Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.

Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God" -- then he need not honor his father or mother.' Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying,

'These people draw near to Me with their mouth,

And honor Me with their lips,

But their heart is far from Me

And in vain they worship Me,

Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"

When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear and understand: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?" But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch." Then Peter answered and said to Him, "Explain this parable to us." So Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding? Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."

- Matthew 15:1-20

On Saturday, we read the story of Jesus going to the mountain to pray, while He sent off His disciples in a boat across the Sea of Galilee. When evening came, He was alone there, but the disciples were struggling against the wind, and the sea was stormy. In the very early hours of the morning, He appeared to them walking across the water. The disciples were afraid - and thought He was a ghost! But Jesus told them, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." Peter demanded that if it were really Jesus, He should command Peter to come to Him on the water. Jesus said, "Come," and Peter began to walk toward Him but was distracted by the wind, and began to sink into the water. "Lord, save me!" He said, and Jesus reached out to him. He said, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" The disciples in the boat confessed their faith and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God." Once on the other side, in the region of Gennesaret, everyone came to Jesus and was healed, if only by touching the hem of His garment.

Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." By now Jesus' fame is widespread as a healer, and we know He has angered many in the leadership by healing on the Sabbath, and otherwise doing things they considered breaking the rule of the Sabbath rest. Here, they challenge Him on the practice of ritual purity. My study bible points out that the tradition of the elders refers to the interpretations of Mosaic Law by Jewish teachers.

He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' " My study bible notes that the commandment to honor father and mother is the first of the Ten Commandments that deals with human relationships. Here, by way of answering the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus goes on the offensive, and points out their behavior regarding the Law, and their tradition of interpretation.

But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God" -- then he need not honor his father or mother.' Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying, "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me and in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'" The system of this tradition was to devote or promise property to the temple, that might otherwise have been used in support of family members. This way, the owner could still use the property and derive value from it themselves, but withhold profits for use by dependents such as elderly parents because it was promised to the temple. The quotation from Isaiah illuminates Jesus' point: that the leadership is teaching human tradition that, in effect, replaces the revealed Law to Moses. Of course, this tradition favors the temple leadership, and penalizes dependent parents. My study bible says, "A work of service or devotion to God is of no value if in carrying it out one ignores personal responsibility to others. Right human relationships are a necessary element of Christian tradition."

When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear and understand: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?" But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch." Jesus tells the crowd a peculiar parable here, a riddle, mysterious words. And, we are told, the Pharisees are offended when they hear it; they apparently understand what He is trying to say. His disciples come to Him about this offense -- but Jesus counsels that they should ignore the Pharisees, leave them alone. This word, "to leave" is also the same root as the one to forgive in the Our Father -- to let go, release. They will suffer their own fate. The reference to plants seems to imply Judgment, as in the parable of the wheat and the tares that Jesus has recently given in Matthew's gospel. But Jesus takes this even further: they are the blind leading the blind -- and both will fall into the ditch, or pit. In a sense, these blind leaders take their flock into a kind of lost place, a dead end. To leave them alone, to "let go" or "forgive" is to allow them to come to their own end, to leave them to God's judgment. This is an important lesson for us all.

Then Peter answered and said to Him, "Explain this parable to us." So Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding? Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man." Again, we are in Matthew's gospel, with its emphasis on parables. Here, the explanation comes privately to the disciples, as it has in the past chapters and readings on parables (see the readings of Chapter 13, beginning here). Jesus puts down His priorities. We are again in the realm of human relations -- the things that poison the world and spread sin. My study bible notes, "Jesus sharply refutes their views that ritual purity depends on what a person does or doesn't do. Rather, He points to the heart as the source of evils which defile a person." For this, it notes, we "guard our hearts." It is similar to Jesus' teaching on the Commandments in the Sermon on the Mount; for example, His expansion of the statute against murder. It lends new, multi-faceted meaning to Jesus' teaching that "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." It depends on what we value, where we place our emphasis -- here, the very emphasis on either the heart or the appearance of purity is a basic choice we must make. It is again an expansion on earlier teachings in Matthew's gospel, in the Sermon on the Mount -- about the Father who sees in secret, and Jesus' condemnation of hypocrisy.

Let us consider, then, the heart, and all its many facets and roles it plays in our lives. The heart, in Scripture, refers not just to the human organ of the heart but the very seat of our being. Earlier, in Chapter 12, Jesus has taught something similar to what we find in today's reading: "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." My study bible had a note on that reading that is worth quoting again here: "The heart in Scripture refers to the center of consciousness, the seat of the intellect and the will, the source from which the whole spiritual life proceeds." So let us consider here the emphasis on the heart, on having a right heart, on practicing guarding of the heart. Sometimes we can't help how we feel, we can't control everything that is going on inside of us. But we can remember and watch, and "guard our hearts." When we know we are in dangerous territory, overly upset or tempted to make an error, we can do what Jesus advises here: we can "let go" or "forgive." We can turn things over to God and to God's judgment. We can take the words of counsel here that Jesus advises to His disciples, and "leave them alone" -- even the blind leading the blind. This teaching today is a good example of putting into practice "letting go" and "forgiving." As always, the Gospel is poetic: in letting go, we emphasize what the Pharisees here fail to emphasize, the state of the heart. In letting go, we ask for the grace of God to guide us, for true instruction, for the good things that form the real treasures of the heart. I'm certain many of my readers have known what it is to watch the blind leading the blind. Let us follow His teaching, and seek His grace and wisdom in all things -- and let our hearts be eased and healed in Him.