When I’m going on my daily walk I see many people with their masks under their noses, under their chin, or no mask at all. I’m sure you’ve seen that too – or maybe while no one is around you have snuck a quick breath of fresh air yourself. Do you sometimes feel like speaking up and asking why they aren’t wearing their mask? Or maybe you’ve heard of some people not really sticking to the rules and having friends over to watch the footy or have a quiet drink.
I don’t know about you but I have seen so much more anger and disunity amongst fellow Australians who feel that some people aren’t following the rules while they are diligently following every letter of the law. I’ve seen people at the supermarket yelling at people for not social distancing. The rules make us angry. But people breaking the rules make us even angrier.
Or what about when you get that letter in the mail which we all dread – it’s a window faced envelope and you’re just dreading that you have been snapped going over the speed limit. You get really angry and make comparisons – I was a few Ks over the limit – why aren’t they out their catching the “real criminals”. Or when you see the hundreds of police gathering to arrest the protesters and you’re saying where were they when the climate rallies or Black Lives Matter rallies were on.
It’s easy to make comparisons when we feel that we are in the right and others are not doing their bit or they seem to be treated differently when breaking the rules. Or even when you’re watching a game of football and you’re convinced that the umpires are not enforcing the same rules on the other team.
In today’s Gospel reading that’s the situation that confronts Jesus. When the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands. So the Pharisees and the scribes asked Jesus, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands? Why aren’t they following the rules?
As always, Jesus is aware of their motives and turns it around to stop looking at other people’s outward actions and to look into their own hearts. He did that with the woman caught in adultery – he got her accusers to stop looking at what she did and to look at their own lives – whoever is without sin may cast the first stone. In his Sermon on the Mount he taught about this when he said – “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
We seem to have a tendency that when we are confronted by our own feelings of guilt that our response is to point out someone else’s. To this Jesus quotes from Isaiah to show them their error – These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; And again he points them to their own hearts and not what other people are doing: It is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.
We have a tendency to get angry at others whom we perceive are not following the rules, as did the religious leaders to Jesus. But we remember what Paul warned about with anger when it leads to sin; We say and do things in anger that are like a steam valve where they release all our inner thoughts from our heart and verbalise them – and sometimes worse – they become physical. And sadly it’s often against the ones we love and we cannot take back those words and actions.
So Paul said, in your anger, do not sin. And James gives similar advice today – let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. James also knew that in our anger we say and do things that hurt. And James has special advice to Christians when he says – If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless.
What we are seeing happening in our state and country at present is nothing new – it’s just on a larger scale. We have seen this played out in individuals whether it’s road rage or car park rage when we feel our human rights have been infringed upon. That person cut into MY lane. That person took MY car spot. All we are seeing here is human nature being played out in a collective form. It’s very easy to condemn them – it’s very easy to condone them.
What we are encouraged to do, as Christians, is to use this to keep our own hearts in check. As James says in his closing words – Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
When I look at the responses to what happened last weekend I see from both those who condemn and those who condone – anger. And anger distracts us away from where our energy should be going – to care for those in need and keeping ourselves unstained by the world – as James said. We don’t want to be like the Scribes and Pharisees pointing out the errors of others masking our own errors.
Like everyone, I am so saddened where our nation is. We used to watch the news and the violence around the world thanking God that we live in a country where that would never happen. Well it’s happening and the world is now watching us. This is now the time for the church to stand up and respond – not with condemning – not with condoning – but with prayer.
Not with judging – but with caring for those in need.
At the moment we live with extremely strict restrictions – we cannot visit our friends and family – we cannot gather for worship – but we can pray (and we have more time to do so) – and maybe for such a time as this, to quote from the book of Esther – we as the Christian community have been called upon to do what others cannot do – to call upon our Heavenly Father to intervene in a way that no human authority can.
And that’s why Paul said last week – our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the devil and the powers of darkness. So we put on the armour of God – no the armour of the world.
The belt of truth
The breastplate of righteousness.
The shoes to proclaim the gospel of peace.
The shield of faith
The helmet of salvation,
And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Like the boy Shepherd David who rejected the worldly armour offered to him but challenged the invincible Goliath with the words: “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord”. Let us too, take up this fight in the name of the Lord and trust in his deliverance.
