Freedom
Sermon given on October 3, 2010 by The Rev. Jon Roberts
Good Shepherd Episcopal, Venice, Florida
Title
THE LIGHT
BLACK & WHITE XP Ministries
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Distinct
Mark 7:1-23
The Rev. Jon Roberts
1 September
2024
Calvary Episcopal Church
Indian Rocks Beach, FL
1 Now when the Pharisees gathered together to him, with some of the scribes, who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they wash their hands, observing the tradition of the elders; 4 and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they purify themselves; and there are many other traditions which they observe, the washing of cups and pots and vessels of bronze.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with hands defiled?” 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 7 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’ 8 You leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men.” 9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God, in order to keep your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die’; 11 but you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, What you would have gained from me is Corban’ (that is, given to God)— 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God through your tradition which you hand on. And many such things you do.” 14 And he called the people to him again, and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him.” 17 And when he had entered the house, and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters, not his heart but his stomach, and so passes on?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man.”
The Pharisees Question Jesus 1886–1894, James Tissot
God calls us to be distinct in the world, not distant.[1]
Balanced alongside this proclamation, is another saying, “We are to be in the world, but not of it.” We are not called to be distant. We are not called to be superficial nor are we called to be sterile. We are in the world but sometimes the world is a messy place. Therefore, how are we to increase in the true religion?
In a small town, in the middle of Florida, summer had ended, and children were returning to school. A little girl named Lucy was very excited about this. She was looking forward to making new friends. On the first day, she met another girl who sat beside her at her table. She happened to be Korean. Her name was Cho Hee, which means “beauty.” She remembered it was touch and go the first week, but after those things started to fall into place. Working side by side on a craft, Lucy confessed to Cho Hee, “I must say, you have the loveliest skin,” to which Cho Hee replied, “Thank you.” There was a brief moment, and she turned back to Lucy and said, “I think you have a terrific smile.” Lucy beamed, “Thank you. My name means ‘light’.” From that point on beauty and light became inseparable.
A few weeks later, Lucy came running into her house with the greatest excitement. Her mother stopped her and asked, “What is it?” “Cho Hee asked me to come over for dinner and a sleepover,” she replied. After the two mothers talked over the phone, they agreed it would work. Lucy finally settled down and her mother went over the guidelines. “You know Luce, if you go over there you must be on your best behavior. You are a reflection of our family. That means, you say ‘Yes ma’am and No ma’am’, ‘Yes sir and No sir’. If her parents offer you something to eat for dinner and you don’t like it, then politefully say, ‘No thank you’ but you have to eat something that is good. Do I make myself clear young lady?” Lucy nodded like a dolphin, hugged her mom, and off she went to pack her overnight bag. That evening, at Cho Hee’s house, the girls were pretty exhausted from a long play date. They sat around the table and waited to be served. Lucy noticed an unfamiliar smell coming from the kitchen. Traditional Korean foods were presented and explained. She turned to see Cho Hee gobbling up what was on her plate. Cho Hee’s mother noticed Lucy wasn’t eating and said, “Dear is everything alright. You’re not eating.” Lucy, then, defiled her mother’s advice by fibbing, “My doctor says that I’m not supposed to eat foods that are mixed together,” “It’s not good for my digestion,” she added. “Oh that’s too bad dear,” her mother said. Lucy satisfied herself with the offering of bread; four pieces. After dinner, and a little more play time, the girls were invited to come back to the table for dessert. In a bowl, two scoops of vanilla ice cream were served. Lucy’s eyes shone and she licked her lips as she proceeded to pour on the condiments; a bunch of chocolate syrup, a few scoops of sprinkles and nuts, topped with a cherry. With a smile, Cho Hee’s mother replied, “That’s amazing. You don’t seem to have any problem mixing your dessert.”
The Pharisees who gathered around Jesus had a problem with mixing with his disciples. They thought they were messy. They didn’t follow the usual tradition of washing one’s hands, before supper. To go right into eating without washing up was repulsive. They accused his disciples of breaking Jewish purity laws. They believed that a Jew was to live in the world but not be of it. They believed they were to be distinct by thorough cleansing. Ritual cleansing was part of that tradition, handed down by Aaron to the Levites, the first high priests of Israel. They had the equivalent of a modern-day seminary training. Much of their worship began with intense preparation. Spending a great deal of time to purify was important to the priest. They put on an apron. They poured water over their fingers.
Every Sunday, we see the priest in this church do the same. He puts on the chasuble, and water is poured on his fingers over a lavabo bowl. The very word ‘lavabo’ means ‘I shall wash.’ The priest continues with a private prayer, “I wash my hands in innocence, and go about thy altar, O LORD, singing aloud a song of thanksgiving, and telling all thy wondrous deeds. It was the priests of Jesus’ day, that he chastised for forgetting the fullness of the love of God served at the altar. They no longer served the tradition of the ritual. Instead, they worshiped the ritual of the tradition, and in so doing, the main course they served, had no flavor and the people had no appetite. They no longer presented to the people what heavenly dessert awaits them. Everyone was too consumed with doing things right, they forgot to do the right thing. They did not relate to the main course of Christ set before them. Their hands became defiled, no longer innocent by their lies. Their singing lost its spirit to love others. Their song of thanksgiving lost its season. They became distant, superficial and sterile to the world.
Let us return to the word ‘lavabo’, meaning, “I shall wash.” As Christians, we are called to be distinct by the cleansing property of Christ’s Holy Spirit. Life is going to be messy. Things are going to come at us, and into us. Some of those things are going to be bad for us, and we should desire to be washed clean. As Jesus invites us to his house, and to sit at his table, He never serves us anything that is defiled. One may fail to see His goodness because they celebrate the ritual, or perhaps they are lulled to sleep by the seduction of sin. Their mind is distracted, and they are not attached to listening to God’s Word nor active in worshiping God. If we are not careful, we too will lose our appetite for what is good. At times, our minds will prepare for the ritual, but our hearts will not be into what is served. When this happens, we become foreign to God’s banquet. Things will get in the way of seeing the true beauty and the light of God’s love. By taking the sacrament of our Lord we see his love. It mixes within us so that good things come out.
Ritual cleansing is not in itself to prevent bad things from entering. Ritual cleansing is our way of admitting, “They are already there, and I need them out. Now clean, we pray thee, dear Lord, to wash us.” Water by itself is only a symbol of the ritual but the water that signifies the presence of the Holy Spirit, along with the vestments that signify the need for purity, are the outward and visible signs that are supposed to indicate an inward and spiritual grace. By God’s grace, through his Son Jesus, he washes us clean making us undefiled. This is the true religion. It is what makes us distinct in the world, not distant. It is what enables us to be in the world, but not of it.
[1] The Rev. Jon Roberts
[2] Mark 7:1-23
[3] Psalm 26:6