Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity. Our Sunday services this week are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes’ and 11 am at St Thomas’. If you are unabe to be with us in person, you will find resources below to worship at home.
Our first hymn this morning is "Blest are the Pure in Heart"
Today's Gospel
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
When the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and 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.) So 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?” He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
‘This people honours me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.’
You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.”
Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.” For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
Reflection
Have you ever stopped to think how many different cleaning products there are on the supermarket shelves? Bars of soap, bottles of soap, some that are anti-bacterial, some with hand softeners or aloe vera, and some with disinfectant. The same goes for soap powders and washing up liquids and all of them claim to get cleaner better results at lower temperatures.
There is an old saying I’m sure some of you will have heard, ‘cleanliness is next to godliness’. Despite its apparent scriptural basis, the phrase is never used in the bible, although some believe it was first used in a sermon by methodist preacher Charles Wesley.
There are of course good health reasons for washing our hands before eating and also making sure the pots we use are clean and the food itself. Indeed, the whole subject of how to wash our hands thoroughly was highlighted during the Covid pandemic a couple of years ago.
So perhaps it is a little surprising that Jesus appears to be telling the Pharisees and the Scribes that washing your hands is not that important.
To understand this a little better it is worth looking at the background and the times in the first century when Jesus was alive on earth.
In the centuries since Moses had shared the ten commandments, the Pharisees who saw themselves as responsible for interpreting the law introduced thousands of new laws governing all aspects of how the Israelites should behave if they were to be holy and obey God.
Amongst these were a whole range of laws relating to cleaning and washing which went far beyond simply washing the dirt away in a bowl and drying afterwards. They were ritualistic and ceremonial as well as mostly being pointless and nothing really to do with getting hands or pots properly clean.
The rules had been put in place to make people show they had followed the rules, even though they had nothing to do with cleanliness. They were told that you can only be truly clean if you obey our silly rules because we know best.
So when Jesus and his followers declined to follow all the rules, we should not conclude that they were eating with filthy hands; rather they were accused of eating with defiled hands because they hadn’t obeyed all the ritual aspects of washing laid down by the elders of the church. They were suggesting that Jesus was dirty and sinful because they focussed on what he did not do. They failed to recognise who Jesus was and the amazing things that he did do, as well as what he was teaching!
It's not about what we say or how we follow rules that make us clean inside, it’s about what is in our hearts. We might openly profess one thing but if we don’t truly believe it in our hearts then we too are hypocrites, just going through the motions for the sake of it.
It’s about what we do in relation to how we treat one another. True cleanliness that will show how much we love God is about having a pure and clean heart. It’s not about being seen to follow a load of rules for the sake of it, especially when those rules don’t make sense.
It’s about being clean inside, in our hearts. There are no cleaning products in the shop that can do that, but thankfully we have Jesus - the ultimate cleaning agent.
Jesus gave Himself for us, so that even when we make mistakes and don’t keep all of the rules exactly right, we have forgiveness. His blood cleanses us from all our sinful thoughts and behaviours. He helps us to have faith and believe in that truth to give us new hope and peace.
Christ has washed us inside and made us new at our baptism, and when we believe and trust in him and ask for his forgiveness when we get things wrong and tell him we are truly sorry. Paul
Our Prayers
Most merciful Father,
We give you thanks that you love us and care for us
And that you sent your Son Jesus,
to cleanse and forgive us
when we sin and get things wrong.
We pray that we may have clean hearts
and pure intentions,
to follow him in all we do.
Amen
Our final hymn today is "Praise to the Holiest in the Height"
