Mister Clean

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. (For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.) So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” He responded, “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:

This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts. You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” He went on to say, “How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition!

For Moses said, Honor your father and your mother, and Whoever curses father or mother shall die. Yet you say, ‘If someone says to father or mother, “Any support you might have had from me is qorban”’ (meaning, dedicated to God), you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things.” (Mark 7:1-13)

We can be hypocrites, the kind Jesus criticized.  For example, unlike those outspoken with their justified criticism of liars and cheats, many of us honor scoundrels with our lips (because we are afraid to draw attention to ourselves), yet in our hearts we are far from them, as we should be.  We can be hypocrites and cowardly.  

We must have clean, washed hands.  For example, we must say to friends and neighbors, “I wash my hands of your language of hate and division.”  Otherwise, we are guilty of their sins just as well.  

We cannot set aside the commandments of God to uphold our political and/or religious stances bringing us into serious conflict with those having opposite views. If we are guilty of promoting hate and hypocrisy, we nullify the word of God in favor of our biases we hand on to others, especially our children.

I admit I’m looking for more soap to wash away some of my own guilt.  The Word of God is my “Mr. Clean.”  It is "all-purpose."  We all need a scrubbing. 

Deacon David Pierce