Tradition Vs. Innovation
Sermon: Clean Hearts and Houses
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
It’s a tale as old as history.
The story of the innovator vs. tradition.
And as Christians,
and followers of Scripture, the bible is a constant paradox- from the first book of Genesis- to the last chapter of Revelation- the theme of honored tradition vs. new thought is present-
And up until this point in the Gospels- the Scripture is holding both change and constancy together
- just barely,
until it all blows up by none other than Joseph’s the carpenters’ son,
the dude no one took seriously-
from the little old one-stoplight town in the Middle East Boonies called Nazareth
Jesus, the flesh and blood man, Son of Joseph, was a religious rebel -
who had NO desire to play nice in Sanhedrin Sandbox. And ultimately died because of it.
The passage we read today from the Gospel of Mark is what we might call in literary circles: plot building.
You know where there’s a moment in a book or a movie that helps set the stage for future events
- that’s what's happening here-
This is a moment of tension
- and there are several moments like this in the Gospel where there are stories of Christ and religious leaders clashing-
all of this leads up to Jesus's persecution later in the chapter
where he is held in trial and condemned to crucifixion.
Jesus dismisses the Jewish dietary regulations- and shocks and confuses everyone.
This isn’t about getting dirt off the hands- it’s about getting hearts and minds ready for time with God.
For reasons unknown to us as the reader- the disciples ate a meal with ritually unclean hands-
Honestly, it’s crazy - and it makes TOTAL sense that the Pharisees and the scribes are offended and shocked by this.
Jesus is a Rabbi, a Teacher of the Jewish tradition,
and here he is with his disciples breaking with tradition established not yesterday, not fifty or a hundred years ago…
but a tradition rooted way back in Exodus,
taught by Aaron- in the second book of our Bible
- when the Israelites were in the desert, after having fled their enslavement in Egypt.
This tradition carries through to today- Jews were (and many still) practice a ritual hand washing before meals,, saying the blessing called: ne tilat yadayim:
If you ever get invited to Passover Seder, or to a Shabbet dinner- I encourage you to go,
What you’ll see is a ceremonial cleansing of the hands, before the breaking of the bread.
It uses a cup of water, and you’ll see someone cleanse their hands twice with the water (no soap), and as they dry off their hands,
they’ll say the prayer:
o Baruch ata Adonai,
o Eloheinu Melech ha-olam,
o asher kid EH shanu b’mitz votav
o vitzi vanu al neh-tee-lat yaDIME
Which translates to:
o Blessed are You,
o Lord our God, King of the universe,
o who has sanctified us with Your commandments,
o and commanded us concerning the washing of the hands.
Some passages in the Scholastic study and debate of Jewish law in 2-5th centuries- called the Talmud indicate that failing to wash hands before a meal is a significant transgression.
Culturally it’s as taboo and defiling an act as the things Christ listed- lewdness, sexual immorality, theft, greed… so on… some Jewish scholars claim that to eat without ritual washing can cause a spirit to be uprooted from the world.
So to witness the followers of Christ, break with this tradition-
This is a significant act of defiance.
Christ’s response to this is a bit hard to fathom
- Because instead of a soft approach, he counteracts hard–
calling out the religious leaders for giving lip service to the faith but
abandoning the first commandment of God of having no other God’s before him,
And putting human tradition first.
worshiping their tradition before worshipping God.
This reading in Mark is Jesus’s final encounter with the Jewish adversaries in Galilee
before his trial later in Mark. It’s used by religious leaders to later build a case of blasphemy against Christ for not following the tradition of their elders-
I find this teaching incredibly potent- knowing that- this is that final clash in Mark-
Christ sets up the defense that the true defilement Jews should be worrying about
is not that of the cleanliness of their hands and the following of tradition, but the cleanliness of their hearts-
These are the evil things that come from within that defile.
We must be careful of our spiritual pollution on the people around us.
Each sin that separates us from God has a rippling effect, harming others who love and care for us.
As Presbyterians, in the Christian Faith= we’re constantly walking a tightrope in line with our theology,
with the religious norms that tie us together, but allow us our free will and grace-
o We’re christian, but we’re rationalist and to be truthful-sometimes we’re cynics..
o We believe in tradition, but we also want to see some things change.
o We enjoy bible study, but we also love the mysticism and wonder of the Spirit that cannot be bound to a book….
So What is it that Jesus wants us to learn here?
I’ve found often that reading the bible is a bit of a treasure hunt, not so much looking and reading what is in front of you,
But asking that very same question
What am i missing?
What is it that I do not understand here.---
Mark 7: verse 16- is a sentence missing from our version of the bible
But in other interpretations- it reads as christ saying before he teaches his lesson to the hypocrites and disciples:
if anyone has ears, let him hear!
The NRSV Bible has a total of 16 such missing verses like this.
That’s because scholars are in debate on the validity of those verses placed where they are placed….
Regardless, that phrase from Christ appears 6 times in the NRSV New Testament Gospel in other spots.
So what is it that Jesus was so desperate for us to hear?
If our unclean hands are not the issue here,
Then how do we clean our hearts for Christ?
I think- it stems from remembering our Baptism,
In every action we take throughout the day-
To be reminded that we are shrouded in divine Grace-
literally cleansed of our sins by the grace of God
through the life of Jesus Christ,
Every time we wash our hands
To remember we have be made clean
And must live lives worthy of that gift-
To live lives not of defilement,
But of planting seeds from which the fruits of the spirit bloom like Galatians 5 says:
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.
Against such things there is no law.
Our rallying cry in Presbyterian theology circles is this: Ecclesia Reformata, Semper Reformanda… The church Reformed, always reforming.. It’s a foundational principle of what it means to be a Protestant.
It stems from stepping away from the Catholic Tradition of needing a Priestly intermediary to act as a representative of God’s will- and instead build our own relationship with God.
Christian reform is an uncomfortable tightrope walk.
We’re sitting in an example of reformation.
This building- this sanctuary- even our chapel-
When you step into a Church like St. Charles,
you’re immediately engulfed in a sense of our Tradition.
This Sanctuary- French Gothic in style,
was built with Indiana limestone,
with dark English oak finishes throughout tying us back to European styles of Cathedrals and worshiping spaces.
The stained glass windows were made in Germany,
This ties us to the country in which the Reformation began, where a man- who also fought against authority,
named Martin Luther- nailed his 95 Thesis (95 points arguments the Catholic Church practice of Indulgences) on the doors of the Wittenberg Castle Church.
But alternatively, there was newness and radical design happening here too in 1930:
I learned recently that the original air conditioning system consisted of blocks of ice in the
basement with fans behind them blowing through vents on either side of the Chancel area –
And in 2012, Our church constructed a chapel, full of color
- full of life- in complete contrast to traditional chapel styles in the Presbyterian faith in which
traditionally no images are used- and it is absolutely a space of wonder-
o Such changes, such as these, are good.
o But how do was navigate change,
o honor our ancestors, keep our hearts clean and free of defilement
o And keep hold to our beloved traditions?
We talked about this this week, Dr. Matthew Carlisle led our Session through a book called Generations-
which explained the discomfort that we are experiencing in 2024 between the very different values that shape specific generations in America.
We listened to a deep conversation between the generations of Elders on our church Session, who all guide our church together as they shared how their relationships with other generations made them stronger…
And ultimately, we realized how blessed we are when we are in an intergenerational Christian community.
It doesn't matter the context- religious, professional, political-
There will always be some strain between traditionalists and innovators.
And while this text is hard on the traditionalist- the Pharisees and the Scribes, it doesn’t promote innovation.
I mean, Jesus literally dies as a result of his head-butting with traditionalist- we can’t forget that major part of the story-
Even our own Reformation Grandaddy – Mr. John Calvin warned that innovation can be the source of many unhealthy faith traditions…. You need to be rooted in tradition…
If innovation is not always good, neither is tradition always bad-
The problem perhaps here is that Tradition replaced God. And that was blasphemous and defiling.
Our faith, is always about remembering we are God’s children, loving our neighbor and being a good and decent people-
This summer, I worked with youth in Montreat as a Small Group Leader,
and I was really struck by the kindness and inclusiveness of these highschoolers
They had such strong moral codes of right vs wrong
-Many shared, they don’t go to church worship anymore,
they’re more involved with their youth groups, if that-
but I witnessed also a sense of loneliness from them
that could be filled if they had mentors, more connectivity, more love-
I wished they’d go to worship. They don’t know what they don’t know…
The greatest gift of worship is that we’re all
Sitting here- living out the imperfect Body of Christ.
Our children and our youth is our biggest blessing- they can be our greatest spiritual innovators,
and challengers of tradition- reminding us to keep our hearts clean and to focus on our spiritual outputs, because they are pure in spirit.
They are the closest things the church can find in terms of a truly clean heart- we have so much to learn from them.
Our Baby Boomers, Our silent generations, our members of generations long- gone,
they are the keepers of memories - they hold wisdom and insight and foundational knowledge.
They have lived experience of spiritual cleanliness- they can guide and help.
They are the closest things the church can find in terms of knowing how to cleanse a heart that has felt defiled,
we have so much to learn from them in terms of healing and growth.
For our church to thrive, we must continue to have intergenerational relationships-
For those who identify as innovators, you might feel stifled at times by the traditionalists,
But if innovators opened their eyes they’d find education, mentorship, neighbors, opportunities, institutional knowledge- sitting a pew away….
All around them, waiting to be tapped
. Just through being in relationship with tradition.
And for those who might identify as traditionalist, from the innovators we learn adaptation,
creativity, and are energized by those who think outside the norm.
Innovators bring much needed movement and insight- they think differently, they are so brave…
To have clean hearts and houses- we need to be reminded of who we are, where we come from- and look forward to where we are going-
There is potency and power when the Traditionalists and the Innovators learn to work together toward common goals.
Together we are Cleansed.
Together we are Renewed.
If anyone has ears- let them hear….
Amen