Dirty Hands

 "Now when the scribes and Pharisees gathered to Him, some coming from Jerusalem, they noticed that some of his disciples ate with hands that had not been ceremoniously washed and were therefore unclean (and thereby defiled according to their traditions)" (Mark 7: 1-3).

How much of what you what deem to be meaningful is defined by what you observe?

I'm not merely talking about what you visually notice (or what you miss), but what you "see" that directly impacts upon the way you behave or what essentially defines what you determine to do.

Paramount in the spirituality of the men with Jesus here was their 'pots and pans' mentality (it actually says that - see verse 4). They expected everything to be clean enough that they could see their own piety reflected in it. Anything that dropped below this exacting standard was vile, so when we're told that they enquired of Jesus how it was that His followers didn't come up to spec, they weren't simply seeking to correct a minor mistake of social etiquette - they would have been boiling at such disrespect for what was, to them, the "weight" of the Mosaic law; the display of godliness.

We always know when we're dealing with that kind of regimental control. The supposed reasons for "holiness" have nothing to do with God showing up, but entirely revolve around not deflating our own sense of importance (because we set the ground rules, period).

Jesus understands we're filthy. Not because we haven't worn our pharisaical best or forgot to apply a little soap and water, but because that's exactly what we are. Abraham may have been a man of faith, called by God, but that didn't change the fact shortly after leaving Ur, he was back to his weaselly ways of seeking to wriggle out of trouble.

It's not the dirt that's the trouble (at least, if we're honest about that). It's when we seek to contrive ourselves to be something (godly) that we're not, and then expect God to give us credit for our self-deceit (hence, the tragedy that was Cain).

That's why this same chapter has the story of the noticed gentile woman (vs 25) and the miraculous restoration of senses to an impaired man (vs  32). They were 'heard' because they were both in poverty, and all they needed was Jesus to meet them where they were. What they didn't need is all the "provisos" that Jesus Himself warns about (7:14-23) after setting the religious tea-set owners in their place (6 & 7). That's where we need to zone-in when it comes to the issue of "our" religion - the measure by which we choose to 'weigh' another up.

So what does Jesus say? What amounts to 'pots and pans' as opposed to genuine spirituality?

There's an interesting notation in John's third letter about a character named Dieotrephes (See verse 9). In spite of all that John had written in a prior epistle about the necessity for Christian love and an adherence to truth, this clearly sanctimonious and self-referential blotch had managed to place himself at the very core of a Christian company in such a fashion that John's teachings were deemed to be unacceptable, and the Apostle himself barred from this gathering.

This is where the hollow 'noise' of false pietism takes its adherents.

We can readily point to 'the world' and simply throw it all under the bus, but Jesus is saying those things we want to make a real song and dance about aren't actually the real problem. It isn't what's "out there" that brings evil, He notes, but what arises from inside us to abuse ourselves that manufactures all manner of obsessive religiosity, not to mention iniquity, especially when it comes to harming ourselves and others.

The clean cutlery brigade are highly dangerous because they want, at all costs, to evade the real trouble - the stinking mire festering inside their dying souls. That is why religion is so dangerous. If it becomes all about what we "are" (in our own estimation) and not what we actually harbour - the things listed by Jesus (verses 21 & 22).

Martin Luther became a real person when he came to understand how much he actually hated God. Religion merely amplified the notion that God was nothing more than a cruel, sadistic tyrant, who demanded total commitment through genuinely pious behaviour, and would bring countless ages of "refinement"  (purgatory) if there was even a hint of resentment or a moment's lapse of devotion, and if you were less 'godly' than that, then the torment would be eternal. Life, says Jesus, can only begin when such folly is ended by the truth that only God's love saves us entirely, and the wretched woe of our sin was fully met in by Christ's deliverance on the cross. It was as Luther discovered this for himself in Paul's letter to the Romans that he finally became a free man, and the tyranny of religion was dissolved.

Jesus, in this passage in Mark, calls people to be His on the very same basis (verse 14) - to put aside all the 'externals' that they thought were vital and merely trust that He could do something about their real problem within.

So, where does that leave us?

That "inner" notion we have of ourselves being 'good' people because we tick all the  'clean and tidy' exterior boxes can so easily leave us looking away from God's mercy to something else as our virtue and merit, but that is utter folly.

Jesus wants us at His table, with all our baggage, and the dirt very evident indeed, whatever others think about that. He wants us to be trusting entirely upon Him.

Vanity purchases a wardrobe of outfits (beliefs) that suit our propensity for self religion. "Worship" becomes a contrivance through which such self veneration is bolstered. The consequence is an eternity of void between us and the only healer in town. He is the one that needs to be seated at our table, continually.