Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary
A wide historical and cultural gap separates contemporary congregations from the world of today’s Gospel lection, Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, and 21-23. A debate over ceremonial handwashing is not likely to generate waves of excitement in the pews. Simply acknowledging this fact early in the sermon can prop open ears and minds to consider with us the deeper issues at stake. Two perennially relevant themes are prominent here: first, how the very traditions that give us a sense of belonging can actually inhibit, rather than nourish, our capacity to respond to needy others; and second, the hypocrisy of conspicuous public piety that masks inner attitudes of self-absorption, envy and greed. Which of these should be the leading them of the sermon depends on one’s congregational context.
Vv 1-13 report Jesus’ debate with a group of Jewish leaders who are concerned that Jesus’ disciples, some of whom don’t observe ritual handwashing before meals, are poor role models. Jesus pushes back, citing Isaiah: such preoccupation with purity rituals has eclipsed the “weightier matters of the law”—especially mercy for the vulnerable. Scrupulous avoidance of the “unclean” actually kept hyper-observant Jews distanced from the poor and diseased—the ones most in need of their help.
The problem is still with us. An elderly homeless woman wandered into a downtown church, just at the point when the Eucharist was being celebrated. Inserting herself into the line, she gulped the bread, slurped from the cup, and said loudly, “More, please!” A red-faced deacon standing by took her firmly by the arm and steered her out the nearest exit. Meanwhile, in the fellowship hall downstairs, there was an abundance of coffee and cake, set out for the church’s “hospitality hour.”
A second theme (vv 14-23) emerges from Jesus’ interaction with the crowds and then, more specifically, with his disciples. A propos of the context, Jesus warns against the wrong-headed notion that consuming “unclean” foods or eating with “unclean” hands defiles us. What “defiles,” says Jesus, is a heart filled with unbridled desire, envy, and lust for power. These toxic attitudes lead to adultery, maliciousness, and hard-hearted greed. Sadly, examples abound of prominent Christian leaders whose outward pieties have masked inward lust and greed. The point, of course, is not to decry others’ hypocrisies, but to take sober inventory of our own core attitudes and desires. What do our pride in possessions, our spending practices, and our use of time reveal about our deepest desires and aspirations—and even our anxieties and fears? With God’s help, what needs to change?
The text’s drift toward anti-Semitism merits brief comment in the sermon. The debate here is not between a “Christian” Jesus and misguided Jews. Jesus is a Jewish leader debating with other Jewish leaders what faithfulness to God’s will and way requires. Notably, Mark appears to over-reach when he informs his (mostly Gentile) readers that “all the Jews” observe ritual washing of hands and utensils (vv 3-4); they did not. Sweeping generalizations about other faiths are inevitably flawed.
Ultimately, what is surprising about this text is not how strange and remote from our experience it is, but how uncomfortably relevant it is. It prods us toward self-examination—as faith-communities and individuals. Mercy, generosity, welcome to the social “other:” these are the counter-cultural practices of a church, or a life, that testifies in a self-absorbed world to the life-giving ways of God.
Insights into Biblical Greek Grammar and Syntax 