Sermons for the Month
What Is In The Mouth Is More Important Than What Is In The Hands
DATE: August 18th, 2002
SERVICE: 13th Sunday After Pentecost
TEXT: Matthew 15:10-28“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
What is in the heart is more important than what is in the hands. That's a simple way of summarizing today's Gospel lesson that is anything but uncomplicated. So, let me begin by telling you a story that may help make these words of Jesus clear.
This is a true story that was told to me; I have modified the names and no doubt some details just a bit. It seems that there once was a small town church where the pastor, his wife and daughters lived a happy but sometimes exasperating life. One of the exasperations was a woman in the church who presented herself as the model Christian, and perhaps even wore white gloves on hands that prayed and received Holy Communion and did the work of the church. But she was a terrible busy body and gossip. Her rapid and hurtful tongue stung many people, and one day it struck not the pastor, as one might expect, but his daughter. It so happened that the young woman was in a play at the high school. The actors were permitted to dress for the first act at home, due to lack of back stage facilities at the school. So, she did so, and put her clothes for the after the play gathering in a suitcase. The show went on. Afterward she changed at the school and met her boyfriend. Suitcase in hand, they headed for some mild Friday night fun. That is when "Ms. Pillar of the church" saw them. Early the next morning the budding actress went to her usual Saturday job at the local grocery store and received several somewhat hesitant congratulations. Thinking the comments were on her acting abilities, which to her seemed a bit odd, she said a cheery, "Thank-you!" Later that afternoon her pastor father went to call on one of the church's shut-ins, a woman who had not been out of the house for years. After the first hellos the homebound lady cried out, "Tell me it isn't true about Frances!" It was then that the rumor that had by now reached every corner of the town and perhaps even the county was revealed. The pastor father inquired what she meant and the woman replied, "Well that Frances has eloped while yet in high school!" Now to us in 2002 it may be difficult to understand the harm that was done to a young woman's reputation, especially the pastor's daughter, by such a rumor. But, take my word for it; it was painful and long remembered. And how did the injured parties respond? They said nothing. Consider with me, then, the words of Jesus, "Listen and understand. It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles." And, "What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this what defiles." Of course when Jesus spoke these words he was addressing a particular situation that is completely foreign to us. And, his words were radical, or even subversive. Here's what is happening. Pharisees and scribes have come from Jerusalem to Galilee to see Jesus. Now, this is an unusual occurrence and it is a tribute to their growing discomfort with Jesus, and his burgeoning reputation. The visitors then criticize Jesus for his disciples' failure to observe ritual cleansing. Now, I could go into a lot of detail about this, but let me just say that the issue was that of human-made tradition verses God's law. The Torah, a holy book for the Jews, contained a great deal of detail about how one should live, otherwise known as religious law. But, it did not cover every detail. So, Rabbis who loved God and wanted to keep the law faithfully developed the Mishnah and then later (after Jesus' death) the Talmud to clarify what was expected. These works took on an authority nearly equal to the Torah. So it is that the law was expanded far beyond its original intent. It was rule making run amok, and of course the focus was on what one did with one's hands (and the rest of the body) rather than what was in the heart. This is what Jesus was challenging when his followers were criticized by the religious leaders for not participating in the ritual hand washing that was a part of their tradition. He said, in essence, that what is in the heart is more important than what is in the hands. In saying this, Jesus is setting aside cleansing and food laws, a radical thing since it was believed that failure to obey these laws made one unholy and constituted rebellion against God. He emphasized what comes from the heart rather that which enters the mouth. Now this was shocking to the Pharisees and scribes who had devoted their lives to purity. Jesus is telling them they are concerned about the wrong type of purity. To quote one commentator, "Good and evil do not well up from the food supply but from the heart. The filth of the gut cannot compare with the filth of the heart. We easily dispose of the filthy of the gut, and it ceases to affect us. The filth of the heart is a different matter." (Richard Donovan, SermonWriter for Proper 15A) So it is that we should be more concerned about what is in our hearts than about what is in our hands and thus visible to other people. The contents of the heart will eventually be revealed in our attitudes, in what we say and finally in how we act. "Ms. Model Christian" of the story I told may have had hands folded in prayer or active in service, but there was something nasty floating around in her heart - jealousy, a sense of inferiority, bitterness - that worked its way to her mouth in the form of hurtful gossip. And thus any positive witness she might have had was destroyed. It's interesting to me that this text is often not focused on. While preparing for this sermon I noted that in 15 years I have not preached on it, and finding study materials was a challenge. Why is that? Perhaps it is because we must come face to face with the fact that attending worship, or praying before meals, or volunteering now and then, or looking good in the community is immaterial if our hearts are in bad shape. Eventually what is in the heart will become obvious. So it is that looking good, or doing the right things, is not enough. Instead, our relationship with God must affect us in the innermost parts of our being. Then, what we say and do will be a genuine reflection of our love for God rather than a futile attempt to cover up those negative things that are swirling around in here. We need to nurture our hearts - confess what needs to be confessed; give it proper nourishment by avoiding the negativity, violence and filth that are common place in our world and making sure those you love are not tainted by these things. Fill your hearts with joy; deal with pain and sorrow; let go of bitterness; forgive and, most importantly, acknowledge the God-given love and grace that is within you that makes all things possible. And remember what Jesus taught us. What is in the heart is more important than what is in the hands. AMEN