After a five week sojourn through the
Gospel of John and Jesus’ teaching that He is greater than Moses, that He is
the Living Bread sent down from heaven, and that He will give His flesh and His
blood for His own, we return to the immediacy and no-nonsense of Mark. Just to remind you, Mark uses “immediately”
even more than John uses “bread.”
Today, we get this wonderful encounter and
discussion of defilement, along with an idiom that out to really cause us to
gag. Stewart was giving me a bit of grief
a few weeks ago, wishing I would preach more on my experience in Rome. I told Stewart that, in many ways, I was
still thinking about and praying about the things I had witnessed and heard. If those things were too much for me, I could
only imagine how hard they would be for those of us at Advent. But I told him to be patient, eventually I
would probably find the need to use those experiences and tales as sermon or
teaching illustrations. Such happens
today.
One of the stories I heard while eating in
the dining hall where Francis spent much of his time prior to his elevation as
Pope, was his tendency to walk around saying “Skubala happens” in Spanish or
Portuguese. To those describing the
events to me, it was yet another reason why, in their minds, Francis should not
have been elected pope. I suppose, in
their minds, I was supposed to be offended at Francis’ earthy words. Unfortunately for them, I had spent some time
in locker rooms and in the pit of brokerage offices, two locations renowned for
their dialects of earthy language. Only
a few of you are laughing, so I guess I need to back up and do a bit more
instruction about Jesus’ teaching today.
In addressing the crowds about the
teaching of the Pharisees and scribes, Jesus uses some earthy language. In fact, he paints an amusing mental image of
the Pharisees and the scribes in the minds of those who hear His teaching. As we have read this morning, the Pharisees
and scribes spent a great deal of time trying to convince the Jews that “cleanliness
was next to godliness.” There is a
certain logic to their position. Before
sacrifices and attendance at Temple worship, one needed to be washed. That’s part of the reason why no one hearing
Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan would have expected the Levite or priest to
help the injured and beaten man. Women
who had given birth or after their monthly cycle needed to be cleansed before
they could return to the community of faith.
There were some significant requirements about washing in the torah.
As we can see from Mark’s parenthetical
remark, though, the Pharisees and scribes of Jesus’ day took those teachings
and expanded them. They washed the food,
the pots, the kettles, and any number of items.
Imagine a bunch germaphobes tasked with the proclamation of God’s
teaching, and that is sort of the situation we find ourselves in as we return
to Mark today.
Those germaphobes, of course, notice that
these disciples of this Nazarene Hick do not observe the washing. So they call Jesus out on it, in full view of
the crowds and disciples. We do not
understand the battle for credibility occurring in this passage today,
particularly since we have left Mark for five weeks. When we last left Mark, Jesus was healing
people. Even those who touched only the
hem of His cloak were healed of their diseases and infirmities. Something wonderful is happening. But the Pharisees and scribes will not accept
it. They hear the stories, they hear the
testimony; but they reject it. Who is this man? Where does He think He has the right to do
these things? So they point out that
His disciples do not fastidiously wash everything before eating. As the rabbi, Jesus is responsible for the
behavior of His disciples. Since they
are not behaving rightly, Jesus must be a fraud or charlatan.
After pointing out Isaiah’s prophesy about
them, Jesus moves on to this wonderfully graphic image. Better still, He gives the teaching to the
crowd. I remember the first time I read
this passage in Greek. There is a
process that appears which should not be there.
I should preface that by saying I was raised in my early life on a KJV
Bible with red letters. We knew what was
important because it was in red! Ah, now
you all are laughing.
Anyway, one of the difficulties with
reading the gospels in Greek is that they are pretty well known. As I got to this point, I knew what was
said. There is nothing from without a man, that
entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those
are they that defile the man. It
seems like an inoffensive teaching, does it not? But we skip a great deal of the passage
today. What Jesus describes around this
passage is a bit more graphic than we would like to believe Jesus would ever
discuss, let alone use to teach. Jesus
goes so far to paint the mental picture for His disciples. Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can
defile them? For
it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the
body. Ah, I
see the squirms. Jesus is describing
eating and going to the bathroom.
Notice
how He uses this as an illustration. Can
we eat anything that defiles us?
No. When we eat something, even
something with dirt or worse on it, it passes through the stomach and out of
the body. It can make us sick, but the
food never passes through the heart. Paul
will use the word skubala to describe
what is produced by the body or the world.
Jesus instructs His disciples that it is those things which come from
the heart which defile us. But see the
image He creates. Although we have
skipped the passages, Jesus compares the list of sins to “that which is
excreted from the body after eating.”
The image is unmistakable. We are
not the only ones to have an understanding of “diarrhea of the mouth,” but we
usually confine its use to those who cannot shut up. Jesus is using that image to teach us of the
origins of evil, the human heart, and how the exercise of those sins defile us
before God.
Now I see
you get the Pope’s comment. Skubala does
indeed happen.
Jesus, in
today’s reading addresses three different groups in three different ways. For the first group, the Pharisees and
scribes, He shows them how their practice of piety has choked out all possibility
of creating a heart that loves God in accord with the shema. In fact, their petty
cleanliness has created an obstacle to those whom they are supposed to lead in
a right relationship with God. Although
we skip the teaching on Corban, Jesus uses that as an easy example of elevating
human tradition above God’s revelation to the point that one of the Ten Words
(Honor your father and your mother) can be ignored. The Pharisees and scribes, of course, were
not interested in learning what God wants or expects. The miracles which testify to Jesus and His
mission are lost on them. More’s the
pity because they, as students of the torah
and the prophets, should have recognized Him.
The
crowd, of course, gets a direct teaching.
Jesus instructs the crowd that only those things which come from within
can defile a human. Can you imagine the
anger and ire of the Pharisees and scribes?
Jesus has just instructed them that washing themselves, their food, and
their pots are unimportant to God. To make
matters worse, He seems to have the signs of power, of God’s favor, on Him. And there He stands, telling the crowds that
what spews from their mouth is feces!
The
graphic description, of course, is for His disciples in the privacy of the
house. Even after this teaching, they
still do not understand what Jesus means.
Jesus paints a rather graphic picture.
They, and we, should see fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice,
wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, and folly as the
equivalent of crap coming out of our mouth.
It’s repellent, is it not? It’s
disgusting, is it not? Yet that is the
very impact those sins have on the world around us. Whenever we act in accord with these evil
intentions, the world is rightly turned off by us and the Lord whom we claim to
serve. Think I am crazy? Think of the television personality who
publically cloaked himself in his faith and understanding of God’s will for
marriage and family. Is his “outing” in
the Ashley Madison hack drawing people to God’s instruction about marriage and
family, or is it causing people to be repulsed?
How about the clerk in the state to the north? In visibly and publicly renouncing to issue
any marriage licenses, how is she drawing others to the embrace of our Lord on
the Cross? In her claim to be the
defender of God’s law on marriage, what has happened? People have looked at her life, at her
behavior, and been repulsed as if she was spewing crap from her mouth. What of the pastor who said Jesus told him he
needed a Leer jet? Never mind that one,
I may have some further discernment to do to make my travels easy. . .
And, as
much as we would like to pick on those others, those visible Christians, who
cloak themselves outwardly in God’s righteousness, where do we Adventers fall
short? Where do we, in our actions or
lack thereof and in our words, demonstrate how far from God our hearts really
are? Are we gossipers at work, thereby
telling others we are slanderers? Do we
take money or supplies from employers cognizant of the fact that we have not
earned it, thereby telling others we are full of avarice or are thieves? Do we curse those who cut us off in traffic
or ridicule people we see who do not act or dress like us, thereby telling
others we are full of pride and murder?
Now I see the squirms. It is fun
to look at the sins of others, is it not?
But it sure is not much fun to look at our own.
And what
of our efforts to clean up our filth?
How successful are we? To push
Jesus’ illustration a bit further, all we can really do is clean up the mess
afterwards. We can no more stop the evil
in our hearts from spewing forth than we can stop the excrement following digestion
from exiting the body. We might even be
really good at cleaning up those messes in our own eye, but really we are like
children. When we hurt someone, when we
disparage someone, whenever we sin against someone, the effects of those sins
usually linger. Even if the other
against whom we sinned is inclined to forgive us, how easy is it for them to
forget what we have done? Heck, how well
do we forgive or forget those evils done against us? I suppose I need a fancy Greek word for
skidmarks.
Much of
Jesus’ teaching these last five weeks has dealt with teaching His people, us,
of their/our need for redeeming grace.
We can no more change our hearts than we can feed 5000 men besides women
and children. It takes His blood to wash
us clean. It takes His flesh to circumcise
our fleshy hearts and bow our stiff necks.
In short, combatting evil requires the permanent, indwelling Spirit of
God within us, a possibility made possible only through Christ’s redeeming
work. And, we are told, that Spirit’s
presence will be proclaimed to the world in how we interact with others, not
only by our words but also by our actions.
Are we welcoming, or are we judgmental?
Are we edifying or are we critical?
Are we drawing into His embrace, or are we driving people away?
As with
all sermons, and in accord with Him whom I serve, I am not here to condemn you
this morning.
No doubt
many of you came to church today exited to see people and catch up on one
another’s stories from the summer. The
last thing you wanted, and perhaps the last thing you expected, was a little “potty
humor” and a call to self-examination. Today
sort of kicks off the fall for Advent, I am told, as we gather to eat and to
celebrate Rally Day. What better way to
examine whether we are living a life that leads others to God or living a life
that fulfills Jesus’ teaching about the defilement within us. As we finish today, we will head over to the
parish hall and to the pavilion. There
will be lots of ministries on display and lots of opportunities for those of us
present to serve God through work here at Advent. I hear there will be some great food and
better fellowship. In between, though,
you will have the opportunity to explore some ministries. You will be able to ask men and women with
whom you have travelled this road of faith for some time about the ministries
that impassion them. Some of the
opportunities will be more internal, reading, setting up the altar, praying,
and studying, but many of the opportunities will be external. All, of course, exist as evidence that this
parish family has been strengthened, aroused, and restored. All the ministries in which we engage are
meant either to improve the worship of God or to serve better those in our
community who need to be reminded of His love.
Perhaps in years past, you have meant to sign up but got busy. Perhaps in years past you wanted to sign up
but were afraid you lacked a skill or knowledge. Perhaps in years past you believed yourself
too wounded ever to be His hands and His feet in the world around you. Why not make the decision to really embrace
the Lord’s call on your life? If the
same old, same old has left you with nothing but skidmarks, why not try things
a bit differently? Neither I nor He is
calling you to do everything, but I am certain He is calling you to do at least
one thing. Why not give up that fleshy
heart and allow Him to begin to truly transform your heart? Why not serve Him in others, either within
this community or without, and see what cleanliness is really like!
Peace,
Brian†
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