Two kinds of cleaning
Luke 11:37-44, 53, 54
37 While he was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him; so he went in and took his place at the table. 38 The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not first wash before dinner. 39 Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 So give for alms those things that are within; and see, everything will be clean for you.
42 “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practiced, without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love to have the seat of honor in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces. 44 Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without realizing it.”…
53 When he went outside, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile toward him and to cross-examine him about many things, 54 lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.
At this dinner party Jesus went on the offensive. The central question being: what makes a person “clean” – holy, righteous, acceptable to God. Is it the outward signs of holiness – the rituals of being clean, the mechanics of making sure that a tenth of everything, including a tenth of the herbs growing in the garden are dedicated to God? Or is the righteousness that God seeks to be found somewhere else?
Jesus suggests the righteousness God seeks is to be found flowing from the inner life – a life that gives generously of justice and love of God – a life that tithes on the mercy we show ourselves and the grace we give ourselves. In other words, the followers of Jesus show as much mercy to other people as they wish to receive themselves. The followers of Jesus seek as much justice for other people as they do for themselves. The followers of Jesus work as hard at cleaning up their own lives, as they do at fixing other people’s lives.
The reference to being unmarked graves is to say the Pharisees are actually dead because they are spiritually dead. They appear to be alive, but they are not living because life, real life, is to be found in following the Jesus way.
We who have followed Jesus for many years, who have developed patterns and practices by which we follow Jesus, can get caught in those patterns and fail to understand that the practices and patterns are not what actually matter, what matters is living a life that is gracious and merciful, that seeks to live justly, and walks humbly with God.
A final note. The scribes and Pharisees have now had enough, they have become a hostile crowd – notice the tense words of vs. 53 and 54: “cross-examine”, “lying in wait”, and “catch”.
PRAYER:
Righteous God, we wish to live as your people. We need the Holy Spirit’s help to clear out our inside life so that mercy and justice and humility can flow from us to touch the lives of others. Come Holy Spirit and clean up our lives, we pray. In Jesus’ name. Amen.