Scripture Scribbles: September 1, 2024

the Gospel

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

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 summoned the crowd again and said to them,
"Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.

"From within people, from their hearts,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile."

the scribble

Friends, God is so close to us. In the first reading, we hear these beautiful words from Moses to the Israelites as God gives them the laws by which to live, “For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him?”

In the Law, he teaches us about himself and about ourselves. He helps us understand our identity and what that identity means. He teaches us how our belovedness, our chosenness, sets us apart and draws us into the work of love and mercy in a hurting world.

But we can get so caught up in legalism, can’t we (just like the Pharisees in today’s Gospel)? I have been thinking a lot about this. Both on a cultural level and in personal relationships, it is so easy to use “the law” (or our own interpretation of it and/or what we think people should do) for our own ends, instead of as a way to better know and share God’s heart. When we self-righteously point out others’ failures to properly understand and observe “the law” we do just what Jesus says when he quotes Isaiah:

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."

And oof, that is a hard and convicting word, isn't it?!

I want my heart to be close to Him. I want to live by his commandments. I want to be so close to Him that my life reflects the beauty of his precepts and the goodness of who he is. I want his healing, resurrection, truth, justice, mercy and love to simply flow from him into my priorities, choices, relationships, work and conversations. And in that way - through his presence in me - I want others to be drawn to his heart and word.

Today’s devotion was written by Lucia Parker