”. This is not saying the disciples were eating with unwashed hands – although they may have been. They are not telling Jesus “Yuk! Look at that one – he still has fish guts on his fingers and he’s eating. Can’t you make him wash his hands?” Which is reminiscent of meal times with the children: “Did you wash your hands?” “Yes.” “I’m not convinced – go wash them again!”

The Elders, who were past religious leaders not current living rulers of the people, had a tradition of ceremonial washings. These were continued by tradition and were not a commandment from God. The religious leaders asking the question here were offended that the disciples did not observe these rigid and extensive traditions. Traditions which these Scribes and Pharisees took very seriously – a lot more seriously than they took God’s commandments. Hence, Jesus’s reply “Why do you transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?”

Jesus did what He often did. He answered a question with a question. He turns the accusations back to the accusers. “Because of your tradition” repeated Jesus. Not only was Jesus pointing out that the accusation was based purely on tradition and not on God’s actual commandments but He was pointing out that the Scribes and Pharisees are far too wrapped up in these trivialities. They were not paying attention to God’s Law and Scriptures but were condemning people based on tradition; declaring them unclean and denying them access to God based on a tradition.

Jesus went on to give examples of how their traditions were in conflict with God’s commandments and dishonoured God. Honour your father and mother, a clear command which even comes with a penalty for disobedience. When we are adults no longer living in our parent’s house or under their authority we do not have to obey them but we do have to honour them. Part of honouring them was to look after and aid them in times of necessity. This would be done by sharing resources with their parents to help them. Some Jewish people would declare their possessions or savings as a gift to God, especially dedicated to Him, and as such their resources were unavailable to help their parents despite those having made the vow still having access to the resources – money, property, possessions – for themselves.

Jesus doesn’t hold back, He goes straight into pointing out the hypocrisy of these traditions, calling the Scribes and Pharisees hypocrites. They honour Me with their lips but their heart is far from Me. We call this lip service. When we say the words but our hearts are not in it. It is a truth not limited to the Scribes and Pharisees being confronted by Jesus but is true of people of today too. Appearing to draw near to God when our heart is far away. It is easy to want and be impressed by the image of being near to God without actually really being there. God is interested in the internal and the real. He knows what is actually written on our hearts and minds. We tend to be much more interested in the merely external image. It is vital to take care to ensure that our relationship with God is not superficial.

All cultures and societies have various traditions, often which have been handed down. Like recipes: my gingerbread recipe came from my mother who got it from my grandmother who got it from my great grandmother and so on. And many families will have some sort of practice and tradition that has been taken on by each new generation.

So I want to pause here to point out that Jesus was not labelling all traditions as bad or all traditions as good. What He was doing was putting them in their place. Traditions are not the same as God’s Word, God’s commandments and how God wants us to live. Traditions have a lower priority than God.

Having told off these Scribes and Pharisees, Jesus now teaches the crowds about these ceremonial cleanliness traditions in regard to food in advance of the New Covenant where the old food laws would be void and all food allowed, as declared in Acts (chapter 10 verse 15). Jesus warns us that it is not what we eat that defiles us but what we say and that what we say reflects on the state of our hearts.

Now the disciples were only human and, similar to what might happen today, they mention to Jesus that they think He might have offended the Pharisees slightly. Well, yes, that was after all the intention. Jesus needed to get the point across that they valued man-made tradition too highly. The commandments of men will not last because they are not rooted in God or truth.

Peter, it’s always Peter, asked Jesus to explain because the disciples had not understood. ‘Do you still not understand?’ Jesus said.

I can empathise. There are times when I am explaining something which I think is quite simple to the children, or the husband, and they just look at me and … especially if it’s something which the rest of us would say was just common sense … they say what or but. They just don’t get it and it has to be explained again and sometimes again and again and then in words of half syllable. Very frustrating at times for those of us who do understand and can see how simple the concept actually is. I look at them and think ‘seriously how is it that you don’t understand, are you not listening, I’m not speaking a different language.’

Now, I’m not saying that all Jesus’s teachings are easy and should be immediately understood. I’m just saying that I empathise with His response to the disciples of “Are you also still without understanding?” Here were the disciples being accused of being spiritual unclean because they had not followed a ceremonial tradition and Jesus pointing out that following the tradition did not make a person spiritually clean or unclean as it was a tradition of man and not a commandment of God, and the disciples are saying to Him: “Hey Jesus, what do you mean?”

Jesus explains. It is not what food we eat or how we eat it that makes us spiritually clean or unclean but what is in our heart. The heart is where our true characters lie. It is not merely our emotions but the true self – the true person as they actually are instead of how they outwardly appear.

“Is this a dagger I see before me?” Possibly, but the dagger is merely the tool not the instigator of the murder; which is conceived in the heart and soul of the murderer.

Instead of worrying about what to eat and drink, what to wear and what hair style, as God’s people, we should be more concerned about what we do, and think and say.

There is a well-known saying “What goes in must come out”. This is what Jesus explains to the disciples. From food no moral defilement comes to the soul. The food is eaten, the body absorbs the nutrients it needs and the rest is ejected through the excrement process.

It is not what we eat or whether we have water poured over each hand alternately, three times each, from a two handled cup, reciting blessings as we dry our hands which determines righteousness but what is in our hearts.

Our reading from Matthew then moves on to the Canaanite woman who’s daughter was possessed by a demon and I would like to share a short reflection from August 2023 by Pope Francis.

Now let us look at the woman’s faith, which the Lord praises, saying that it is “great” (v. 28). According to the disciples, the only thing that seemed “great” was her insistence; but Jesus sees her faith. If we think about it, that foreign woman had probably little or no awareness of the laws and religious precepts of Israel. What does her faith consist of then? She does not have a wealth of concepts but of deeds — the Canaanite woman draws near, prostrates herself, insists, takes part in a close dialogue with Jesus, overcomes every obstacle just to speak with him. This is the concreteness of faith, which is not a religious label but is a personal relationship with the Lord. How many times we fall into the temptation to confuse faith with a label! This woman’s faith is not fraught with theological gallantry, but with insistence — she knocks at the door, knocks, knocks. Her faith is not made up of words, but of prayer. And God does not resist when he is prayed to. This is why he said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you”. (Pope Francis, Angelus, 20 August 2023)

I leave you to ponder Ralph Waldo Emerson’s words “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

Ceremonial Hand Washing (Photo by sanka sumedha on Pexels.com)

Life After Death

Buzz died! It was old age that got him in the end. Having lost his cage-mate, he adjusted perfectly and kept little Gerry company as they squeaked at each other across the room. Sometimes they sang little chirpy songs and at others it was most definitely a conversation. He’d jump and climb about and sit in his food bowl to hide his food and then shout for more!

Now Buzz is with Nibbles entertaining our Lord, which is a good thing because otherwise he’d have had something to squeak about – having been prodded with a stick to ensure the certainty of his demise.

Despite my ancient years, despite caring for animals (and people) and all the pets whose lives eventually meet the inevitable, I still cannot touch a dead body. It is not just that it is dead, it is not gruesome horror, it is more than that. It’s Not them anymore. The soul is no longer there and what is left is just the unneeded carcass.

This is yet more of God’s miraculousness. Another proof of his promises written in the codex of his creation. This proves beyond everything that there is life after death. If there wasn’t then the soul would die and remain with the dead body. But that is not the case, when the body fails us and dies, the living soul leaves it and goes to meet our wonderful creator God.

Easter Spoilers

Talk from 26th March (John 11:1-45)

Who likes reading spoiler alerts to find out what will happen ahead of the next episode?

Who avoids them like the proverbial plague? Ah okay, you might want to put your hands over your ears then because in some ways this passage from John is a little bit like a trailer or spoiler for two weeks time!

Today we hear about and celebrate the resurrection of Lazarus. In two weeks we hear about and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.

There are lots of parallels in this story pointing towards what was going to happen. John even mentions at the beginning of this passage an event (Mary anointing Jesus’s feet) which does not occur until after the resurrection of Lazarus.

Jesus was very clear right from the beginning that EVERYTHING He does is for the glory of God. His wisdom and knowledge far exceeds ours.

It was still difficult for Martha and Mary that Jesus did not immediately drop everything and come to them upon hearing that Lazarus was severely ill.

Today’s society tend to want everything immediately. Patience and waiting are hard. Whilst I know that waiting times for ambulances are much longer than ideal at the moment; how many of us have to wait over two days before one leaves to attend to us?

But Jesus knew what He was doing and so He waited. Once the time was right He told the disciples He was going back to Judea. The religious leaders there already wanted Jesus dead and this worried His disciples. Ironically, it is Thomas (later to be known as the doubter) who persuaded the disciples to accompany Jesus even if it meant death.

Jesus is the Light of the World. As He says, if we walk during the day (in the light) we will not stumble because we see (have) the light of the world (Jesus).

Those who walk at night stumble because the Light (Jesus) is not in them.

By the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days.

Decomposing!

Stinky!

Yuk!

Martha (the sister who in another passage we are told did all the chores whilst Mary sat listening to Jesus) heard Jesus was on His way and came to meet Him.

Martha says “Lord, if you had been here…” Martha knows and believes that Jesus has the power to heal. Is she declaring her faith? Or is she displaying anger that Jesus was not there in time to stop Lazarus dying? Jesus tests her and she proclaims her faith and her belief.

Jesus is the resurrection and the life and He was about to prove it whilst showing, again, through this miracle that Jesus is the Giver of Life and the Saviour. He was also showing His followers a preview of how He would be defeating death.

It is important that we understand the relevance of Lazarus having been in the tomb for four days. Jesus had raised people to life before after all, so we need to know what makes the resurrection of Lazarus so different.

Well, previously when Jesus had raised people from the dead the timescale between their death and resurrection was a great deal shorter.

Jesus needed this miracle to be determinate.

To help us understand let me explain that at that time people believed that a person’s spirit left their body on the third day after their death. On the fourth day there is no doubt. The person is really dead. Not sleeping. Dead Dead!

This was important as it meant there could be no dispute over the fact that Lazarus was actually dead before Jesus resurrected him.

Martha went to Mary and told her “The Teacher is here”. Jesus is the Ultimate Teacher. Mary went to Jesus and used the same words as her sister, “Lord, if you had been here …” Mary and the Jews with her wept. Jesus wept. But, Jesus was not mourning Lazarus. Jesus knew all along that He would be raising Lazarus from the dead. Jesus wept for those who did not understand. He wept for those who had lost hope. He wept at the sight of the very suffering He came to save us from. Through Jesus believers are to grieve with hope.

Jesus went to the tomb, He called for the stone to be moved away. The stench of death was all around. Jesus prayed. He did everything with prayer. He knows God always hears Him and thanks God for this. But He also needed the crowd to see that God had sent Him and that He was acting with God’s authority.

Jesus called out in a loud voice “Lazarus, come out!” Jesus has compassion for each one of us and calls us by name.

Lazarus came out still bound in the burial cloths BUT no longer a rotting corpse. Instead he was fully and completely healed. Jesus told the crowd to unbind Lazarus and they helped free him.

Lazarus, a new creation, freed from the tomb and welcomed back to life.

Jesus died to defeat sin and death, the Ultimate Sacrifice and our Saviour is raised from the grave so we can be forgiven and reconciled with God.

Not only that but Jesus came to have a relationship with EVERYONE, not just the Jews.

So how does that affect us. Basically, we cannot experience the resurrection unless we experience death. By this I mean that we cannot accept new life in Christ, if we do not allow our old, sinful lives to die.

We need to let go of whatever is holding us back, whatever is stopping us from being a new creation in Christ.

Let us hear Jesus calling us by name, let us say goodbye to what is holding us back, let us leave the tomb and walk in the light of Jesus.

And more than that, as we are told in Romans; by believing and having faith in Jesus, what He has done, is doing and will do, we are able to take part in bringing glory to God in all we do.

Let us give Him the glory, great things He hath done.

Back To Basics

Sometimes you need to just do nothing!
Enjoy the peace and the silence!
And just rest your soul!

Forget the hustle and bustle.
Listen to the silence.
Listen to God speaking to you in the silence.
Listen to the sounds of nature.
The babbling brook.
The rustling leaves.

Be at one with yourself
And remember who you are
A much loved child of God.