Matthew 15:1-9
That Which Defiles
15 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ 5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6 they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 “‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’”
In Jesus' day, a Jewish person could declare certain assets "corban," meaning devoted to God. Once declared, those assets no longer had to be shared with family. There is wisdom in the practice, because it makes giving to God a conscious act of devotion.
In Matthew 15, the Pharisees and scribes come to Jesus from Jerusalem and accuse his disciples of breaking the tradition of the elders by not washing their hands before they eat. They are essentially telling Jesus that his practice of Judaism is flawed. Jesus answers by turning the question around and pointing to how the tradition of corban was being misused. People were declaring resources devoted to God so they wouldn't have to care for their parents, which set aside the commandment to honor father and mother. Jesus has a huge problem with this because the law was given to strengthen our relationships with God and with each other, not to cover for broken relationships.
We do the same thing today. Sometimes we apply religious ideas creatively to our own advantage. Sometimes we use religious obligations as an excuse for not having time to care for the people in front of us.
Jesus then quotes the prophet Isaiah to the religious leaders, and to all of us: "This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." We need to discern where that is true of us. In the ancient world, the heart was the seat of will and desire, so Jesus is challenging us to want what God wants for others.
When you are trying to discern how to apply a religious idea in a relationship, ask yourself, "What does God want for this person?" That question moves your own desires out of the center and puts God in the driver's seat, the God who loved us so much that he sent his only Son to die for us.
– Pr. Jason
God, help me to check my heart so that I want what you want for other people. Give me your vision of life, and life to the full, for every person you love. Amen.
