Then Jesus called to the crowds and said “Listen to what I say and try to understand. You are not defiled by what you eat; you are defiled by what you say and do (i.e. what comes out of the mouth defiles you.)” (Matthew 15:10-11, NLT)
Far too often this passage has been misunderstood and interpreted to mean that Jesus may have in someway by it denied the Kosher dietary laws. This is clearly not the case, as can be seen by looking at it in context. Yet, surely too often we ‘religious’ put our religious actions (being zealous for the law, for the Church, in “worship,” etc.) in a place that we assume by it we have done our religious duties and are sure we have our place with God in his coming Kingdom. When Jesus says, “You are not defiled by what you eat,” there is a much heavier weight to it than at first appears. If by simply following the list of legal codes developed by the religious elite in a system of “traditional” and acceptable behavior gives us the right to think we are somehow of the hook religiously, it seems to be a good assumption that those who do not follow these codes are still in danger of fail.
In Jesus’ day, this amounts to being one of the individuals that hinder Israel from seeing the coming of the real Messiah and the salvation of the entirety of Israel. The teaching of the Pharisees and the belief of much of the extremely Torah observant Jewish culture had come to believe that, not only their exile into Babylon was caused by their failure to follow the Torah laws given by God to Moses in the story of Exodus, but they also believed that only by being carefully observant would God be willing to forgive them of their sins (corporately) and God’s glory would once again reside in Jerusalem.
Jesus shows this assumption false. Surely God does love a heart that is for him who diligently seeks him among those who proclaim him, but the honest seeker of God will soon find himself either noticing the emptiness of more tradition (which is not bad in and of itself) or find himself seeking something other than God. Jesus says this is like “the blind leading the blind.” If our ‘religion’ does not produce in us an honest heart, a desperation to see God act in the world, a deeper love for our families and the needy; if our own needy hearts are not changed, we will be working for ourselves and loose sight of God and his message!
One of the main things I have been struggling with in the last few years is seeking God to show me how to do something from my heart in a way that honors him and really loves my neighbors. God has, in more than one way through more than a few people, convinced me that loving him and loving my neighbor are not separate commands, but really both the same.
There is no spiritual vs. physical, supernatural vs. natural, theoretical vs. practical separation for God’s creation. What we do is spiritual because we are spiritual beings, gifted with the Holy Spirit and called to be God’s interaction in the world he has created (and especially among other spiritual beings created in God’s image). God’s miracles happen to us, in us and through us. God has given us our mind to know and love him, to know and love each other, and to enjoy and be responsible in the world he has created us in.
It seems, and I know this is an oversimplification of some serious and important stuff, that conservatives tend to drift to the more highly spiritual (its all about God – forget about creation because it will all burn, and forget about caring for others because caring is only good when others get saved) and liberals tend to drift in the other, very natural side (its all about this world – God, if though he is nothing more than some spiritual and personal event, has not and will not do anything unique in the world….it is up to us). Yet, God and the Scriptural (Platonic free interpretation) says that this is not an issue. Loving God and loving others is not only a necessity. Jesus said the most important commandment and the second are alike. John said clearly that saying you love God and hating your neighbor at the same time is really like lying.
So what is my part…What can I do?
Be responsible with what I am given. Do my best with my giftings and let God use them to mold me into the person he sees me to be. Don’t give up when it is hard. Worship God in Spirit (with my whole heart) and truth (lived out in the world around me).
