Do Your Actions Speak Louder than Your Words?

Mark 7: 1-13

"Actions speak louder than words" a saying I heard most of my life. When there is an in congruence between what you are doing and what you are saying it creates a dissonance. It is like listening to a composition by Igor Stravinsky. The manner in which he arranged his notes make you feel uncomfortable at times. The Firebird Suite is one of those compositions; you might listen to it sometime and see what you think. I would not recommend his music for meditation!

When you look at yourself, how do you see yourself? Sometimes I ask myself, "Are my actions truly revealing to those around the words I speak or in this case the words I write?" I think what you write is no different from what you say.

Today we are almost numb by the media. The political candidates are almost contradictory within themselves. Unless you know a candidate you can never be sure of what you hear coming from their lips. Our society today has conditioned us to be skeptical of what we hear. A person's actions speak for themselves even if we do not know the reason for said action. Your actions tell more about who you are than you might think.

Today attorney's routinely higher a person who specializes in reading body language. Yes even the slightest blink of an eye or the way you lean forward can be interpreted by this professional. By nature we watch peoples expressions to help us derive more meaning from their words. Are they rolling their eyes, looking away, or shrugging their shoulders?

As a parent and teacher I got pretty adept at reading body language.

So where am I going with this in connection with today's gospel from Mark? The Pharisees and some scribes observed the strict rules and laws regarding clean and unclean. They literally had hundreds of these rituals to observe. Since they were the enforcer of these rules they were very meticulous about performing them. They were constantly on the look out for those not following the prescribed rituals. They became quick to judge and admonish those in violation. The Pharisees were all about the actions. What you did was far more important than anything you said.

There were no acceptable excuses...you had no options...no circumstances would free you from these rituals. So I can just imagine how livid they were when they observed Jesus and his disciples eating without carefully washing their hands. And even worse not purifying upon returning from the market were they would have encountered many 'unclean' items. I am further reminded now of how Jesus healed people right in the middle of the market place; one of the most unclean places of all.

In reply to their objections Jesus quotes Isaiah's prophecy. Interesting since they were scholars who were very familiar with the Isaiah text. As it is written, "This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts."

Jesus always knew exactly what to say to every objection flung at him by the Pharisees. He did not allow their preoccupation with the rules and rituals keep him from proclaiming the message he was sent to deliver.

What would Jesus say to us today? Are we more like the strict rule observing Pharisees or are we more intent on continuing to walk  alongside the Lord?

Our actions really do speak louder than our words. There will always be the temptation to let ourselves get carried away with rules and rituals. There is a certain amount of comfort in following every letter of the law I admit.

I am reminded that Jesus walked along the edge. He was not afraid to preach a radical message of love. He blessed us with radical mercy and grace. He ate with sinners and he is constantly inviting us to the table too. He welcomes even the 'unclean' to dine with him.

I chose this original Celtic Wisdom Mandala because it symbolizes the wisdom Jesus came to teach us. This captured kaleidoscope image depicts the beauty and growth within the teachings of Jesus. The black representing the judgement from those who wanted to trap Jesus in the laws. Jesus is the light filled center. His teachings reached beyond the rules.

Let your actions today speak louder than any words you might want to say.