Defiled Human Hearts

An excerpt from last Sunday's sermon on Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

In our gospel lesson for today, Jesus has an argument with the Pharisees who thought of themselves, once again, as superior to everyone else. The Pharisees, in our text, came to Jesus to point out how everything the disciples were doing was wrong, which, of course, was also a way of saying to him that everything about them was right.

So in our story, they came to Jesus and they said to him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders but eat with defiled hands?” Because, you see, for all Jews it was custom to wash your hands after leaving a market place and before eating, but here, the disciples did not.

Now, just so you know, this was not the first time the Pharisees tried to undermine Jesus by situating him as a lawbreaker. Because in addition to allowing his disciples to eat without the ceremonial washing of hands, he himself was known for touching the sick, interacting with hemorrhaging women, and driving out unclean spirits, all of which was against Jewish law.

Outraged that Jesus once again was not adhering to the rules, to the tradition of the elders, they asked him about it. And Jesus said, “Do you think you’re right because you keep all the rules and eat all the right stuff? You think that’s what makes you pure of heart? Don’t you know it’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles, but what comes out of it, for out of human hearts comes evil intentions, murder, deceit, envy, slander, pride and folly. All these things come from within, and they are what defile a person.” 

Now, let me just pause and say this, because it’s really important we get this straight: Jesus does not condemn the Jewish washing practice, a ritual that was central to their identity of faith. You see, Jewish food practices helped build community and reminded Jewish people of their commitment to live according to God’s values, which is still the purpose of Jewish rituals and practice today. The issue Jesus had was not with tradition, but with privileging human tradition over the commands of God. See, those who were most religious attended to their customs and traditions, but they did it with little regard for those who were hungry or those in need. 

So Jesus called them on it. “You do these traditions as a way of reminding yourself to live according to God’s values, but you don’t live according to God’s values. So your traditions are empty and full of hypocrisy.”

You know, I must say, I really love this text, because don’t you know there’s a whole lot of people out there who are making religion about rules and adherence to tradition, while at the same time, just like the Pharisees, showing very little concern for their neighbors or marginalized groups of people? They’re all about drawing lines between who’s in and who’s out, they’re using their observance of tradition as a substitute for actually caring about other people and thank God Jesus sets them straight, because someone really needs to, don’t you think?

Those Pharisees were always acting so better than thou, and every time Jesus put them in their place, I bet the disciples wanted to grab a bucket of popcorn, because I’m certain they enjoyed the show. I know I would. 

It’s like all these scandals that have come out about the Southern Baptist Convention or the three evangelical mega-churches in Dallas whose pastors have all had to step down recently because of pretty extreme misconduct. There’s a part of me that celebrates their downfall, because after all they preached about who was in and who was out, there they stand now with exposed defiled hearts from out of which came adultery, abuse, and theft. 

I’ll tell you, I’m almost certain the disciples felt this way every time Jesus called the Pharisees out for their hypocrisy. Don’t you think it was just a big boost to their sense of self-worth as disciples? Look at us, we’re doing it right, and those terrible Pharisees (those horrible evangelical, right-winged, mega-church Christians) are doing it wrong. We just love when Jesus sets them straight. 

Did you know that in the gospel of Mark the story that immediately follows this one is the story of the Syrophoenician woman? The one who came shouting for help, and the disciples told Jesus he should send her away. The unclean, impure woman who came begging for mercy for her daughter to be healed only to be met by the disciples who urged Jesus to get rid of her. Much to their surprise, at the end of the story, Jesus commended her for her faith and he healed her daughter. 

I wonder how the disciples felt after that one. There they thought they were the insiders, they had it right, and the Pharisees, the outsiders, they had it wrong. But just moments later Jesus does something that makes them wonder if they’re now the outsiders. Could it be that they, too, don’t always live according to God’s values? Did they also get it wrong? Could they have defiled hearts? 

Friends, it’s interesting that Jesus didn’t say out of the Pharisees hearts, or out of wicked hearts, or conservative hearts, or liberal hearts, or Christian nationalist hearts comes evil intentions; he said out of human hearts. Which, I think, because the disciples were also human meant out of their hearts too. And, I think, because we are all human, means out of our hearts too. Out of our hearts comes evil intentions - slander, pride, folly, wickedness, deceit, et cetera.

So, wait. Are we the outsiders? Are we the ones who don’t get it? 

You see, friends, we are all guilty of using our self-named virtues as a means of justifying ourselves before God and simultaneously condemning others. But the thing is, every time we do this, Jesus sets us straight. He set the Pharisees straight, he set the disciples straight, and yeah, he sets us straight… Yes, us. Us very delightful, inclusive, progressive Baptists. Which is surprising, isn't it? I mean maybe Jesus didn’t read our website, because if he did, then surely he would see that we’re all about inclusion and justice here. We’ve got it right inside this church.

Or maybe Jesus did read our website, and that’s why he calls us out on it. 

See, never once did Jesus commend the faith of anyone who thought themself superior. Never once did he commend someone who thought they were right and pure-hearted and therefore didn’t actually need him. 

My friends, I’m not saying we shouldn’t be proud of the things we stand for, we should, and I’m not saying we shouldn’t call out injustice when we see it, we should. I just think we have to be careful, careful that we don’t use our self-proclaimed goodness as a means of drawing another line - a line between us and them - a line to show that our church is on the inside and those other, less inclusive churches are on the outside. Because Jesus exposes our ill attempts at drawing lines to separate the good from the bad when he says… out of human hearts comes evil intentions. So yeah, I guess that means we’re all on the outside. 

Well, wait a second you may be thinking. I thought Jesus doing a way with all the lines was a way of saying we’re all on the inside. But are you saying that Jesus doing away with the lines between us and them is not about saying we’re all on the inside, but rather, we’re all on the outside? Well, yeah, I’m starting to think so. And that may not feel like good news to you, but I think it actually is, and here’s why:

Because, according to the gospel, it is not until we acknowledge the truth - that each and every one of us are on the outside, that each and every one of us are guilty of thinking of ourselves to be more than we are - it is not until then that our faith begins to truly heal us. 

In the story of the Syrophoenician woman, which you may or may not remember, before Jesus healed the woman’s daughter he essentially called her a dog. Now there’s a million interpretations of that text, but what strikes me most is not what Jesus said, but what she said. See, she did not presume herself to be anything other. To Jesus, she said, yes, I am a dog. I am unworthy. I am lowly and I am in need. Would you pleas have mercy on me?

And to that, Jesus said, “For such a reply, your daughter has been healed.”

For such a reply. Could it be that it’s not until we acknowledge our own lowliness, our own need for Jesus, that our faith begins to heal us? When we realize that we all need Jesus just as much as the next person, that our church needs Jesus just as much as the next church, that out of all human hearts comes evil intentions, including our own, then, then maybe we begin to truly understand what the gospel means when it says that when we were all yet sinners, Jesus came to save. 

Hallelujah. Amen.