Unclean

The Pharisees were hung up on cleanliness. They kept tattling on the disciples for not following all of the man-made rules of cleanliness. “They didn’t wash their hands, Jesus.” “They ate with sinners, Jesus.” “They are not following the rules, Jesus.” “What are you going to do about it?”

Jesus responded with,
These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men. You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.
Mark 7:6b-8

We face some of the same challenges, don’t we? We are also tempted to hang on to the traditions of men at the expense of God. Sometimes we let our traditions rise above God’s direction or we elevate traditions of men and put them with commands of God.

But I want to talk about a specific area in this topic that is difficult to address. Not only do we get caught up in the traditions of men and judge those who don’t adhere to these traditions, but we also are tempted to see people who are different than us as unclean just because they are different.

We stereotype. We judge. We discriminate. We avoid. We actually act like some people are actually unclean and must be avoided or they will make us unclean.

Jesus touched a leper. Jesus associated with tax collectors and prostitutes. Jesus interacted Samaritans and Gentiles. Jesus even washed other peoples’ feet.

Are there people in your life who you treat or see as unclean? Is there any prejudice, racism, or discrimination in your life? What would happen if our church became ethnically diverse? What would happen if “sinners” started coming through our doors? What about people with AIDS? What about homosexuals? What about those who speak a different language? What about those who look and act differently than we do? How would we respond?

Is there such a thing as an untouchable in God’s eyes? What about in your eyes?

To Jesus, every person is a person. Every human He created, He created. His love for each one is the same.