Sermon for August 29, 2021 from Pastor John
Sermon for August 29, 2021 ++++++++ I first noticed the poster in the dentist’s office during a routine cleaning. This was during the time of stressing pre-cautions to stop or at least slow the spread of the COVID virus. The poster stressed the “Three W’s: Wear a mask, watch your distance, and wash your hands.” So we began to wash our hands more than any other time. I heard people joke that they have washed so many times during the day their hands were red and nearly raw. We all would agree that washing hands is good hygiene. We also are careful to wash the fruits and vegetables purchased at the store. And we all wash dishes, pots and pans after cooking and eating. In the gospel reading today we heard the Pharisees and the scribes from the Temple in Jerusalem thought washing hands, food, pots and pans was a good idea. The reason was to avoid defilement, a lifestyle that was somehow spiritually not pure. The Pharisees and scribes were serious about their relationship with God and hand-washing and more were part of living out their faith. Now such washing was not a commandment in the Bible. The only ones commanded to wash hands and feet were the priests before they entered the sanctuary to carry out their religious duties. The scribes and Pharisees wished to live like priests thinking that their whole lives were lived in the presence of God. We can have sympathy with their motives and although not commanded, the hand-washing for purity became a tradition passed down from the elders. The concern for purity was an important tradition and so the scribes and Pharisees, who always seemed to keep close watch on Jesus and his disciples like referees, blew the whistle when they...