Tom Johnson, September 2, 2012
Part of me is with the Pharisees. Wash your hands before you eat. Please wash cups and pots and copper vessels. And do vacuum the dining couches. By doing so, we minimize rodents, bugs, and disease. But here are Jesus and his disciples—wrapping their grubby fingers around their cups and grabbing their polished copper vessels with their grimy hands—their dusty feet all over their spotless, dining couches. The religious leaders are offended that Jesus has not taught them the tradition of the elders. “If God wants the Levites to ritually clean their hands in the Temple,” the elders thought, “wouldn’t it be good for us to clean our hands in our homes?” But the problem is that rather than it being a voluntary act of piety, they made it into a rule and a tradition. And even worse—they began to measure peoples’ devotion to God according to this human commandment. And so they ask Jesus, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” “What sort of Rabbi are you anyway, Jesus? Were you born in a barn?” Well, yes—a manger even.
Jesus responds with tough words: “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.’” “God had you in mind, religious leaders, when Isaiah wrote those words generations ago. Your washing and polishing may brighten your cups and vessels, but it will not remove a stain on your soul. It will not wash away filth from your spirit.” What bothers Jesus so much is not the washing, polishing, and sweeping before they eat—it is their judgmental attitude toward others—it is measuring people’s religiosity and placing people into categories.
We should hear the same warning for ourselves—those of us who confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord, both God and human, the One who rescues us from the condemnation, power, and stain of sin. We may honor God with our verbage but dishonor him by our unloving and critical thoughts, attitudes, and actions. God does not want our mere lip service; he wants us to trust and love him with our whole being—mind, body, and spirit.
On Friday, I had lunch with my friend Hicham Chehab. You’ll remember him because he was here during Lent earier this year. Pastor Hicham is an Arabic speaking pastor. And Friday, he wanted me to meet his Palestinian friend, Mohammed. Mohammed was born in Jerusalem in a Muslim family. His father and grandfather used to beat him up to force him to go to the mosque. His father enrolled him in an Islamic school to learn more about Islam and the Quran. And there, he was taught hate and violence in the name of Allah. When he went to college he worked part time and met some Christians friends who took him to church with them in secret. He wanted to learn more about the Christian faith. Some of his Muslim coworkers discovered his secret. They teased him, cursed at him, and one of his classmates beat him up and threatened to kill him. When more people found out his secret, Mohammed was disowned by his family. Extremists promised to put him to death if he continued to be a Christian. He applied for a visa to the United States four times but was rejected. Later, he saw Jesus in a dream; heaven was opened and a Man in white robes came out and he told him, “Mohammed, I am Jesus Christ, don't be afraid, I will help you and open doors for you.” Mohammed applied for a visa again and was granted it in two weeks which is very rare. Mohammed calls it a miracle. He arrived in Chicago last year and knocked on the nearest church door—it happened to be a Lutheran Church. That pastor introduced introduced him to Pastor Hicham and was soon baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Burr Ridge. Mohammed is now beginning the process of becoming a Lutheran pastor. Mohammed asked for my prayers, that he’d be able to stay in this country and not fear being killed. Two weeks ago, Mohammed’s close Christian friend was killed in the West Bank as he was leaving the Greek Orthodox Church. Mohammed said, “After knowing Christ, I feel peace in my life and I am not afraid, because Jesus is there for me.”
That, my friends, is a person who isn’t just paying lip service. Jesus has not only won over Mohammed’s lips but his whole life. God does not just want our lips but our hearts, minds, bodies, and complete trust. True worship, Jesus says, is not where we try to win God over with our words and ceremonies and rituals—but where God wins us over with his Word, Holy Spirit, and power of his Son.
True worship is not following empty, religious tradition but completely trusting in Jesus who lived, died, and rose again for our salvation. True worship is not washing our hands before supper but receiving God’s enormous gifts in our grubby little hands. True worship is not polishing copper vessels—but filling these clay vessels with His true Body and Blood. True worship is not vacuuming off the couches so that we can sit rightly before God but God washing us with the water, Word and Spirit of Holy Baptism. God has won over our lips, he has won over our hearts, and he makes us into his vessels of honor.
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