Year B
Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9
Psalm 15
James 1:17-27
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May the words of my mouth O God\u2026 speak your truth\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There’s a passage in Deuteronomy 6:5-9\u2026 which is a fuller expression of our reading from a few minutes ago\u2026 it’s a prayer we used to recite every week at Friday evening Shabbat services\u2026 and it goes\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart\u2026 with all thy soul\u2026 and with all thy might\u2026 and these words\u2026 which I command thee this day\u2026 shall be upon thy heart\u2026 thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children\u2026 and shall talk of them\u2026 when thou sittest in thy house\u2026 when thou walkest by the way\u2026 when thou liest down\u2026 and when thou risest up\u2026 thou shall bind them for a sign upon thy hand\u2026 and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes\u2026 thou shalt write them upon the doorposts of thy house\u2026 and upon thy gates\u2026 that thou shalt remember to observe all my commandments\u2026 and be holy unto your God\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And for a tribal people\u2026 who over the course of hundreds of years\u2026 were moving from the belief in city-gods\u2026 towards the realization that there was only one God\u2026 which was also expressed in Deuteronomy 6:4 as the Shema\u2026 Hear O Israel\u2026 the Lord our God\u2026 the Lord is One<\/em>\u2026 for a tribal people who were moving towards an integrated code of behaviors\u2026 moving towards more justice\u2026 this way of thinking\u2026 and the traditions which arose out of it\u2026 were unprecedented and life giving\u2026 but they arose in a particular time and place\u2026 and in response to particular circumstances\u2026 and that’s the challenge of reading\u2026 learning\u2026 and inwardly digesting the Living Word\u2026 and following a Holy Spirit which blows where it will\u2026 that’s the challenge of being able to discern when the change around us is of God… and being able to receive it\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n There’s a story\u2026 for several years\u2026 a young girl watched her mother prepare the Christmas ham\u2026 and every year\u2026 her mother would cut off each end\u2026 and bake it\u2026 one year the girl asked her mother why she did that\u2026 and her mother answered\u2026 Well\u2026 that’s the way grandma always used to do it<\/em>\u2026 and a few days later\u2026 when her grandma came over\u2026 the little girl asked her\u2026 Grandma\u2026 why did you always cut the ends off of the ham before you baked it<\/em>\u2026 and her grandma answered\u2026 Well\u2026 the baking dish was too small for the whole thing\u2026 so I had to<\/em>\u2026 sometimes we hold on to something without knowing why\u2026 sometimes we just need to get a new baking dish\u2026 or a new framework for how we behave\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n The ancient Jewish purity laws\u2026 were still in force when the Pharisees asked Jesus why some of his disciples were eating with unwashed hands\u2026 and there are some common sense rules of hygiene which we still follow\u2026 though some of us break them when we’re out running errands and get food at a drive through\u2026 or perhaps when we go out to eat\u2026 and don’t wash our hands\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And you’ll remember\u2026 in the early months of this pandemic\u2026 when we weren’t certain how the virus was transmitted\u2026 we were told over and over to wash our hands\u2026 and there were instruction sheets\u2026 and YouTube videos\u2026 and people were interviewed on TV\u2026 telling us how to safely handle\u2026 and even repackage\u2026 different kinds of groceries we brought home\u2026 some of them suggested letting your non-perishable items sit outside for three days\u2026 and out of an abundance of caution\u2026 people were sanitizing packages of deli meats\u2026 and containers of cottage cheese\u2026 and bottles of milk\u2026 and so in a very real way\u2026 we created our own modern day purity laws\u2026 though I don’t know anyone who’s doing that any more\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Jesus responded\u2026 as he so often did\u2026 on a level far above their question… and called out the Pharisees and scribes\u2026 by quoting the prophet Isaiah\u2026 when God said\u2026 these people draw near to me with their lips\u2026 but their hearts are far away\u2026 and they worship me in vain\u2026 because they promote their opinions\u2026 as my Word<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n You see\u2026 the Pharisees’ concern about eating with defiled hands\u2026 was more than just your mother’s concern about getting sick from eating unwashed vegetables\u2026 it was a much greater concern about being made unholy\u2026 about being rendered unhallowed\u2026 and that’s why Jesus doesn’t disagree with or respond to the basic hygiene part of their question\u2026 but responds on a deeper level and says\u2026 you’re following a hollow tradition which doesn’t bring you closer to God\u2026 you’re focusing on what goes in your mouth and what’s washed… but God cares more about what comes out of your mouth\u2026 because when it comes from an unclean heart<\/em>\u2026 it’s what you say that defiles you\u2026<\/em> and it’s also why Jesus exhorts them in Matthew 23:26\u2026 to clean the inside of the cup first\u2026 because doing that will ensure that the outside becomes clean too\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And James’ letter says\u2026 if you want to be closer to God\u2026 be doers of the word\u2026 and when you look in the mirror\u2026 remember that you’re a beloved child of God\u2026 and care for those who have no social capital\u2026 because then there’s no telling what else you might do\u2026 and let everyone be quick to listen\u2026 slow to speak\u2026 and slow to anger\u2026 for your anger does not produce God\u2019s righteousness\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pastor Martin Billmeier writes\u2026 when I’m angry\u2026 I am slow to listen\u2026 and quick to speak\u2026 and there’s a lot of anger out there these days\u2026 isn’t there\u2026 so when I deal with anger\u2026 whether it’s my own or someone else’s\u2026 I’ve found that it’s good to start asking questions\u2026 like where is this anger coming from\u2026 because anger always covers up a different emotion that we don’t want to feel\u2026 like fear\u2026 or sorrow\u2026 or anxiety\u2026 anger helps us feel in control of what is uncontrollable\u2026 so we go to anger\u2026 instead of going to what we’re really feeling\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our reading from Deuteronomy affirms tradition\u2026 and the momentum of tradition is a powerful force\u2026 there are traditions whose origins we don’t know but follow rigorously\u2026 like cutting off the ends of a ham\u2026 and when traditions change\u2026 we may feel afraid\u2026 sad\u2026 or anxious\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Many of you know from last Sunday afternoon’s email… that I will be going to half-time here at Two Churches\u2026 and I have been called\u2026 as they say\u2026 to a half-time position at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Wyoming\u2026 on paper these changes will begin on Wednesday\u2026 but I’m taking three weeks off because Joel and I are also moving into the rectory\u2026 or parsonage\u2026 there\u2026 Pastor Polly will preach and preside the next three Sundays\u2026 and I will be back to lead worship at both churches on September 26\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And because Two Churches and Holy Trinity both worship at 10:00\u2026 there will be worship time changes at both locations as well\u2026 and those at each location are making one hour adjustments\u2026 here at Two Churches worship will begin at 9:00\u2026 and at Holy Trinity worship will begin at 11:00\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a world which is experiencing many kinds of new birth\u2026 I believe this partnership is one expression\u2026 of the new normal into which God is calling us\u2026 maybe not for a hundred years\u2026 but at least for a season or two\u2026 and it’s my prayer\u2026 that those of us who are here now\u2026 and those whom we will continue to welcome in Christ’s name\u2026 will make new traditions which come from hearts\u2026 including mine\u2026 which are quicker to listen\u2026 and slower to speak\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Year B Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9 Psalm 15 James 1:17-27 Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 May the words of my mouth O God\u2026 speak your truth\u2026 There’s a passage in Deuteronomy 6:5-9\u2026 which is a fuller expression of our reading from a few minutes ago\u2026 it’s a prayer we used to recite every week at Friday evening Shabbat services\u2026 and it goes\u2026 Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart\u2026 with all thy soul\u2026 and with all thy might\u2026 and these words\u2026 which I command thee this day\u2026 shall be upon thy heart\u2026 thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children\u2026 and shall talk of them\u2026 when thou sittest in thy house\u2026 when thou walkest by the way\u2026 when thou liest down\u2026 and when thou risest up\u2026 thou shall bind them for a sign upon thy hand\u2026 and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes\u2026 thou shalt write them upon the doorposts of thy house\u2026 and upon thy gates\u2026 that thou shalt remember to observe all my commandments\u2026 and be holy unto your God\u2026 And for a tribal people\u2026 who over the course of hundreds of years\u2026 were moving from the belief in city-gods\u2026 towards the realization that there was only one God\u2026 which was also expressed in Deuteronomy 6:4 as the Shema\u2026 Hear O Israel\u2026 the Lord our God\u2026 the Lord is One\u2026 for a tribal people who were moving towards an integrated code of behaviors\u2026 moving towards more justice\u2026 this way of thinking\u2026 and the traditions which arose out of it\u2026 were unprecedented and life giving\u2026 but they arose in a particular time and place\u2026 and in response to particular circumstances\u2026 and that’s the challenge of reading\u2026 learning\u2026 and inwardly digesting the Living Word\u2026 and following a Holy Spirit which blows where it will\u2026 that’s the challenge of being able to discern when the change around us is of God… and being able to receive it\u2026 There’s a story\u2026 for several years\u2026 a young girl watched her mother prepare the Christmas ham\u2026 and every year\u2026 her mother would cut off each end\u2026 and bake it\u2026 one year the girl asked her mother why she did that\u2026 and her mother answered\u2026 Well\u2026 that’s the way grandma always used to do it\u2026 and a few days later\u2026 when her grandma came over\u2026 the little girl asked her\u2026 Grandma\u2026 why did you always cut the ends off of the ham before you baked it\u2026 and her grandma answered\u2026 Well\u2026 the baking dish was too small for the whole thing\u2026 so I had to\u2026 sometimes we hold on to something without knowing why\u2026 sometimes we just need to get a new baking dish\u2026 or a new framework for how we behave\u2026 The ancient Jewish purity laws\u2026 were still in force when the Pharisees asked Jesus why some of his disciples were eating with unwashed hands\u2026 and there are some common sense rules of hygiene which we still follow\u2026 though some of us break them when we’re out running errands and get food at a drive through\u2026 or perhaps when we go out to eat\u2026 and don’t wash our hands\u2026 And you’ll remember\u2026 in the early months of this pandemic\u2026 when we weren’t certain how the virus was transmitted\u2026 we were told over and over to wash our hands\u2026 and there were instruction sheets\u2026 and YouTube videos\u2026 and people were interviewed on TV\u2026 telling us how to safely handle\u2026 and even repackage\u2026 different kinds of groceries we brought home\u2026 some of them suggested letting your non-perishable items sit outside for three days\u2026 and out of an abundance of caution\u2026 people were sanitizing packages of deli meats\u2026 and containers of cottage cheese\u2026 and bottles of milk\u2026 and so in a very real way\u2026 we created our own modern day purity laws\u2026 though I don’t know anyone who’s doing that any more\u2026 But Jesus responded\u2026 as he so often did\u2026 on a level far above their question… and called out the Pharisees and scribes\u2026 by quoting the prophet Isaiah\u2026 when God said\u2026 these people draw near to me with their lips\u2026 but their hearts are far away\u2026 and they worship me in vain\u2026 because they promote their opinions\u2026 as my Word\u2026 You see\u2026 the Pharisees’ concern about eating with defiled hands\u2026 was more than just your mother’s concern about getting sick from eating unwashed vegetables\u2026 it was a much greater concern about being made unholy\u2026 about being rendered unhallowed\u2026 and that’s why Jesus doesn’t disagree with or respond to the basic hygiene part of their question\u2026 but responds on a deeper level and says\u2026 you’re following a hollow tradition which doesn’t bring you closer to God\u2026 you’re focusing on what goes in your mouth and what’s washed… but God cares more about what comes out of your mouth\u2026 because when it comes from an unclean heart\u2026 it’s what you say that defiles you\u2026 and it’s also why Jesus exhorts them in Matthew 23:26\u2026 to clean the inside of the cup first\u2026 because doing that will ensure that the outside becomes clean too\u2026 And James’ letter says\u2026 if you want to be closer to God\u2026 be doers of the word\u2026 and when you look in the mirror\u2026 remember that you’re a beloved child of God\u2026 and care for those who have no social capital\u2026 because then there’s no telling what else you might do\u2026 and let everyone be quick to listen\u2026 slow to speak\u2026 and slow to anger\u2026 for your anger does not produce God\u2019s righteousness\u2026 Pastor Martin Billmeier writes\u2026 when I’m angry\u2026 I am slow to listen\u2026 and quick to speak\u2026 and there’s a lot of anger out there these days\u2026 isn’t there\u2026 so when I deal with anger\u2026 whether it’s my own or someone else’s\u2026 I’ve found that it’s good to start asking questions\u2026 like where is this anger coming from\u2026 because anger always covers up a different emotion that we don’t want to feel\u2026 like fear\u2026 or sorrow\u2026 or anxiety\u2026 anger helps us feel in control of what is uncontrollable\u2026 so 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