Thoughts for the Day

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.'

When he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable. He said to them, ‘Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?’ (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, ‘It is what comes out of a person that defiles. 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.’

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

For the last two and a half years all of us have got used to washing our hands, and using sanitizer to keep them hygienically clean because of Covid-19. We have worn masks, avoided those we don't know, and generally kept isolated from anyone likely to bring in the virus. Even relaxing these rules has left us very aware of how 'unclean' we can be.

In today's reading we see Jesus answering a question that was initiated earlier. The Pharisees and Scribes had noticed that some of Jesus' disciples were eating with 'defiled hands', that is they had not washed their hands before eating. The laws concerning what can be eaten, what needs to be washed and how they were cleaned were extensive, and those not obeying them were considered to be non-orthodox and to be avoided. Jesus does not express disapproval of andy of these laws, and we should remember that he came not to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5.17).

However, Jesus does use this moment to talk about purity - he says that a pure life is not affected by what or how we eat. Real purity starts with our relationship to God and our obedience to Him. It begins in our heart. As we get closer to Him we want to change our life, to become 'cleaner', that is, less sinful.

Lord Jesus Christ,
help us to become purer,
to get rid of all the small sins
that affect us frequently:
gossip, pride, white lies,
selfishness, criticism,
bitterness, lack of generosity,
love of money, vanity,
and others we barely acknowledge.
Forgive us, and enable us
to start again free from
Your condemnation.
Amen.