GOD’S CHALLENGE TO CHANGE
Matthew 15:1-3; Ephesians 4:1-4
Rev. Paul Wrightman 8/15/21
ADDRESSING SOME OF THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES, JESUS ASKS:
"WHY DO YOU BREAK THE COMMANDMENT OF GOD
FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR TRADITION?"
THE IMMEDIATE CONTEXT FOR THIS QUESTION
IS JESUS' FLAT REJECTION OF THE THOUSANDS
OF ADDITIONAL LAWS THAT MANY OF THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES
HAD AUTHORED OVER THE YEARS TO FURTHER NAIL DOWN
THE MEANING OF THE ORIGINAL TEN COMMANDMENTS.
THESE THOUSANDS OF ADDITIONAL LAWS
WERE HANDED DOWN AND COMMUNICATED ORALLY.
THEY WERE NOT CONTAINED IN THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES,
WHAT SOME OF US CHRISTIANS KNOW
AS THE SO-CALLED "OLD" TESTAMENT.
THEY WERE THOUGHT UP BY VARIOUS SCRIBES OVER THE YEARS
IN A SINCERE ATTEMPT TO PULL OUT OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
ADDITIONAL LAYERS OF MEANING AND OBSERVANCE.
AS WITH SO MANY THINGS
THAT START OUT WITH GOOD INTENTIONS,
AFTER SEVERAL CENTURIES "HARDENING OF THE ARTERIES" SET IN --
THE ORAL TRADITION GREW AND GREW,
BECOMING MORE AND MORE COMPLICATED --
UNTIL BY THE TIME OF JESUS
THE ORAL LAW WAS WAY BIGGER
AND TAKEN FAR MORE SERIOUSLY THAN THE WRITTEN LAW
BY MANY OF ISRAEL'S RELIGIOUS LEADERS.
BIBLICAL SCHOLAR WILLIAM BARCLAY
GIVES US A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE OUT-OF-CONTROL GROWTH
OF THE ORAL TRADITION.
HE WRITES:
"THE COMMANDMENT SAYS,
'REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY AND KEEP IT HOLY';
AND THEN GOES ON TO LAY IT DOWN
THAT ON THE SABBATH NO WORK MUST BE DONE (Exodus 20:8-11).
BUT [SOME SCRIBES] ASKED, 'WHAT IS WORK?'
AND WENT ON TO DEFINE IT
UNDER THIRTY-NINE DIFFERENT HEADINGS
WHICH THEY CALLED 'FATHERS OF WORK.'
EVEN THAT WAS NOT ENOUGH.
EACH OF THESE HEADINGS WAS GREATLY SUBDIVIDED.
THOUSANDS OF RULES AND REGULATIONS BEGAN TO EMERGE.
THESE WERE CALLED THE ORAL LAW,
AND THEY BEGAN TO BE SET
EVEN ABOVE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.
[FOR EXAMPLE], ONE OF THE WORKS FORBIDDEN ON THE SABBATH
WAS CARRYING A BURDEN…
THE LEGALISTS INSISTED THAT A BURDEN MUST BE DEFINED.
SO DEFINITION WAS GIVEN.
A BURDEN IS (QUOTE) 'FOOD EQUAL IN WEIGHT TO A DRIED FIG,
ENOUGH WINE FOR MIXING IN A GOBLET,
MILK ENOUGH FOR ONE SWALLOW,
OIL ENOUGH TO ANOINT A SMALL MEMBER,
WATER ENOUGH TO MOISTEN AN EYE-SALVE…
INK ENOUGH TO WRITE TWO LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET,
REED ENOUGH TO MAKE A PEN'… AND SO ON ENDLESSLY."
(END QUOTE)
(William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke, p.72)
IN TODAY'S SCRIPTURE READING,
A DELEGATION OF PHARISEES AND SCRIBES
ARRIVES FROM JERUSALEM TO QUESTION JESUS
CONCERNING HIS REJECTION OF THE ORAL LAW:
"WHY DO YOUR DISCIPLES BREAK THE TRADITION OF THE ELDERS?
FOR THEY DO NOT WASH THEIR HANDS BEFORE THEY EAT."
(Matthew 15:2)
NOTICE HOW JESUS ANSWERS THEIR QUESTION
WITH HIS OWN QUESTION:
"AND WHY DO YOU BREAK THE COMMANDMENT OF GOD
FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR TRADITION?"
(Matthew 15:3)
JESUS MAKES IT PERFECTLY CLEAR THAT FOR HIM
"THE TRADITION OF THE ELDERS"
IS NOT TO BE EQUATED WITH "THE COMMANDMENT OF GOD."
IN FACT, JESUS GOES OUT OF HIS WAY
TO PURPOSEFULLY BREAK AS MANY
OF THESE ADDED RULES AND REGULATIONS AS POSSIBLE.
THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES HAD MADE IT A LAW
THAT ONE WAS REQUIRED TO WASH ONE'S HANDS BEFORE EATING.
THIS LAW HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH CLEANLINESS OR HEALTH,
AND EVERYTHING TO DO WITH A PURELY RITUAL PURITY.
JESUS ENCOURAGES THE BREAKING OF THIS LAW.
WE'VE SEEN AGAIN AND AGAIN HOW JESUS PURPOSEFULLY BREAKS
THE LAW AGAINST HEALING ON THE SABBATH,
ANOTHER ADDITION TO THE ORIGINAL TEN COMMANDMENTS
INTRODUCED BY THE SCRIBES AND RATIFIED BY THE PHARISEES.
WHILE THE IMMEDIATE CONTEXT OF TODAY'S SCRIPTURE READING
IS JESUS' REJECTION
OF THE MULTITUDE OF ADDITIONAL RULES AND REGULATIONS
AFFIRMED BY MANY OF THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES,
THERE IS A LARGER CONTEXT AT WORK IN OUR TEXT AS WELL.
BY JESUS' DAY THE TENSION BETWEEN
THE MUCH MORE OPEN-ENDED APPROACH TO JUDAISM
PRACTICED IN JESUS' NATIVE GALILEE,
AND THE LARGELY LEGALISTIC APPROACH TO RELIGION
PRACTICED BY MANY OF THE SCRIBES, PHARISEES,
AND TEMPLE PRIESTS IN JERUSALEM
HAD REACHED A BOILING POINT.
STANDING SQUARELY IN THE JEWISH PROPHETIC TRADITION,
JESUS CHALLENGED THE PROLIFERATION OF ORAL LAW IN HIS DAY
AS A MAJOR OBSTACLE BETWEEN PEOPLE AND GOD.
JESUS SAW THE MULTITUDE OF ADDED RULES AND REGULATIONS
AS STANDING IN THE WAY OF PEOPLE
HAVING A LIVING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LIVING GOD.
LIKE THE MANY PROPHETS WHO CAME BEFORE HIM,
JESUS ENERGETICALLY PROTESTED AGAINST THIS ECLIPSING
OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD'S LAW
BY LAYER UPON LAYER OF SO-CALLED "RELIGIOUS" LAWS
WHICH ACTUALLY HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH GOD,
AND EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE RELIGIOUS ELITE
EXERCISING THEIR POWER AND CONTROL.
FRANCISCAN FRIAR RICHARD ROHR TALKS A LOT ABOUT
HOW HARD JESUS WAS ON JUDAISM --
PRECISELY BECAUSE JESUS WAS JEWISH AND LOVED HIS TRADITION.
ROHR IS VEHEMENTLY CRITICAL OF MANY ASPECTS
OF CONTEMPORARY ROMAN CATHOLICISM,
AND MAKES THE POINT THAT ONLY SOMEONE
TRULY IN LOVE WITH THEIR OWN TRADITION
HAS THE AUTHORITY TO POWERFULLY CRITIQUE IT.
ROHR MAINTAINS, ALONG WITH MANY OTHER
SOCIOLOGISTS OF RELIGION,
THAT RELIGION, BY ITS VERY NATURE, HAS A BUILT-IN TENDENCY
TO STIFLE THE SPIRIT OF THE LIVING GOD
THROUGH ENDLESS DOCTRINES AND DOGMAS,
RULES AND REGULATIONS.
ROHR'S POINT IS THAT ALL RELIGIONS
PERIODICALLY NEED TO BE REFORMED, RENEWED, AND REVITALIZED.
THIS IS WHAT JESUS ATTEMPTED WITHIN HIS OWN TRADITION,
WHAT MARTIN LUTHER DID WITH HIS,
AND -- HERE'S THE KICKER --
WHAT WE ARE CALLED TO DO WITH OURS.
WE TALK A LOT ABOUT WANTING TO BECOME MORE LIKE JESUS.
IRONICALLY, IT TURNS OUT THAT ONE OF THE WAYS
IN WHICH WE CAN BECOME MORE LIKE JESUS
IS TO QUESTION OUR OWN SUPPOSEDLY "RELIGIOUS"
RULES AND REGULATIONS -- JUST LIKE JESUS DID.
WHAT JESUS WAS MOST OFFENDED BY
IN THE OUT-OF-CONTROL ORAL TRADITIONS OF HIS OWN DAY
WAS THAT THEY EFFECTLY KEPT HIS OWN RELIGION
FROM CHANGING AND GROWING.
CHANGE AND GROWTH ARE ESSENTIAL PARTS OF LIFE;
WITHOUT THEM DECAY AND DEATH SET IN
AND EVENTUALLY TAKE OVER.
A FASCINATING LITTLE ARTICLE FROM THE SEPTEMBER 12, 1999
EDITION OF THE NEWSPAPER THE TENNESSEAN NOTES THAT:
"BAYER CORPORATION HAS STOPPED PUTTING THE COTTON WADS
IN THEIR GENUINE BAYER BOTTLES.
THE COMPANY REALIZED THE ASPIRIN WOULD HOLD UP FINE
WITHOUT THE MADDENING WHITE CLUMPS,
WHICH IT HAD INCLUDED SINCE ABOUT 1914.
'WE CONCLUDED THERE REALLY WASN'T ANY REASON
TO KEEP THE COTTON EXCEPT TRADITION,'
SAID CHRIS ALLEN, BAYER'S VICE PRESIDENT
OF TECHNICAL OPERATIONS.
'BESIDES, IT'S HARD TO GET OUT.'" (END QUOTE)
I'D LIKE TO DRAW A PARALLEL BETWEEN WHAT
THE BAYER CORPORATION DID AND WHAT JESUS DID.
IN MANY WAYS THE ORAL TRADITION IN JESUS' DAY
HAD BECOME LIKE A MULTITUDE OF LAYERS OF COTTON WADDING
BETWEEN PEOPLE AND GOD.
THE PEOPLE COULD NO LONGER HEAR THE VOICE OF GOD
BECAUSE OF ALL THE COTTON IN THEIR EARS!
A GOOD PART OF JESUS' MINISTRY WAS DEVOTED
TO HELPING PEOPLE TAKE THE COTTON OUT OF THEIR EARS
SO THEY COULD HEAR THE LIVING GOD AGAIN.
LET'S LOOK AT ANOTHER EXAMPLE FROM THE CORPORATE WORLD:
"SEWELL AVERY, FORMER CHAIRMAN
OF MONTGOMERY WARD & CO.,
WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR WARD'S FAILURE
TO OPEN A SINGLE NEW STORE FROM 1941 TO 1957.
INSTEAD, THE BIG RETAILER PILED UP CASH AND SAT ON IT.
MONTGOMERY WARD AMASSED $607 MILLION,
EARNING IT THE WALL STREET NICKNAME
'THE BANK WITH THE DEPARTMENT STOREFRONT.'
AVERY DID NOT FOLLOW AMERICANS TO THE SUBURBS
BECAUSE HE WAS CONVINCED THAT [ECONOMIC] DEPRESSION
HAD FOLLOWED EVERY MAJOR WAR SINCE NAPOLEON.
'WHO AM I TO ARGUE WITH HISTORY?' AVERY SAID.
'WHY BUILD $14 -A-FOOT BUILDINGS?'…
MEANWHILE, WARD'S RIVAL, SEARS, ROEBUCK & CO.,
HAD A DIFFERENT IDEA.
IN 1946, SEARS BEGAN A COSTLY EXPANSIONS INTO THE SUBURBS…
SEARS DOUBLED ITS REVENUES WHILE WARD STOOD STILL.
SEARS NEVER LOOKED BACK, AND WARD NEVER CAUGHT UP.
WARD EVENTUALLY WENT BANKRUPT.
HOW COULD CORPORATE PLANNING GO SO WRONG?
SEWELL AVERY BANKED ON WISDOM FROM AN EARLIER ERA,
MISREAD THE CULTURAL CUES OF HIS DAY,
AND EVENTUALLY WIPED OUT HIS BUSINESS." (END QUOTE)
(John McCormick, "You Snooze You Lose," Newsweek 7/21/1997.)
MANY OF US PRESENT HERE ARE ALREADY AWARE
OF A FURTHER IRONIC TWIST TO THIS STORY.
RECENTLY, SEARS, ROEBUCK & CO. DECLARED BANKRUPTCY
AND WENT OUT OF BUSINESS.
WHY?
BECAUSE SEARS ITSELF MISTREAD THE CULTURAL CUES
OF ITS OWN HEYDAY FOLLOWING THE DEMISE OF WARD'S.
IT FAILED TO SEE THE COMING DIGITAL REVOLUTION
AND THE VAST SALES POTENTIAL OF THE INTERNET AND IPHONE.
I CAN SEE AT LEAST THREE MORALS TO THIS STORY:
1. ONE BETTER GET SAVVY AT READING THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES.
2. JUST BECAUSE ONE GETS THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES RIGHT ONCE,
AND MAKES A BRILLIANT MOVE, DOESN'T MEAN THAT ONE
WILL GET IT RIGHT A SECOND OR THIRD TIME.
3. GETTING IT RIGHT ONCE IN A BIG WAY CAN ACTUALLY
BECOME AN OBSTACLE TO GETTING IT RIGHT AGAIN.
THE "WE'VE-NEVER-DONE-IT-THAT-WAY-BEFORE" SYNDOME
SETS IN IMMEDIATELY AFTER A MAJOR SUCCESS
AND WANTS TO MAKE THAT SUCCESS THE STANDARD FOR ALL TIME --
WHEN IT ISN'T.
THERE ARE PLENTY OF PARALLELS BETWEEN THESE EXAMPLES
FROM BAYER, WARD, AND SEARS
AND THE CONTEMPORARY CHURCH.
BAYER WISELY RECOGNIZED THAT THE COTTON WAS SECONDARY
AND COULD GO.
THE CONTEMPORARY CHURCH, INCLUDING OUR OWN,
NEEDS TO LEARN TO RECOGNIZE
WHAT IS ESSENTIAL TO ITS MINISTRY,
AND WHAT IS SECONDARY AND CAN BE JETTISONED.
WARD GOT STUCK IN THE PAST,
THE PAST OF ITS OWN HISTORY AND "TRADITIONS."
BY NOT BEING WILLING TO CHANGE, IT DIED.
MANY PEOPLE THINK THAT SIGNIFICANT CHANGE
ALWAYS MEANS GIVING UP SOMETHING ESSENTIAL.
DID BAYER LOSE SOMETHING ESSENTIAL
WHEN IT CHOSE TO STOP PUTTING COTTON IN ITS BOTTLES?
OR WAS IT MERELY MAKING
THE ESSENTIAL REASON FOR ITS BEING -- ASPIRIN! --
MORE ACCESSIBLE?
MANY OF US, INCLUDING MYSELF, WERE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED
THAT WHEN WE WERE FINALLY ABLE TO RETURN
TO IN-PERSON WORSHIP IN OUR OWN SANCTUARY
OUR COMMUNITY WAS JUST AS STRONG
AFTER FIFTEEN MONTHS OF ONLY BEING ABLE TO CONNECT
BY ZOOM, EMAIL, TELEPHONE, AND REGULAR MAIL
AS WE WERE BEFORE THE PANDEMIC FORCED US TO CLOSE.
IN FACT, MANY HAVE REMARKED AT HOW STRONGLY
THEY FEEL THE PRESENCE OF GOD’S SPIRIT IN OUR MIDST,
AND HOW THEY SENSE THAT WE HAVE ENTERED
A TIME OF REBIRTH AND RENEWAL.
THERE ARE TWO AREAS WHERE I SEE RENEWAL TAKING PLACE
RATHER DRAMATICALLY.
THE FIRST OF THESE IS OUR WORSHIP SERVICE.
RATHER THAN GETTING BENT-OUT-OF-SHAPE
AT BEING ASKED TO MASK,
OR BEMOANING THE LACK OF A CHOIR
AND CONGREGATIONAL SINGING,
OUR COMMUNITY HAS CHOSEN TO EMBRACE
A QUIETER, MORE CONTEMPLATIVE WORSHIP STYLE
WITH INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC THAT POWERFULLY CONNECTS
TO EACH OF OUR INNER WORLDS.
SIGNIFICANTLY, RECENT STUDIES HAVE SHOWN
THAT MANY SEEKERS IN OUR COUNTRY TODAY
ARE LOOKING FOR WORSHIP THAT IS LESS NOISY,
LESS DOGMATIC, AND MORE DEEPLY SPIRITUAL.
IT LOOKS AS IF GOD’S SPIRIT IS LEADING US
TO PRECISELY THIS PLACE!
NOW WE JUST HAVE TO FIGURE OUT A WAY
OF CONNECTING WITH SEEKERS IN OUR OWN AREA,
LETTING THEM KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE,
AND INVITING THEM TO PARTICIPATE.
ALONG THESE LINES, AN IMPORTANT NEW COMMITTEE,
THE ART COMMITTEE, HAS BEEN FORMED TO EXPLORE
VARIOUS POSSIBILITES OF TURNING OUR CAMPUS
INTO A PLACE WHERE ART IS A MAJOR PART
OF OUR IDENTITY AS A CHURCH.
MANY ANGLES ARE BEING EXPLORED BY THIS COMMITTEE,
INCLUDING THE DISPLAY OF CLASSIC WORKS OF CHRISTIAN ART,
CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN ART, AND CONTEMPORAY WORK
WHICH IS NOT SPECIFICALLY CHRISTIAN, BUT “SPIRITUAL.”
STUDENTS FROM BOTH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOLS
WILL BE INVITED TO SHOW HERE.
OUTSIDE MURALS COULD VERY WELL BECOME PART OF THIS VISION.
A MAJOR GOAL OF OUR CHURCH WILL BE TO GROW INTO
THE VISION OF COMMUNITY CHURCH AS A PLACE
WHERE MUSIC, ART, AND SPIRITUALITY MEET.
WE HAVE MADE MAJOR STRIDES IN THE AREAS
OF MUSIC AND SPIRITUALITY.
NOW IT IS TIME TO FOCUS ON THE VISUAL ARTS.
WE HAVE EMERGED FROM OUR TIME OF HIBERNATION
REFRESHED AND RENEWED AND EAGER TO MOVE FORWARD.
INSTEAD OF TIGHTENING OUR GRIP
ON SOME OF OUR PAST TRADITIONS,
GOD’S SPIRIT HAS INSPIRED US TO LOOSEN OUR GRIP
AND TO STEP OUT INTO SOME NEW DIRECTIONS.
GOD HAS REMAINED FAITHFUL TO GOD’S JOB-DESCRIPTION
AS BRINGER OF NEW LIFE OUT OF IMPOSSIBLE SITUATIONS, AND COMMUNITY CHURCH IS EXPERIENCING THIS
IN A VERY PERSONAL WAY AS GOD’S SPIRIT
IS CHALLENGING US TO SOME NEW LIFE OF OUR OWN.
WHAT HAS BEEN A TIME OF DISORIENTATION AND FEAR
IS GIVING WAY TO A TIME OF REORIENTATION AND JOY.
I BELIEVE THAT AS A CHURCH WE ARE MOVING
INTO NEW TERRITORY, AND BECOMING A POSITIVE FULFILLMENT
OF THE WORDS OF THIS PRAYER BY THE GREAT EXPLORER
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE:
“DISTURB US, LORD,
TO DARE MORE BOLDLY,
TO VENTURE ON WIDER SEAS
WHERE STORMS WILL SHOW YOUR MASTERY;
WHERE LOSING SIGHT OF LAND,
WE SHALL FIND THE STARS.
WE ASK YOU TO PUSH BACK THE HORIZONS OF OUR HOPES
AND TO PUSH US INTO THE FUTURE
IN STRENGTH, COURAGE, HOPE, AND LOVE.”
AMEN.