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
Seven of the 12 "evil things" Jesus mentions as coming out of the human heart directly refer to the second table of the Ten Commandments, the part that has to do with our relations with our neighbor. Surely the other five cause harm to the neighbor as well. The contrast Jesus is drawing for us is not between law and gospel per se but between God's own good instruction, which has the love of neighbor as goal, and all the human additives we devise to put extra distance between ourselves and others.
At the same time, the heart affliction Jesus points to is present in everyone, no matter how godly, good or plenteous their rules, and will need a more radical intervention. Hear what Jesus says today, but also look at what he does. He shares his table and he shares food, far and wide—with disciples, with Pharisees, with crowds, with sinners—and with you.
Prayer
Gracious Lord, I have too often tried to cloister myself from my neighbor, and yet you come near to me anyway and make yourself neighbor to me. Thank you for breaking bread with me and pouring your love afresh into my heart. Amen.