This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me

Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem. Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of the cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?" He answered and said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:

'This people honors Me with their lips,

But their heart is far from Me.

And in vain they worship Me,

Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'

"For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men -- the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do." He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban" -- '(that is, a gift to God), "then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do."

When he had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear Me, everyone, and understand: There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!"

When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. So He said to them, "Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?" And He said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man."

- Mark 7:1-23

In yesterday's reading, we read about Jesus' apostles struggling on the sea, rowing against the wind, when Jesus was up on the mountain, praying. He saw their struggle in the very early hours of the morning, around 3:00 A.M. or the fourth watch. Suddenly He appeared to the disciples, strolling on the water, as if to pass them by. They couldn't believe their eyes, thinking it was a ghost, but Jesus said, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." And He got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. The day before, they had fed the five thousand with a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish; but only this extraordinary act opened their eyes to Jesus' reality, and the understanding of the feeding miracle.

Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem. Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of the cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?" The "tradition of the elders," according to my study bible, "is a body of interpretations of the Law handed down orally, which for the Pharisees and the scribes is as authoritative as the written Law of Moses. According to this tradition, purification -- cleansing oneself from defiling contact with Gentiles or sinners -- occurs by the outward act of ceremonial washing." The "elders" may also refer to members of the Sanhedrin, the ruling council or court of the temple.

He answered and said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men -- the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do." Jesus makes it clear that there is a separation between what has been revealed by Moses in the Law and the traditions that have developed through the councils of the elders, or the "commandments of men." If the two are easily substitutable, then what of the Holy Spirit or the power of God's grace at work in these traditions, and its revelation through Moses? My study bible says: "At issue here is not Jewish customs or traditions. Jesus does not prohibit them. At issue is the raising of human tradition over the tradition or commandments of God."

He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban" -- '(that is, a gift to God), "then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do." Here Jesus gives an example of what it is to raise the traditions of men above the commandments of God. When the tradition of the elders becomes superior, then its own purposes may violate the spirit of the Law of Moses. "Corban" was a way of declaring that properties or earnings were dedicated to God. In effect, it kept parents from using them, while the owners continued their use. So, in fact, the traditions of the elders in this example actually obscured the Law, preventing its purpose from being carried out. For Jesus, hypocrisy is the most scathing criticism of all, and He will use it again and again. It forms a very central point of His teaching.

When he had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear Me, everyone, and understand: There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!" Jesus addresses the immediate complaint of the Pharisees and the scribes against His disciples, regarding the ritual cleansing. If we think about it, this is a radical departure in thinking. What is sinful? How do we separate ourselves, or 'set apart' that which is holy from that which is 'unclean?' Jesus is calling for a kind of repentance, or change of mind, that deepens a sense of who we are, and what it is that defiles. He calls us to a deeper place, and it reflects the use of the term "hypocrite" for those who do not or will not speak to the reality of sin, but only its appearance. My study bible says, "Jesus teaches that nothing is of itself spiritually unclean. God makes all things good. Sins committed of our own free will, what comes from within us, defile and make the heart impure." While tradition may help us to understand the need for our choices, it is nothing if it does not enforce the truth of the reality that is within us, and that comes from God -- and even worse, it may actually obscure that reality or keep us far away from God. We may be lost in the hypocrisy He criticizes. "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!" is a common call from Jesus, an echo of the words of prophets written in Scripture before Him. We need spiritual ears to hear and to understand -- again, a call to the depth within our hearts, our capacity to truly understand the things of the spirit.

When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. So He said to them, "Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?" And He said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man." As He has in the past, Jesus further explains His teachings in private to the disciples. We have layer upon layer of understanding: parables draw out those who will want more, and so we have another contribution to our understanding of depth within us. And this depth is what Jesus addresses here. It is not the foods that are spiritually unclean; this false understanding is what comes from elevating tradition over the Law. Rather that which can 'contaminate' spiritually are the things we may produce from within ourselves, and He gives a list: "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man." My study bible says, "All these evil things are not what God created. We will them; we produce them; they are our sins coming from within us. They are a perversion of what God has made." An "evil eye" is envy or jealousy.

It is the heart, then, that is at the center of what is clean and unclean, what defiles and what purifies, and the heart is the center of that battle for the reality of who we are. In this sense, the call to repentance that begins with John the Baptist and echoes through the Gospels comes full circle. If that which can truly pollute or defile comes from within our hearts, from our choices, then our "change of mind" is what cleanses - and we open ourselves to that which is holy and good, also in our hearts. Jesus' call, "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!" is a call to our hearts, the understanding we will find there, if we care to, if we can. Once our focus is there, we see the purpose of tradition -- it is to serve that place of true "cleansing" or repentance, and understanding of the things that are of God and what we want to keep close to us and precious, and what we would like to change. Without that central sense of change and transformation, all the rituals of cleansing become exercises in a form of hypocrisy, or worse - a way to truly avoid the reality of God's power at work within us for true spiritual health. The reality of God's grace is at work within us, in our hearts. Everything else, all practices and tradition, must be a help for us to get there - and all true tradition is to that aim and its support. Quite clearly, this applies to all tradition, then and now, wherever it is found, whatever practice we deem "good" or helpful. Jesus' words are alive and well for us today, wherever and whoever we are. What draws you closer to God? What opens up your heart and helps you to see and hear what you need to? What helps you to grow in God's image in your heart - and to cast away the things that truly defile? What helps us to grow in the things that are truly of God, that give us God's joy and peace and beauty?