Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9

On this Labor Day weekend, we have a series of Scripture texts that ask us to think about commandments and how we keep them. We’re asked to examine the WAY we keep the commandments. Do our actions speak louder than our words, or do our neighbors know about God’s Law of Love through the way we behave?

Here in THIS place we have some special words that you probably don’t hear in other places you frequent. We refer to the entry hall as the narthex. The gathering area around the table isn’t the dining room but the chancel. We call the benches we sit on pews. And the place where the communion vessels are washed isn’t the kitchen, it’s the sacristy. Particular places have their own vocabulary.

It’s the same in your line of work. A teacher of sociology hears the initials PC and thinks of the phrase “politically correct”, but to a teen using the Internet, PC is the personal computer that keeps her in touch with friends around the world. A “rat tail” has a different meaning to a beautician than it does to an exterminator. We use special words in special places and we expect other people to automatically understand their meaning.

That’s sort of what was happening with Jesus and his disciples in our gospel reading for today. Some very strict religious leaders observed Jesus and his friends as they were eating a meal. And the church leaders were appalled that the men and women were eating their food without giving a second thought to cleanliness.

For generations, these church leaders had been taught certain ways of doing things. To be able to eat a meal with a clean conscience, these folks would have to have washed the food in ritually clean bowls. Their own hands would be washed and re-washed a specific number of times. They would make sure that meat and milk were never served on the same plates, even at different meals. They were so caught up in the HOW of the sanitation laws, they’d forgotten WHY the laws had been set down by God in the first place.

And, you can’t really blame these guys. They were only doing as they’d been taught by their parents and their grandparents and by everyone at their church. They knew that “righteous” people followed the rules. And only the un-saved, the unrighteous would defile themselves by not following every last word of the rules and regulations. But, as Jesus pointed out to them, they weren’t following the rules out of gratitude and love, but out of fear.

Jesus calls the critical church leaders in this passage hypocrites. Or to be more true to the original Greek text, he calls them hyper-critical, overly concerned. Then Jesus re-defines what it means to be righteous in the eyes of God. He asks the critics to consider what it would be like to be able to approach God in gratitude and love instead of fear.

Hungry little kids, dirty from playing at the lake or the park are eager to get to food. They don’t care if they get a few extra minerals with their picnic lunch. But, mom and dad are there with that little bottle of disinfectant hand wash, or they have brought along some “wet ones” so the kids can clean up before they eat. We parents do this because we’ve been taught about germs, salmonella and E-coli and all sorts of other nasties out there waiting to attack. We make our children wash their hands so they won’ t get sick. Our parents taught us this rule. Newspaper and magazine articles, TV and radio news shows reinforce the regulation keeping. We wash because we fear.

But, you probably remember a time when you were so hungry, you didn’t stop to think about washing properly. You took your chances, threw caution to the wind. You were so hungry you could eat a horse. And you didn’t care if you hadn’t washed your hands since before breakfast; you just had to eat! And that food tasted SO good. You were SO grateful to have that empty place inside filled again.

That’s just what Jesus was getting at. We need to listen to the messages we send out by the way we behave. Are we teaching our kids about God by giving them rules and regulations or by celebrating with them each and every day, giving thanks for God’s grace, for the bounty of blessings we have in our lives? Are we teaching our unchurched neighbors about God by letting them live without the hope we know, or are we demonstrating our joy in the Lord by the way we live each day and inviting them to share in that joy?

Jesus chastised the misguided religious leaders saying, “You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.” How many times has the Church done that throughout history? The original disciples at first questioned whether anyone outside the Hebrew race should be taught about Jesus as the Messiah. Down through the centuries we can think of ways the Church has overrun nations in the name of Holy War or segregated itself from society. The Puritans who settled this area of New England were themselves strict followers of rules and regulations. But, were they followers of the Law of Love God had intended for the world?

Today in the ELCA we’re struggling with what it means to be Lutheran Christians witnessing alongside other Christian traditions. We’ve overcome the idea that only people of northern European heritage could possible know how to worship rightly. In many places the barriers of economics or race or gender identity have been overcome. But, we still have a long way to go. As long as you and I look at a newcomer and wonder if they’ll fit into OUR way of doing things, we’re no better than the church leaders Jesus was addressing.

Rules and regulations that divide us from our neighbors are those “evil things that come from within.” And, as Jesus said, “they defile a person.” (Mark 7:23) When we listen to our own fears and prejudices, we separate ourselves from the Law of Love God has offered us since before time began.

God created this world and all that is in it and God said, “It is good.” Even though, time after time, humanity has turned away from God’s guidance, God waits patiently for us to realize our mistakes and to ask for forgiveness. And, before we even ask for that forgiveness, it’s there waiting for us. That’s part of God’s Law of Love. That’s part of what we have to share with others — rules and fears aside.

In today’s first reading from Deuteronomy, we heard “Moses” telling the people to obey the Law and neither add to nor subtract from it. He warns them to “take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children.” (Deut. 4:9)

And, what is it that this people’s eyes had seen? They had been fed heavenly bread and quail sent for nourishment. They had been led by a pillar of cloud in the day and a pillar of fire in the night. They had found water in the desert and rest on their way. Their own mistakes had led them astray, but God had never abandoned them. And, now, God was leading them into a promised land, a place they would have to conquer with God at their side.

Life wasn’t going to be easy for these nomads as they came into a new place surrounded with new people. They were going to have to remember, daily, who had led them to their new lives. From their memories of how God had loved them through hardships and joys, these people of God were to reach out to teach others about their Creator.

It isn’t any different for us today. Oh, sure, we have come a long way since the days when wooden bowls were scrubbed with sand to get them ready for the next meal. God has given us marvelous gifts of technology and healing, communication and medicine. But, we often find ourselves wandering around in this world as if it were the wilderness of the Exodus. And, so we step back, look inside ourselves, concentrate on our own needs, and deal with new ideas and people as if they were something to be feared.

The future ahead of Holy Trinity and the whole people of God doesn’t need to be filled with fear. God’s love can support us as we try to find out what the future might hold. Could the future mean changes here in this building? Yes. Could the future mean changes in our worship style? Yes. Could the future mean changes in who comes to worship in this place? Yes, let’s work for that. Could the future mean we have to examine our rules and regulations and find out if they’re true to God’s Law of Love?

All these changes and more are very likely in our future. And, they’re not so far away. But, you and I have tools to use to help us watch ourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that our eyes have seen nor to let them slip from our mind all the days of our lives. Together we will make them known to our children and our children’s children.

Together we can pray, thanking God for every blessing and asking guidance for every challenge. We can study God’s word. Living Faith Hours will be meeting monthly on Saturday before worship or on Sunday following worship. Plan to set aside 45 minutes on those days to find out where God’s love leads. We can worship together and invite others to gather with us. Each day, we can encourage our family, friends and neighbors to live according to God’s Law of Love. We can serve each other, reaching out because God first reached out to us. And, we can give our selves, our time and our possessions to the One who first gave them to us.

Some of our vocabulary might have to change. Some of the way we think about rules and regulations might have to change. Remember, the seven last words of the Church are “We’ve never done it that way before.” Instead of fearing the future and the changes we need to make in order for the good news to be heard, we can remember God’s love never abandons us. God’s love is constant. From before time began and until the end of time, God’s love for the entire world in Jesus Christ is ours – ours to share! We are commissioned to make it known to our children and our children’s children and to each and every person in our lives.

Reach out with God’s Law of Love and learn of the freedom you have inherited as children of God. Let God fill that empty place inside yourself and inside our unchurched friends and neighbors. Amen

Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus, for all people according to their needs:

Great and powerful God, you are so near to us whenever we call. You have given us your Law of Love to guide us as we live in this world you created. Teach us to observe your commandments so that others will be drawn to you because of the way we live. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. (Deut. 4:1-2, 6-9)

Lord of all lands, may your rule never be overthrown. Raise up trustworthy leaders in all nations who will govern with justice and mercy. Help us to discern your will as we exercise rights of citizenship in our own country. Make us responsible citizens, protecting the rights of our neighbors so that we might all live according to your good will. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. (Psalm 15)

Generous God, you have given us every perfect gift and your generosity never changes. Help us to examine ourselves by reflecting on all that you have given. Encourage us to share from our bounty, acting on your behalf to bless your children everywhere. We pray for the homeless, the hungry, the abused and the adicted that all people may know your generosity through our good works. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. (James 1:17-27)

Loving healer, we get caught up in rules and regulations, traditions and habits that separate us from you and from each other. Help us to change our lives to conform with your loving good will. Guide us to make healthy choices for ourselves and to make those choices available to others. Some of us need your healing touch today, especially...

Are there others we should include in our prayers?

Bring us together in your loving embrace. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. (Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23)

Into your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your mercy; through your son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Comments to Linda at Linda_Kraft@Ecunet.org.)

Linda Kraft, Pastor at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Trumbull, CT