PrayerBits for Sunday

PrayerBits

A bite sized devotional program
produced by the West Side Presbyterian Church

Sunday

Scripture lesson:Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 The source of impurity

Time to reflect: As long as there was a Temple there was a great concern about ritual purity – it was considered improper to come into the presence of God “dirty” in some fashion. (This is a huge topic that cannot be adequately covered here.) A big debate of the time was whether simply observing the rules was sufficient or whether intent and other behavior also made one impure. Jesus was on the radical left that felt that intent and behavior was more important than the mechanics of remaining ritually pure.

Moving through the day: To what extent does this debate continue in a modern form? We don't have to worry about ritual purity in the Temple, but we do worry about “proper” behavior, attire, etc. Are you more inclined to worry about form or intent?

Scripture:

The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were "unclean," that is, unwashed. (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.

 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with 'unclean' hands?"

 He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
   " 'These people honor me with their lips,
      but their hearts are far from me.
 They worship me in vain;
      their teachings are but rules taught by men.'You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men."

 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him 'unclean.' "

For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' "