14th Sunday After Trinity

Readings: Deuteronomy 4v1-2&6-9; Psalm 15; James 1v17-end; Mark 7v1-8&14-15&21-23.

Let us pray: May the words of my mouth, and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.

A Word: In the book of Deuteronomy, a book from ancient times, we hear Moses telling the people of Israel to: keep God’s instructions, not add nor take anything away from them, keep them in mind every day and not forget them, and to teach them to their children and their children’s children. For Moses says that if we follow God’s instructions carefully and live the way we are asked to then we will learn to live wisely and with good judgement. Sadly though, down the ages, we people have made all kinds of religious errors and mistakes: by misinterpreting God’s meaning; or by either adding or taking away from the commands that were given to us. For example, as we hear in the gospel of Mark, Jesus is pointing out to the Pharisees that they had missed the point of God’s instructions and become obsessive about keeping human rules and traditions rather than doing what God intended. This is important for us in our day because the Pharisees were not bad people, they were simply people who were so devoted to God and passionate about obeying God’s instructions, that they had slipped into error. For, as Jesus reminds, the prophet Isaiah foretold that it is all too easy to worship God with our lips rather than our hearts, to abandon God’s guidance by blindly following human traditions, and then to teach human rules to others and incorrectly call them God’s instructions. Jesus calls this way of living out their faith as phoney and false because religious handwashing rituals cannot defile nor corrupt the human heart, for only wickedness can do that.

I believe that the scriptures give us a message that we should take to heart and act on by learning what God really wants of us; then living the way that God asks; and in so doing we will become able to accurately teach what God asks of us all to the next generation. The psalm tells us that: all those who truly worship and serve God - are a people who do what is right. This includes: speaking the truth, being honest, keeping our word, lending without charging interest, not taking bribes, staying out of the company of wicked people, not ridiculing nor doing evil to others and respecting all people who worship God. The letter from James tells us that to live God’s way and be blessed by God we must: study God’s word and persevere in doing what God instructs. This includes: being quick to listen and slow to speak, to prevent our anger taking control of us, to care for people in need and to welcome the word that has the power to save our souls. For James says that if we dedicate ourselves to this way of living, we will become: a people who are doers of God’s word, a people who turn away from wickedness and vice, a people who will become in God’s eyes - a pure and undefiled people.

Let us pray: Loving Lord God Almighty, source of all truth and love, we thank you for your son who opened up for us a new and living way to come into your presence. We ask you to grant us pure hearts and the devotion we need to worship you in spirit and truth. Keep us faithful to the teaching and fellowship of the apostles so we can be one in joy, one in simplicity of heart, one body united in prayer and one body in the breaking of bread.

Thank you for joining us.