To Not Get Caged In
Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting
Pastor Bob Henry
March 19, 2023
Good morning, Friends and welcome to Light Reflections. This week we are continuing our series on the Bible. Our scriptures for today are Matthew 15:10-20 from the New Revised Standard Version.
Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”
Some might say the text for today is a post-covid nightmare. To have Jesus suggest that “eating with unwashed hands does not defile” could be both words of heresy and a public health crisis, today.
Now, I know there are studies that show both good and bad aspects of washing our hands and using hand sanitizer all the time, but that is not really the point that Jesus is addressing this morning.
Actually, this was more about defilement and law-keeping which kept those, the Pharisees and Religious Leaders of Jesus’ day considered unfit to associate or fellowship with, away from their contact.
Yes, you heard that correctly - washing hands and eating the proper food kept at distance the people the Pharisees did not want to associate with. This was what we call today - discrimination.
Sometimes, I am surprised at what all one can find in the Bible, but it is important to explore these things to help us get a better picture of how we are to live like Jesus.
As I said a few sermons ago, Jesus often is found reexplaining or even reinterpreting the understanding of scriptures or teachings of the religious leaders of his day.
This is just one great example of Jesus shifting the understanding and exposing the problem with what the religious leaders of his day were doing.
Hear what Jesus says…
“Listen and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.”
In one of the commentaries, I read about this text it said that in Jesus’ day “defilement meant being unfit for fellowship with God and his people.”
Instead, Jesus points out that true (deep down) “evil” defiles a person - not the food they eat.
Boy...I think that had the disciples kinda freakin’ out. So much so, they thought it was time to pull Jesus aside and let him know that he was offending the religious leaders. I am sure they thought they were doing the right thing. Maybe it sounded like this.
Peter under his breath says, “Oh goodness, we better warn Jesus” because...well, I don’t want to be in trouble by association” (an issue I believe Peter actually deep-down struggled with).
Peter then leans over to James and says, “Jesus knows that he needs to soften his message, right? or maybe we need to help “spin” his words to make them say more of what the Pharisees want to hear. At this rate he is gonna get crucified. We better tell him.”
So, they proceed to interrupt his message and warn him, but Jesus is hard-pressed to continue.
Folks, even though often the church can be bold and not willing to back down, there is still a part of the church which is notorious for what is labeled “nicing things over” and simply not wanting to offend someone or cause trouble.
By softening our message or not challenging one another, we can easily find that we struggle to have a message of hope for our world.
Quakers have been accused of moving in this way over time, and I will be honest, I think it is having an impact, today. The great things our Quaker ancestors did seem like great history…back then…but what are we doing today?
Hugh Osgood wrote a book around the query, “Is Niceness Killing the Church?” He wrote that the church was never designed to be held together with polite optimism. And then asks, could a greater biblical awareness help uncover the true, and robust unity Jesus spoke of?
I think he is making a good point - it is important for us to allow the ministry and life of Jesus we read in scripture to teach us and even change us.
So, back to our story. Yes, the pharisees were probably just a bit taken aback by Jesus’ words. They were challenging, not polite optimism. The Pharisees knew what Jesus was implying by speaking of removing these unnecessary laws and prohibitions.
The food laws were actually in the Torah - the scriptures. So, some may say, Jesus already had committed theological suicide. He told them that something in their Sacred text didn’t apply anymore – and that was a no-no. Obviously the disciples had reason to be concerned.
Yet Jesus’ response is kind of multi-layered - and we must remember the crowd which was still gathered around most likely included the religious leaders, followers, naysayers, as well as the disciples.
Boldly and shockingly, Jesus quickly dismissed the religious leaders and said their work was not God’s work - actually he even went further, and translators put in a derogatory label of the time (probably from a poem by Horace), saying they were just “blind leading the blind.”
Jesus was definitely not “nicing it over,” especially if translators chose that phrase. Those listening must have been asking “What are you talking about Jesus? He just slammed the religious leaders at the core of their being.”
In another version of this text it is translated that Jesus said, “Just forget them - or let them go.”
And he didn’t stop there, he implies that they should let them go but also FORGIVE THEM, because really “they are just the blind leading the blind.” That may actually have been the biggest insult to the religious leaders – to ask his followers to forgive them for their sins.
I believe by this point Jesus has offended just about everyone in the room with his words.
No longer can Peter stay quiet and proceeds to ask, “Jesus, you have some explainin’ to do.”
So, Jesus addresses Peter by talking specifically about the mouth (something I believe Peter could again understand). Jesus says,
“Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.””
One commentary says that Jesus appears to anticipate Sigmund Freud's formulation of the id by about 1800 years in this one statement.
Yet, more likely what Jesus was doing for us was reinterpreting the Ten Commandments in the list he gives – evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander – all things that brew down deep in our hearts, and when they surface, break our fellowship with God and our neighbors.
If you notice, what Jesus is doing is prepping his listeners for an even more radical summary of the Ten Commandments – when he takes them down to simply two - Love God, and love your neighbor as yourself. A summary that he not only simplified, but added to. He adds “as yourself” to emphasize how hard it truly is and how it must come for a change within us.
Jesus makes it clear that all these silly laws are simply keeping one from fellowship and acceptance of their neighbors.
Jesus is saying...Eat what you want and if you don’t want to wash your hands - then so be it, but don’t use it to discriminate against your neighbor - know what is in your heart and share it through loving one another.
Now, let’s be honest. “Niceness” can be a huge problem within the church, but the church has been kind of notorious for creating another problem – making hoops to jump through to be accepted by the church.
I don’t think it was ever Jesus’ intent to use the Bible or his teachings to keep people away or to create barriers to knowledge or growth. I believe Jesus wanted diversity - he wanted everyone at the table. He did not want a country club or gated community – but rather a community where everyone was seen, heard, accepted, and loved as you would want to be seen, heard, accepted and loved.
Or as the late, Rachel Held Evans put it:
“This is what God's kingdom is like: a bunch of outcasts and oddballs gathered at a table, not because they are rich or worthy or good, but because they are hungry, because they said yes. And there's always room for more.”
As I have been hearing your stories, many of you gave up on jumping through hoops, breaking down barriers, and not being accepted by other churches. You realized the niceness was a cover up or you were never being invited into the conversation. Some of you even saw the way the church discriminated in history and said enough is enough.
In 27 years of ministry I have encountered, and sadly participated many times unaware, in all kinds of this isolation and discrimination in the church. Often utilizing a specific understanding of the Bible or doctrines to keep certain people away. And it disturbs me deep down, because I have been challenged to look deep by Jesus at how I have discriminated and still discriminate.
A few years ago, James Watkins put together a “Top Ten” list of the discriminations he found in the church – sadly, I have seen every one of these in the church and I am fully dedicated to working on breaking down any of these barriers and hoops that still exist for us at First Friends. I challenge you to ask yourself, as I read these, how many have been part of your journey or how many have you seen.
10 - Age discrimination.
9 - Tastes or preferences (especially musical) discrimination.
8 - Physical, developmental, intellectual, congenital, and invisible disabilities discrimination.
7 - Levels of education discrimination.
6 - Denominational affiliation and/or doctrinal beliefs discrimination.
5 - Gender and Sexuality discrimination.
4 - Married, Divorced, Single, or Celibate discrimination.
3 - Politics and Ideology discrimination.
2 - Economics discrimination - as well as what we often think of first….
1 - Race and Nationality discrimination.
It was Brian McLaren who put this all into perspective. He said,
“As a committed Christian, I have always struggled with locked doors—doors by which we on the inside lock out "the others"—Jews, Muslims, Mormons, liberals, doubters, agnostics, gay folks, whomever. The more we insiders succeed in shutting others out, the more I tend to feel locked in, caged, trapped.”
I think that is exactly what Jesus was trying help his followers and the religious leaders of his day to understand. But this also means if we are going to stand up to locking doors, discrimination, and unacceptance – and not get caged in ourselves - we will need to start by taking a deep look inside ourselves and our Meeting. This will take some work...so I will simply leave us with two queries to ponder this morning as we enter waiting worship:
In what ways do I discriminate in my daily life, my family, my workplaces, my school, my neighborhood, and my Meeting?
In what ways do we at First Friends’ (spoken or unspoken) discriminate to keep ourselves comfortable as a meeting?