Always helpful to look at the big picture when we are reading a gospel story and ask ourselves – what is this really about?
So what is today’s gospel really about? It’s about legalism VS grace.
Trying to earn God’s approval by performing the requirements of laws VS approval or kindness given to us by God whether or not we deserve it.
So let me ask you this: Which do you prefer?
- A neighbor with good habits or a good heart?
- A friend with good habits or a good heart?
- A spouse with good habits or a good heart? - A child with good habits or a good heart?
It’s wonderful to have a neighbor who cares for his property, keeps the noise down, brings his trash cans in.
It’s wonderful to have a friend who is considerate, keeps appointments, always sends birthday cards on time.
It’s wonderful to have a spouse who is courteous, gives gracious comments, gets chores done, puts the toilet seat down.
It’s wonderful to have a child who uses good manners, does her homework, keeps his room tidy.
But nothing compares to a neighbor, a friend, a spouse, or a child, with a good heart.
When we are looking only for a person with good behavior, we are really looking at a person’s self-control; a serial killer can in some settings have amazing self-control.
When we are looking for a person with a good heart – now we are looking at the true quality of a person.
Jesus was always looking beyond a person’s habits to see what was in the heart of a person. The Pharisees, on the other hand, were concerned with legalism, what was on the outside, what looked proper. At one point Jesus called them whitewashed tombs.
And here they were attacking the disciples because they weren’t following the correct rituals
- And by the way this handwashing thing wasn’t about germs
- The germ theory hadn’t even been thought of
Here’s what it was about: Exodus 30 and 40. There you find a law that priests must do a ritual cleansing of their hands before they came to the altar. Gradually, the Pharisees expanded what the scripture said. Now everyone was to ritually wash their hands before eating as a way of showing devotion to God. And it also became a way of distinguishing a devout Jew from his pagan neighbors. Soon it had very little to do with devotion to God and a whole lot to do with who is in and who is out, who is one of us, and who isn’t.
Humans have a tendency to do that and people in some churches are still doing it: Baptism in some places isn’t so much about commitment and love of God as it is about who is saved and who isn’t, who is in and who is out.
We in the church have a tendency to be blind to the fact that we often focus on good behavior and all the while exclude, humiliate, and harm others.
Albert Schweitzer said this:
“For centuries Christianity treasured the great commandment of love and mercy as traditional truth without recognizing it as a reason for opposing slavery, witch burning, torture, and all other ancient and medieval forms of inhumanity.”
Even when slavery was finally ended, the church made it very clear who was in and who was out:
- All Saints Pasadena
- St. Barnabas Pasadena for their black servants
Jesus quoted Isaiah and said “This people honors me with their lips but their hearts are far from me.”
As God’s people we need to be alert – and to catch ourselves when we begin to fall into legalism and use our faith to judge who is in and who is out.
Otherwise, as Frederick Beuchner said:
“We become like a child learning to play the piano. She holds her hands just as she has been told and memorized the piece perfectly. She hits all the proper notes, but her heart is not in it, just her fingers are.”
The church and its members need to constantly be asking, “Are our hearts in it?”
- We need to keep from being whitewashed tombs – beautiful on the outside, dead on the inside.
- To learn that compassion is far more important than getting things right.
I want to tell you a story about a church that I know and love and how they chose compassion and grace over legalism and doing things right.
Tina’s Story
- When they arrived, she was lying on the patio in front of the church door – dirty, confused, homeless
- Didn’t try to get her to leave. Didn’t call police.
- Greeted her – invited her in
- She crawled into the sanctuary and laid on the floor
- No one tried to get her to move
- Everyone who walked by her greeted her
- At the peace – people bent down to greet her
- They discovered her name – for weeks afterward it was almost the same scenario
- I don’t know how many weeks before she walked in and sat in a pew
- With the help of some parishioners, she got mental health care, medical care, and an apartment of her own
- By the end of the year, she was shopping for clothes at Good Will.
She chose professional looking suits and spike heels.
- She was definitely one of the best dressed women in the sanctuary
- And she had become a beloved member of the community
Why do we carve out this time every week to be here?
- To learn that compassion is far more important than getting things right
- To learn that being close to the heart of God is infinitely more important than any tradition we may want to cling to
- To learn to show the world that being a Christian isn’t about getting it right
It’s about the heart – loving our God with all our heart, mind, and soul, and loving our neighbor – yes, every neighbor – as ourselves.
If we do that, then the church can revolutionize the world! Because that is what the world is dying to know. There are far too many Christians out there convincing the world that it’s all about getting it right.
We need to get out there and tell the world something radical – it’s about love, that God is not a tyrant but a lover.
So when we leave here today, let’s live like Augustine of Hippo recommended – “Love God and do what you please!”
Because if we love God, truly are nuts about God, what we choose to do will please God.