Monday 07 November 2011

Background

The Pharisees and scribes are back! (In the Gospels they havebeen continually asking questions, testing Jesus and trying totrick him.) This time they are sent from Jerusalem which means wordhas got out and rumour of Jesus has spread. It seems the rumoursare not wholly positive and they want to know why Jesus disregardstheir tradition.

'Tradition' is a loaded word: how many conversations have we heardabout hymns vs worship songs; chairs vs pews; sermons vs cafechurch? Those who resist change are often viewed as traditionalists- so tradition becomes the byword for old, opposing, irrelevantforms of church.

So were the Pharisees the laggards because they insisted on ritualcleaning before meals? And was Jesus the pioneering future ofJudaism that ran contrary to Jewish law and expectation?

We can't be sure about the Pharisees, but it seems that Jesus isn'tdiminishing the tradition, He is reclaiming it! As he said inanother place: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law orthe prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil" (Matthew5:17).

Jesus points out that it is the Pharisees that have misused thetradition to suit their own needs by making promises (or vows) thatwould leave them with few responsibilities for their parents(particularly if they are ageing and infirm). For Jesus this wasclearly an insult to the tradition, just as the question aboutritual washings were, because the Pharisees were using traditionfor their own ends rather than allowing it to do as it was meant todo and be a blessing to the people of God.

Unclean hands do not make an unclean person, but a messed up heartmay well lead to an unblessed life.

To Ponder

Have you ever hidden behind tradition because youdon't want to see change? Why did you do this?

What things in your life or in the life of yourchurch need to be revisited?

How might you treasure tradition, without beingwedded to it?