It's what we do that counts
Lord, may the words of my mouth and the mediation of all our hearts and our actions be acceptable to you, our strength and our redeemer. Amen
When I was I kid we played a lot of sports after school.
Not organized sports and really it might be more appropriate to say that we played a lot of games
We played a little bit of baseball
A lot of touch football
But mostly we played a lot of road hockey
When we played road hockey, would often pretended we were our favorite NHL stars
I was generally one of three people
I was Borja Salming if I was on defense
Darrel Sittler on offense
And if I came up with a last minute dramatic goal saving glove save
I was Mike Palmater in net
As a kid dreaming of playing in the NHL (the road hockey - NHL) we knew that we were just pretending
But there were some times when all the right moves came together and for a moment - just a moment - you could actually feel like you were that star
That notion of pretending or dressing up, in some ways never really leaves you
We all have costumes or clothing that we wear that presents a certain persona
When I was a teenager I went through a couple of years where I dressed like a punk rocker
I wore army fatigues and t-shirts with punk rock bands on them
I didn’t share the message and lifestyle of the music
but I liked the energy of the music so I dressed the part
In my first job in sales, when all I had behind me was school, I dressed up in a suit
I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I looked the part
While understanding this notion that the outward appearance sets the perspective, imagine yourself in this situation
Consider yourself part of a religious group - might not be that hard to do
You are part of a group that even though there are people all around that have different beliefs and different gods - you believe that your God is one true God
You consider yourselves part of deep rooted group
In fact you hold a great deal of pride and honour to connect your group to the original founders of your religion
You were part of politically shaping revolt based on religious beliefs
You take great pride in following the teachings of your sacred books
In fact you are known for your zeal for them and the way you follow all ceremonial instructions
You teach a message that believers in your God are called to be separate from the rest of the world
To be a visible representatives
Your zeal for things done right is transparent in what you wear and what you eat
There are other divisions of your religion that worship the same God
- there are those that have long influential connections and money and seem a little too worldly
- Yet others are fanatical and want to bring the reign of your superior God by any means possible, including force in opposing other religious groups
You see yourselves as a corrective alternative for the destiny of your people
Since you are not born into the temple roles - you have developed places of worship and teaching through-out the land
I am speaking of the Pharisees of 2000 years ago
But I think you can see the parallels to us Anglicans as well
We have the one true God
Believe in Apostolic succession
We are historically connected to Catholic church
Yet also part of the corrective movement - of Protestism
Hold the Bible as the revelation of God
have highly formal worship practices - liturgies
have reasons to think that other denominations each got it slightly wrong
I think that Anglicans and Pharisees have a lot in common.
We both certainly like to maintain, support and encourage the traditions
So do you think - as I do - and in some way see yourself as a Pharisee on some level?
One view of the Pharisees comes scriptures and generally it is a pretty negative view.
We see them as the main opponents that were after Jesus
and we see Jesus attacking them verbally more then any other group
We have it today in our Gospel passage where Jesus had previously just fed the 5000, walked on water, healed the demon possessed
And there the Pharisees are - traveling a great distance from Jerusalem to Galilee and they are challenging Jesus about ritual washing
There are positive perspectives - also - other sources, like Josephus, a significant historical writer - presents them in the most positive light
And the after the destruction of the temple in 70 AD - it was the Pharisaic movement - that alone survived - when all other Jewish sects died out
They are the religious forerunners for our modern day Jewish brothers and sisters
The view you have of the Pharisees is connected to how much you relate to them
The Pharisees were known and respected as the most zealous keepers of the law
and in fact took it a step beyond and were zealous for the “tradition of the elders”
- which was the teachings that built on or added to the law.
And that is the point in which we connect with the Pharisees today in our Gospel passage from Mark the passage is actually called the “tradition of the elders” in some versions.
“Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6 Jesus said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; 7 in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’ 8 You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.”
The key word in all of this - is the word hypocrites
Its meaning from the Greek is something like “actors” or “pretenders”
Jesus is saying that they are dressing up for the role
looking the part
doing the things that on the outside look righteous
they are teaching the traditionally right things
but they are not owning the part in their hearts
I think that - we who are much like the Pharisees - need to be confronted by this
I think we need to think about what we say we do - with what we actually do
We need to question why we do things
as much as what we do
I know that I have found myself feeling like a Pharisee a lot these days
As I have started in full-time ministry
I am often thinking about what I am supposed to do in this service or that
Or explaining Anglican practices to those that want to get married or have their kids baptized in our church
I remember a time when I was interning at The Meeting House last summer when we were to serve communion
And I was explaining some of the Holy Hardware that is used in an Anglican church
I was very aware of feeling like the “teacher of traditions” - the right way
Feeling like a Pharisee
When the more important fact was that we were going to celebrate in the Lord supper
In this day and age in our culture - appearances do matter - As they mattered back then
People take their cue - their first impression from what we look like - or appear to be doing
With the predominate role that the media plays in our lives - we are bombarded with images
We Christians - especially those that that have been willing to boldly represent themselves as Christians - need to live in accordance with our appearances
There is a joke about the women that is drives in hurry to work, changing lanes fast, honking her horn at those that are in her way - and making middle digit gestures at those that don’t drive to her liking - she gets pulled over by the police and put in prison
After waiting some time she is released with no charges - in anger she asks why she was pulled over and put in prison - to which the officer responds that he thought her Car was stolen because he saw the fish icon (the symbol of Christianity) on the back
She wasn’t acting the part that she was professing
There is an important sidebar that I want to share with you but didn’t really figure out a way in which to integrate it into the sermon. So please excuse this sidebar
Notice in the Gospel how Jesus addresses the issue at hand
deals with it in three different ways to three different audiences
To the Pharisees that are trying to question his authority as a teacher by tripping him up on the teachings of the traditions of the elders
Jesus redirects the focus to calling them out - as actors, or pretenders (hypocrites) and challenging them that they only pay lip service to God’s commandments in favour of teaching human precepts as doctrines
To the crowd gathered - A simple clear message -
there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile
To the disciples (now the full text explains that Jesus is only speaking the last part to the disciples, but the lectionary has cut out that explanation)
Jesus teaches message of moral teaching - a more challenging and personally accountable lesson
We can learn from Jesus that there are many ways to respond
Directly confronting those that should know better - yet are presenting a false message
Clearly and simply for those that are on the periphery of the discussion
And with greater detail and personal and moral application for those that are followers - wanting to know more
Well, that little lesson, that little nudget of Jesus’s leadership techniques is off my chest
Appearances…
what is on the outside does say and send a message of who you are
and that is the part of today’s scripture - both the Epistle and the Gospel that I have chosen to focus on
In the letter of James, which is more like proverbs - With its advice and moral instructions
The epistle from James is most famously known for the message that - to be a believer alone is not enough - we must be doers of the word
We have James say “they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; 24 for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like”
James is saying that those that hear the word only - don’t see the image in the mirror for what it really is.
They don’t connect the message with the ministry
James is asking them to see word for what it truly is
As a call to action - a call to ministry
We are created in the image of God
Therefore what is the image in the mirror?
We are the product of Good news and should see Christ’s image in us and serve that good news
To hear the word - yes - and then to serve in some form of ministry of that word
To be both in appearance and action
active receivers and doers of the Good News
This notion of what we are on the outside representing something more, is the heart of the message from both the Gospel and the Epistle
It is the most basic message of another thing I did when I was kid
watching “the after-school specials”
and the message also is found in countless movies, books and TV shows
It’s the timeless message from Cyreno Desbergeract - to Beauty and Beast
Whether it was the boy in the bubble or stories about racism
“It’s what we do - that counts”
- our actions are more important then our appearances
As James wrote in our passage for today
become a kind of first fruits of his creation
connect the message with the ministry
Amen