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

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 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 it 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 another journey across the sea (of Galilee).  This time the disciples were sent across alone, without Jesus.  Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land.  Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them.  Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.  And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled.  But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased.  And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.  For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.  When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there.  And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was.  Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched Him were made well.

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 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?"  Mark gives us the Jewish background of some of the criticism of Jesus and His disciples.  It's interesting to see that as the Gospel has just taken us into Gentile territory for the second time, where Jesus has found great faith and worked many healing miracles, Mark explains Jewish custom and tradition for a Gentile audience.

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 begins a response to the criticism via His own criticism of how these men in leadership practice their religion:  they neglect the things of God in Jewish spiritual heritage, and instead hold "the tradition of men."  His criticism is of their hypocrisy, and Isaiah the prophet's words are the words He uses to make His point.

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."   My study bible has a rather long note here:  "The 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 commandment of God.  The tradition of the elders 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.  Further, offerings to God may be made by promises.  Thereby one could dedicate property or earnings to God (Corban) to prevent their use by one's parents, but continue to use them oneself.  These secondary traditions obscure the primary commandments of God and obedience to them.  Traditions not from God must never supersede traditions from God or Holy Traditions.  Unlike Holy Tradition, human traditions can prevent people from coming to God."

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."  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."  I don't think there is a more powerful statement in Christianity about faith than this.  There is a relationship to God and Christ in this understanding, and it is how we are situated in that relationship that creates spiritual "cleanliness" or holiness.  My study bible's words contain a multitude of teachings and right orientation to faith in this context:  "God makes all things good."  Righteousness is about our state of being in the heart, in relationship to God and thence to neighbor.

"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 it 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."  A note reads:  "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."

I've had the experience of seeing a kind of practice akin to the example Jesus gives of Corban here.  Money diverted from someone else, illegally and unethically, put into a fund earmarked for donation at the end of a life -- used personally in the meantime.  The hypocrisy involved became a stumbling block, something to be overcome in order to restore faith, to keep it strong in the truth of God.  Jesus' words here aren't just about an incident 2,000 years ago or a practice in His own time and place.  They ring true for us all.  Hypocrisy is always with us.  Human beings constantly seem to put external rules into place that avoid looking at the heart, the true acts of will that go against the word of God, the laws we know very well as ancient teachings about our lives and what constitutes right-relatedness or righteousness.  These are rules against theft and covetousness, murder, pride, foolishness, and all the things Jesus teaches us today that truly defile the heart of a person.  While those things remain untouched, hypocrisy allows a false mask of righteousness to prevail in external show through all kinds of means depending on what we value in our own time and place, and who and what we publicly honor.  One can think of a million ways in which we take pride over some "healthy" or "worthy" practice and fail to note truly our own failings of the heart, or worse, a kind of selfishness that poisons our relationships and even the community.  The very large gift I refer to above has actually had a debilitating effect on community; greed doesn't seem to be exempt from any of us nor our institutions.  What we take away from Christ's love for us today is this teaching summed up in the words of my study bible:  God makes all things good.  A note on the text tells us that the phrase  "thus purifying all foods" in verse 19 is Mark's comment that Jesus has declared all foods clean.  Later on, during one of the first controversies of the Church, Peter would have a vision telling him something similar, and extending that teaching to all people.  Let us remember the power of repentance and God's cleansing power to restore and heal all things, and the place of the heart Jesus guides us to.  That's where our consideration is if we are to be His true disciples.