In the beginning, the Pharisees started out with good intentions and were sincere in their endeavors to please God. After all, they were considered to be the finest standard of righteousness in the Judaism of Jesus’ time! In fact, many Bible scholars believed that Jesus most closely identified with the Pharisees. The Pharisees were zealous about keeping and protecting God’s Law and worked hard to keep the multitude of teaching and traditions. Through the Gospels, we find Jesus’ entire ministry and life was a contention with the Pharisees. They wanted him to validate and approve their righteousness, but it is clear from our reading this morning that He was not going to approve their way of doing things. They were on different wavelengths.
Now consider this conversation between a new minister to a country church and a local farmer. The minister greeted the farmer and asked: “Do you belong to the Christian family?” “Oh no,” replied the farmer, “They live two farms down.” “No,” pressed the minister, “Are you lost?” “Don’t think so” said the farmer, “Me and Bessie been here more than 30 years.” Undeterred the minister moved on: “What I mean is, are you ready for Judgement Day?” “Don’t know. When is it?” asked the farmer. “Maybe today, or tomorrow, not really sure,” said the minister. “Well, then,” answered the farmer, “When you find out let me know, the wife and me will want to be there.”
Different wavelengths! When a conversation gets off on the wrong note, it’s hard to get it right. That’s the problem we see in Mark’s Gospel reading. “Why,” asked the Pharisees, “Do your disciples not live according to the traditions of our elders, but eat with defiled hands?” The two sides of the conversation show completely different wavelengths. Why all the fuss about hand-washing? How can an enlightening answer come when the wrong question is asked? The old saying, “the devil is in the details” comes to mind. The main difference here is that Jesus had a larger view in mind. He saw that the Pharisees were paying “lip service” and putting a wall between God and His people that kept them from seeing God in His fullness. For all their outward scrupulousness, they fell short.
The righteousness of the Pharisee was not high enough. It did not aspire beyond itself. It did not take people to God, but looked only as high as their traditions. The righteousness of the Pharisee was not deep enough. While they performed rituals, they could not forgive a wrong or have a depth of understanding and compassion. The righteousness of the Pharisee was not broad enough either. It was narrow and lacked the breadth of thought and inclusiveness of Jesus’ teachings.
Different wavelengths. Jesus Himself set a basis of morality in a much higher, deeper, and broader context. He taught that the righteousness of the Law was to be found in one’s intent and actions – how one acts on the inside. What was required is more than simple outward obedience, but loving God, one’s neighbor and oneself from the heart. Even more, Jesus’ life and teachings were about transforming the inner person. Maybe the difference is about the experience of being human. A too rigid outlook overshadows our reason for being in the world, for living and enjoying the goodness of creation. We were made stewards of all that God has given us and God said it was good.
Author Orison Marden said it best: “The universe is one great kindergarten for people. Everything that exists has brought with it its own particular lesson. The mountains teach stability and grandeur; the oceans immensity and change. Forests, lakes, clouds, stars, flowers, and birds – every form of animate and inanimate existence leaves its imprint on the soul of people.” Different wavelengths. It’s not about rules at all. It’s about the beauty of the gift of life we have been loaned. It’s about the immensity and goodness of God. It’s about about the love of Jesus that fills our hearts with joy and wonder and spills into our outward actions. Yet, it’s not about over-spiritualizing everything in life. Sometimes the wisest and most practical patterns for our behavior are to be found by paying attention to our most basic needs.
Christof Blumhardt wrote: “We are not mere spirits. We are human beings of flesh and blood. Every day we need to eat. We need clothing for every season . . . We must live together . . . we must work communally and not each for himself. Otherwise we can never become the flock that stands up to the world and says: “now things must become quite different.”
So, then, what do we take away from our Gospel reading? Simply this. Different wavelengths. To see it’s not about rules. It’s about true righteousness that must be broad enough to include all people and appreciate other viewpoints; deep enough to get behind the rules and live in their spirit; high enough to aspire beyond itself to reach out and touch others and to strive to the best we can know and to seek to know God and watch for glimpses of Him in our lives. Finally, to see our Christian calling to be that of bringing the Good News that Christ died for us, rose from the dead, and lives today giving life to each of us.
Source: © The Rev. Peter Groschner, September 2, 2018. Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23. Reprinted with permission from the author.