The "New Detergent"

~~~ 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3A, 14-17 ~~~ Psalm 96 ~~~ Matthew 23:23-26 ~~~

Try not to be shaken out of your minds or alarmed,
but you may need to take another look at your dishes.
Are they as clean as you think they are?
Do they look clean until you hold them up to the light?
Is it time for a new dish washing soap?
Or is ti time to buy new dishes?

Jesus takes some delight, it seems,
in making comparisons to the scribes and Pharisees.
Today it is about their supposedly cleanliness.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You cleanse the outside of cup and dish,
but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence....

Jesus talks about cups and bowls,
but he is really talking about these men in authority.
Jesus does not really care about whether or not
 they are following all of the prescribed cleansing rituals.

He did not come to inspect their kitchens.
He is not the local health department representative.

He speaks to their inner self as compared
 to their external appearance.
Their hearts are corrupt with minutia...the tiniest gnat.

...Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup,
so that the outside also may be clean."

You probably have seen the commercial of the woman
takes a clean glass from the dish washer
only to discover it looks very cloudy.

The detergent had cleaned the outside of the glass,
but a cloudy film remained on the inside.

The new improved detergent promises to rid the dishes of the cloudy film.

Jesus was the 'new detergent'.
He came to remove the cloudy film,
but the scribes and Pharisees resisted such nonsense.

What is on the inside is so much more important than the outside.
The scribes and Pharisees paraded around dressed in their fancy robes.
All the while their insides were left in a state of uncleanliness.

They were not taking care of the important things like...
...judgment and mercy and fidelity.

Sometimes we too focus on the 'outside' of the cup.
If we can keep our heart and soul fixed on the good things of the Lord

then everything else will fall into its proper place.

The scribes and the Pharisees become Obsessive Compulsive
 about even the smallest part of the law. 

They were not the least bit concerned about
 how well they were loving God and their neighbors.

Jesus wants us to follow his example of love.
Observing the law may have its place,
 but it should never supersede our desire to love.

Jesus is the 'new detergent',
he removes the cloudy film from inside our hearts.
He Blesses us with his love so that
 we can in turn love others more completely.

Turn your cleaning first to the inside of the cup and all will be well.
~~~Peace~~~