Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 (NRSV)
Read Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 7Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, Verse 2they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. Verse 3(For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; Verse 4and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) Verse 5So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?" Verse 6He said to them, "Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
Verse 14Then he called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand: Verse 15there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile." Verse 21For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, Verse 22adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. Verse 23All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."
Devotion
If the commandments God has given serve as a very sensible fence around the garden of God's people—to promote life and longevity and draw the neighbor's attention—the tradition of the elders mentioned in this story is like a fence around a fence. A high one at that. So now it's starting to get hard for others to see inside, much less get inside.
That can happen to religious communities in every age. Have you experienced it? Either from within or from without? Church, where the emphasis has all been put on the exterior, the boundary—so much so that the center has been neglected? Church, where people chitter and point, from a concealed position, at those on the outside and how they're doing things all wrong? Jesus says, No, no, no, friends—that's one of the oldest blunders in the book. You won't get closer to God by getting farther from your neighbor. Start by looking inside, and see that there's already one thing you and they have in common—a heart problem.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for calling us back to the truth when our concern for externals has overtaken our concern for others. Cleanse us from within so we can embrace our neighbor with humility and kindness. Amen.