Rev. Paul J Cain, Jr.
St. Mark 7:14-23
Clean & Unclean,
Part Two
Proper 17B, 02 September 2012
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, WY
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
CPR: “Today’s date in history is unique. September 2, 1752
(260 years ago today), was the last day that England and the American colonies
followed the Julian calendar. The rest of Europe had switched to the Gregorian
calendar, and to standardize dates, England agreed to switch. So the day after
September 2, 1752 was September 14. People were confused with what had
happened, and riots occurred because people thought that the government had
stolen time from them or stolen days that they couldn’t get back.
“There is irony in that what was on the surface—a number or
date—affected what people thought about the actual living of days. The
Pharisees who criticized Jesus were overly concerned about what was on the
outside and so lost track of what was important on the inside. In England, the
date became more important than the day, even as for the Pharisees rituals of
washing became more important than the real cleansing of sin and evil inside of
hearts (Mark 7:14-23). What really matters to us?”
What is really important in the Christian life? Going
through the motions of piety, or being a pious, repentant sinner? The issue
Jesus addresses with the Pharisees could be restated in contemporary terms this
way: they were coming to church, tithing, were incredibly involved in their
congregation, and looking presentable, but doing it all for the wrong reasons.
Does their man-made tradition of washing make them really clean? Does it please
a holy God? Does it remove their sin?
Consider their misplaced priorities. God desires mercy, not
sacrifice, and prefers a repentant tax collector to a proud Pharisee. The
sermon this week, as with the sermon last week, is based on Mark Chapter 7.
We would do well to avoid the self-righteous pride of the
Pharisees and continually confess that we have sinned in thought, word and
deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. Forgive us, good
Lord! We would also profit from getting our priorities straight when it comes
to God’s Word: to hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it. And be careful
not to add our own traditions, our own regulations or rules and elevate them to
divine authority at the expense of genuine divine law.
14 And he
[Jesus] called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you,
and understand: 15 There
is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the
things that come out of a person are what defile him.”5
It is clear how the Old Testament purity laws had been
misused and twisted from their original direction. Our Lord shows us a
different perspective. He holds up a mirror to our dark, dirty hearts. And the
picture isn’t pretty.
The disciples wonder about what Jesus has publicly taught.
It is different from the man-made traditions the Pharisees and others insisted
upon. Jesus teaches by His own Divine authority and not as the scribes and the
teachers of the law.
Yes, we know more about fungus, bacteria, viruses and other
infectious diseases than did people in Biblical times. Jesus knew about them
too, yet taught the people in His Word and in person using what they could
understand there and then. Remember, Jesus isn’t teaching a personal hygiene
class. Jesus’ concern is about true spiritual cleanliness before our holy Lord
God.
Jesus’ teaching focuses our attention on what comes from God
rather than what comes from man: 5
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 person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not
his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?”6 (Thus he declared all
foods clean.) 20 And
he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him.
It is clear how the Old Testament purity laws had been
misused and twisted from their original direction. Our Lord shows us a
different perspective. He holds up a mirror to our dark, dirty hearts. And the
picture isn’t pretty.
“For from within, out
of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.
All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’”
Jesus pulls no punches in describing our uncleanness. We
have been unclean from birth, stained with sin. No bleach, detergent, solvent,
or sanitizer can make us clean again. We also sin daily, and much, so that our
filthy rags become even more filthy. But God does not leave us in our filth. He
can even use the dirty plot of the Pharisees, Chief Priests, and teachers of
the law to make us clean.
The plot of the Pharisees saw its fruition in the arrest,
trial, suffering, and crucifixion of Our Lord. Christ was a bloody sacrifice
for you and me on Calvary. St. John writes, “The blood of Jesus, [God’s] (His)
Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:7) Our uncleanness, our filth, our
sins, are washed away! We are forgiven!
No mere ceremonial washing according to the tradition of the
elders can remove the stain of sin. No mere outwardly pious actions can appease
a holy God. But the blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin. We are cleansed
from all unrighteousness!
The Gospel according to St. Mark begins with a different
kind ceremonial washing, a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
John the Baptist says this of our crucified Lord and our Cleansing Sacrifice: “I
baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” And we
have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit in Baptism.
St. Paul writes, “He saved us through the washing of
rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously
through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace,
we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy
saying. (Titus 3:5-8)”
This day, as we prepare to partake of the Lord’s Body and Blood,
know that you are cleansed, your sins forgiven. Remember also your baptism and
into whose Name you have been baptized. Amen.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
