August 29, 2021 – Proper 17 (14th Sunday after Pentecost)

The fornicators among us are surely disturbed by the words of Jesus today. So are the greedy among us. The same might be said for liars, adulterers, thieves, killers, the licentious, the envious, the arrogant.

I contemplated scrapping talking about the Gospel today and thought about talking about love. Or how we need to give proportionately to what we get. I mean, it’s not uncommon for us to write off those parts of the Gospel that offend us. But usually, we have to listen to the stuff we don’t like and squirm. 

It’s a funny thing to sit in the pew on Sundays when there’s a whole list of sins and sinners listed in the Gospel reading or the various Epistles we read. Our shoulders – mine included – shrink a bit in the hopes that we aren’t mentioned, or at least that we only identify with one and not multiple sins. Perhaps we feel relieved that some other things – smoking, drinking, gambling, for example – aren’t mentioned. Some of us may sigh, as it is those “others” that Jesus is talking about.

Maybe we dwell on the words – savoring that they are about the “others”: 

• the guy who has loads of money – I hope he heard the word “greed”;
• the woman who has had three marriages – she’d better be listening;
• the fakes who think that they’re so good – they’ll surely be thrown off by the words of this Gospel reading; and
• as for those who envy my own virtue and success, I’m happy to know that God condemns them as well!

The Pharisees we hear about today were experts in the law — matters of right and wrong, weighty concerns of judgment. They knew where people stood. But Jesus seemed to have more difficulty with this group than any other. They didn’t mind hearing about sin as long as it didn’t apply to them. They were righteous, but only in a self-righteous way. They honored their own traditions. Jesus quoted Isaiah to them to penetrate their defenses: “You teach human precepts as doctrines.”

I have to admit, this stings a bit. I cherish what has been handed down to us as tried and true. But if I cherish tradition, then I must also be vigilant that my heart is in the right place. Does Christ speak to me when he says, “You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition”? Does Christ address the church? Its scribes? Its leaders? “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines” (Mt 15:8-9).

If our hearts are stung by Jesus’ challenge to the Pharisees, then I believe our hearts are almost healed. Friends, if we pray and realize that we are the Pharisees – that we who judge others and who do not always trust God – then we most certainly are not. But if we think we are not, then perhaps we are.

Today’s Gospel overall reminds us that our focus needs to be on creating and maintaining right relationships among people and between us and God. It was an ancient problem, addressed often by the prophets (Isaiah, as quoted today). We hear Jesus join in those prophetic voices calling people back to the basics. While we shrink in the face of the of vices listed, if we can acknowledge that these are qualities of us, they simply become part of our being. It is our outward behavior to others that truly ends up mattering. Our external actions reveal our internal desire to remain faithful to our relationship with God. Today, and every day, Jesus calls us to the true purpose of the Law: a heart centered on God.