Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Readings – Song of Solomon 2: 8-13; Psalm 45: 1-2, 7-10; James 1: 17-17; Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23

These words jump out in today’s environment, as I am sure they jumped out when St. James wrote them. 

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this,
to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and keep oneself
unstained by the world.

In the ancient world orphans and widows who were in distress were those who were cast out by their families.  In normal settings, orphans and widows were embraced and taken into the homes of their extended families.  To be discarded by their extended family was to be separated from all of life.  The task of people of faith, according to St. James, is to embrace the discarded and abandoned. 

His words recall the words of the prophet Micah.

What is good and what does the Lord require, to do justice,
to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.  (6:8)

The words are strong, demanding action – to do…, to love…, and to walk…

Both passages are not asking us to be rocket scientists.  They are asking us to focus on actions that are possible for each and everyone of us here. 

Sometimes we get overwhelmed with “human tradition” as described in our reading from the Gospel according to St. Mark.  The Pharisees, the religious leaders of ancient Israel, were once again trying to distract Jesus from the purpose of “religion that is pure”, from what the Lord requires.

The ritual washing of the hands went well beyond our washing up for supper.  The water for ritual washing had to be kept in special large stone jars.  First, the hands were held with the finger tips pointing upward with the water running down to the wrist.  While the hands were still wet each hand had to be cleansed with the fist of the other.  Then each hand had to be again wet with water, this time with the fingers pointing downward.  To not do the ritual washing meant to be unclean in the sight of God.  It is told that a rabbi who once omitted the ritual was banned from this community.  This is religion as ceremony, far different from caring for the orphans and widows in distress.  This is religion as ceremony, far different from doing justice, loving mercy and walking with God. 

Once when serving at the altar of a church I noticed that we were short one chalicist.  However, there was a middle school acolyte serving with me.  I invited him to administer the chalice, and in so doing administered the chalice to his parents and his grandparents, members of the congregation.  I glanced at him with his family, and there was such a look of joy and honor about him.  That morning at coffee hour there were such interesting conversations about how he had served.  The raised eyebrows were quickly dismissed. 

There are so many obstacles that hinder our being the people of Good News, the people of goodness.  Please keep it simple!

Care for the orphans and widows in distress, and for all that are outcast and discarded, and welcome them into the greater family of faith. 

Do justice, love mercy, and walk beside Jesus.

Keep it simple!

As the hymn states —

Come, labor on who dares stand idle on the harvest plain,
     while all around us waves the golden grain?
And to each servant does the Master say, “Go work today”. 

Keep it simple!

Amen