by Pastor Chris Wall as printed in the Covenant Home Altar the week of August 27th
MATTHEW 15:10-20
Here is a text that may bring up uncomfortable feelings. We, like the Pharisees, find ourselves the subject of disquieting questions.
Matthew 15:10-20
Things That Defile
10 Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, ‘Listen and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.’ 12 Then the disciples approached and said to him, ‘Do you know that the Pharisees took offence when they heard what you said?’ 13 He answered, ‘Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind.[a] And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.’ 15 But Peter said to him, ‘Explain this parable to us.’ 16 Then he said, ‘Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. 19 For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.’The issue at hand is one of integrity. The Pharisees were hyper-focused on purity laws—so much so that they ignored true purity that comes from a heart that is right with God. With all their attention on outward expressions, they missed the inward reality. In Jesus’s piercing critique, they are “blind guides of the blind” (v. 14).
We are similarly put under the microscope. Do our insides match our outsides? Or do we put too much emphasis on appearing right with God without actually being right with God? What feelings come up as you consider your inner and outer state? Don’t shy away from those emotions! They are fertile ground for God’s work. In trust, follow the feelings of disquiet to where we are most uncomfortable, where we most fear God will look. That is likely where we most need Jesus, with his piercing, loving eyes to guide us to true purity.
Father, forgive us when our outsides do not match our insides, and give us the courage to invite you into those spaces. AMEN.