Caught in the Trap?

~~~ 1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30 ~~~ Psalm 84 ~~~ Mark 7:1-13 ~~~

How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!

The Pharisees and some scribes became
increasingly caught up in the letter of the law.
The rules and rituals became more important than God.

We must keep up our guard so that
we do not get caught in the very same trap.
If we get caught in being too vigilant in following the rules
we may lose sight of the truly loveliness of God.

Our worship space is a reminder to me of the loveliness of God.
This is why we design our churches in such a manner
 to lift up our hearts to God.

The dwelling place of God is one of love and acceptance.
The dwelling place of God is not about where you stand,
how you walk, or is the book in exactly the 'right' position.....

Many times I feel for our sacristans because their
role in every liturgy is to make sure that all is in
place and ready for the service.

I often wonder if they have the chance to just be...
to be fully present to the Lord.

You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.

Jesus reprimanded the Pharisees and the scribes.
We do want everything to be perfect.
It is imperative that we also preserve the spirit
of our Christian calling.

As we count down the hours until Ash Wednesday
I invite you to consider worrying less about the rules,
laws, or rituals and more about deepening your relationship with Jesus.

Let this Lent be a time of complete
abandonment to the loveliness of the Lord.

Allow him to bring out the best in your heart.

Let God plump up your soul with his unconditional love.
Ask God to show you how to love like him.
If we can love more like Jesus the
laws and the rituals will pale in comparison.
We will not get caught in the trap of the letter of the law.

Blessings through the loveliness of God.

~~~Peace~~~

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.