Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9           Psalm 15          James 1:17-27              Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  This first verse from the Gospel of John came to mind as I read today’s readings from Deuteronomy, Psalm 15, and the Epistle of James.  The passage from Deuteronomy speaks of the statues and ordinances that God has given the people of Israel.  These statutes and ordinances included the Ten Commandments – words given to the people as a gift.  The Ten Commandments and all Jewish law were not intended to be rules and regulations, rather they were intended to be a help to the people to live in communion with God.  

The people are told to observe the statues and ordinances, or the laws, diligently so that it can be said about their nation, “they are a wise and discerning people.”  The people are to “take care and watch themselves closely, so as neither to forget the things your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children.”   The laws, you see, are not what is most important.  What is most important is the people’s relationship with God.  God freed them from slavery in Egypt.  God lead them through the wilderness as a pillar of smoke during the day and a flame by night.  God provided them food and water.  And, God gave them the Ten Commandments. 

The book of Deuteronomy is presented as the final words Moses tells to the people just before they were to enter into the Promised Land.  After years of wandering in the wilderness, the people are about to see God’s promise of a land filled with milk and honey.  This warning to “take heed to the statues and ordinances” is a warning not to forget God, the giver of all gifts, once they have nice homes and full bellies.  You know how it is, when you want something you are motivated.  But when you are satisfied with what you have, you can become content and complacent.  We think we have done all we need to do.

Psalm 15 begins with the question, who may dwell in the Lord’s tabernacle?  The answer: “Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right;” the person, “who speaks the truth from his heart.”   We speak words – but not just any words will allow us to abide upon God’s holy hill.  The words spoken must be true and spoken from the heart.  The words must be true, AND spoken from the heart –the heart must be in right relation to God.  For, to lead a blameless life we must be able to discern the truth.  By living according to the statues and ordinances given to us by God, we can be a wise and discerning people.  Then we can speak words without guile, words from our hearts that are true.

James says that we are given “the word of truth” at birth, “in fulfillment of [God’s] own purpose,” so that we will become like the first fruits of God’s creation.  We are to rid ourselves “of all sordidness and rand growth of wickedness, and WELCOME WITH MEEKNESS THE IMPLANTED WORD that has the power to save [our] souls.”

He says to be “doers of the word,” and that, we will be blessed in our doing.  If then, the Word was with God, and the Word was God – then we are called to do God’s will.  To do what God would have us do is to be blessed.  It is to be a part of that great nation, to be a wise and discerning people. 

In the opening verses of the Gospel of John, we can see the connection between Christ, the Word made flesh who dwelt among us, and the statues and ordinances given by God to the people of Israel.  The law and Christ shared the same purpose, both sought to bring and keep people in relationship to and with God. 

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is in conflict with the Pharisees and the scribes – the keepers of the Word.  At issue is the lack of strict adherence to Jewish tradition, the tradition of washing your hands before eating.  We now understand the tradition to be good hygiene, and know it to be a good tradition – but hygiene was not the concern of the Pharisees; the issue was one of keeping with tradition, as if the tradition was the Word of God.  Jesus responds by calling them hypocrites and by quoting Isaiah. 

When I hear the word “hypocrite” today, I think of a person who says one thing and does another.  But the true meaning of the word, is a person who acts contrary to their heart.  One dictionary defines the word hypocrite as:  “a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.”  Whereas the Pharisees are more concerned with the tradition, a person’s actions, Jesus is more concerned about a person’s heart.  The Pharisees who he calls hypocrites, can’t see the forest for the trees – they are so concerned with the letter of the law that they don’t understand its intent. 

Jesus comes to a people who have replaced God’s desire to be in relationship, with human desires, and used rituals to pretend they are doing God’s will.   This is not a new problem for the people of Israel; over 700 years before Christ, God sends the prophet Isaiah to get the people’s attention.  They also have forgotten to heed the warning of Moses.  The people of Israel are not using the statues and the ordinances to discern God’s will, but are doing what they want and claiming it is God’s will.  So Isaiah delivers God’s message:  “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me: in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrine.”  Jesus adds, “You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.” 

The Word of God is meant to be written on our hearts.  Our desires are meant to be God’s desires.  But all too often we find ourselves caught up in petty issues – upset by the things that do not matter. 

The Pharisees are more concerned with appearances than the heart.  Jesus says that true evil comes from within, not from breaking tradition.  The Jewish cleansing rites were human precepts being taught as doctrine – when in fact, they were merely rituals.  Our rituals are intended for one purpose and one purpose only – to direct our attention and incline our hearts to God. 

James advises us to “welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save [our] souls.”   In order to combat the evil that can emerge from our hearts, that is what we must do.  We must submit to God and welcome his loving grace into our lives.  We must accept the living Word, Christ, and allow him to work through us so that we are, in fact, “doers of the word.”

Let us pray.

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.