What Now? 7

Mark 7:5-6

I have heard it said on several occasions that the problem with today’s world is young people just don’t know the old gospel songs. The thinking is that if we could all practice religion the way it was done years ago everything would be good. I can’t believe that if everyone could learn the words to “On That Great Getting’ Up Morning” the world would be a better place. Our faith needs to be real and true, founded in our hearts and lived out in our actions in whatever form our current society calls for.

In this reading from Mark Jesus is confronted by the religious leaders of the day. What was the problem? How did Jesus respond?

The last word in Acts 2:44 is koinos. It is Greek and means “common” – as in, the believers “had everything in common.” But the same word is used in Mark 7:5 (and many other places, such as Acts 10:14, Romans 14:14, and Hebrews 10:29) and means “unclean.”

We may be able to infer that sharing something with others, having something in common, was an unacceptable – unclean – practice among the Jewish religious leaders. If we look at Jesus’ response to the criticism of the Pharisees we can see that many who held to the old religion were focused on the ritual, the appearance, of holiness. Such an approach was a selfish approach. The emphasis was on the individual achieving purity, and such an approach was elitist, separating the faithful from others.

Jesus brought a new approach to faith. The rituals were not as important as the heartfelt actions and commitment to God and this went against tradition.

As we consider the question “what now?” in our faith, as we ask ourselves what we will do now with our belief in God, we must examine a new way of living out our faith. We must honor God with our hearts; that is, we must do good work, express mercy and kindness, commit ourselves to sharing love even if (especially if) we must change how we behave. We very well may need to shake up the way we act as Christians. We may need to move from inactivity to action – actively expressing God’s love in what we do.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you honor God with your heart and not just your lips?