Thoughts for the Day

Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, ‘Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands before they eat.’ He answered them, ‘And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, “Honour your father and your mother,” and, “Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.” But you say that whoever tells father or mother, “Whatever support you might have had from me is given to God”, then that person need not honour the father. So, for the sake of your tradition, you make void the word of God. You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied rightly about you when he said:

“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.”’

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

During Advent we shall look at the people, places and symbols that invite us to prepare for the coming of the Christ-child at Christmas. They will not necessarily occur in the right order! Today we look at 'Honouring God'.

In Matthew's Gospel we find an example of the division between what Jesus came to teach us and the beliefs of orthodox Jewish religion. The Pharisees and the Scribes asked Jesus: ‘Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands before they eat.’

The religious life of God's people was governed by two Laws - the written (Mosaic) law, and the traditions of the Elders. The latter covered every part of life. There were complicated rules on washing one's hands; rules over what could or could not be touched - ie no Gentile, no-one who was sick, no person who was bleeding etc; and rules concerning what could be eaten - no pigs, or shellfish etc. If anyone broke one of these laws they were ritually unclean, and if they or their garments touched someone else then they too were unclean. God's commandments had stated "Honour your father and mother" but a man could say to his poverty-struck parents, "I have nothing to give you, because I am giving it all to God", and a promise to God could not be broken.

This is not honouring one's parents or God. Honour is about qualities like integrity, respect, reverence, and praise. As we tread our way onwards into Advent, we need to think about how we honour God. Is it like the Pharisees and Scribes with our lips but not our hearts? Perhaps we could ask ourselves if we can put more of our hearts into being a follower of Christ this Advent.

Lord Jesus Christ,
You call us to love God and to love all people.
may we not make excuses to help
those in need,
for You came to reclaim the lost and lonely
and to rescue the poor and downtrodden.
May we joyfully worship You
even as we honour You through our actions
to help those around us.
Amen.