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And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and sat down to eat. When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner. Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness. Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also? But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.
"But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them."
Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, "Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also." And He said, "Woe to you also, lawyers! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore the wisdom of God also said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation. Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered."
- Luke 11:37-52
In yesterday's reading, a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!" But Jesus said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!" Jesus taught the crowds, "This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light."
And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and sat down to eat. When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner. Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness. Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also? But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you." My study bible teaches us, "Washing the hands before eating was an important religious ritual for the Pharisees. They are concerned about outward cleanliness; Jesus says internal purity is more important." It also notes, "Deeds of love toward people, such as giving alms, purify the inward man. External things like food and clothing cannot defile one who is inwardly pure." It's important to understand that the root of the word for alms in the Greek is one that means "mercy." The idea of almsgiving should really portray the practice of compassion. And in the Greek, this verse more literally translates that one should give of things which are "within." We're reminded of the words of the psalmist: "You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise" (Ps. 51:16-17). So the focus is on that inside of the cup, what is inside of us -- and how we can practice mercy and compassion through our own internal giving; that is, from the heart. Thereby the practice of purity - a clean heart - makes all things clean.
"But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them." My study bible introduces the following verses with this note: "After their testy attacks against Him, Jesus pronounces a series of denunciations against the Pharisees and scribes." Here in these particular verses, we find the condemnation of religious practice for show, including tithing - which is in principle is a form of giving to the community. But what is left undone? What of the compassion in the heart? A true practice of kindness? Yes, tithing is good, but what is left undone? Jesus asks. The rest of the accusations point out the hypocrisy: to love the best seats in the synagogue and special greetings in the marketplaces, all forms of honor given for their places in the religious establishment. But the next phrase takes us to something else He's taught a disciple: "Let the dead bury their own dead." What is it to be spiritually dead? Here, Jesus links it with the failure to understand what inner purity of the heart is, and its rootedness in mercy and justice.
Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, "Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also." And He said, "Woe to you also, lawyers! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore the wisdom of God also said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation. Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered." A lawyer here is an expert in the Mosaic Law. So how do these practice the hypocrisy Jesus condemns? They load men with burdens hard to bear -- but the last thing they will do is practice compassion for them, "even with one of their fingers." Furthermore, they build the tombs of the prophets, those who warn of practices that avoid the true repentance of the heart, mercy and justice. It is easy to follow an outward law, while the inside of the cup goes unnoticed and ignored. The Holy Spirit, Christ Himself, works through prophets and apostles to teach people to turn back, come back to the justice and mercy and love of God. But a heart focused on the outward appearance, of place in others' eyes only, cannot - it implies - also heed the work of the Spirit and of Christ Himself in their midst. So these lawyers by their practice and hence teaching take away the key of knowledge - the preparation of the heart for the work of the Spirit; they fail to enter themselves, and hinder others from entering by their example and teaching.
Let's get to the bottom line here: what is it to clean the inside of the cup? What is it to practice an internal purity of the heart, to make room for the work of Christ and the Spirit, the work of mercy and justice? We have many beautiful practices in all of the churches, things designed to help us to know and to worship God, and to love one another. But when we fail to uphold and honor that work in ourselves, when anything becomes just for show, or appearance, we run the danger of becoming what Jesus reserves His scathing criticism for: a hypocrite. Hypocrite, in its original meaning in the Greek, is "actor." That is, in the ancient plays, one who wears a mask, and plays a part, gives an image. But what about the inside of the cup? The place where we really meet God? Jesus seems to say that if we are truly integrated and participating in God's love with the heart then whatever we give from the heart makes everything clean. We think of images of Christ touching the ritually unclean to heal -- those possessed with demons, who need cleansing from leprosy, His honoring of the woman with the twelve years bloodflow as she touched the hem of His garment and was healed by her faith. All of these actions give us at once the image of what it is to reach out from the heart with love and compassion, to do what we can to lift the burdens of others. Jesus is not tearing down the law, but He's giving us evidence of how hypocrisy works, how we may lose the power of the Spirit and He Himself at work within us and among us -- or worse, actively work against it. So what does it mean to clean the inside of the cup in order to fill it with God's love? To give of the heart?
