Dirty Cups

 

Matthew 23:25 "What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy--full of greed and self-indulgence!

In the past I’ve often cringed when imagining Jesus’ tone in this passage. It seems so final, so unrelenting, and so fraught with judgment which is so unlike many of Jesus’ more egalitarian approaches to those who disagreed with Him. But as time has passed I feel my own voice becoming more strident when I speak on this subject and to this audience.

For many of my friends outside of the Church it can sometimes feel like 21^st century Christianity is far more concerned with outward purity than internal purity. The cup’s outward appearances must meet incredibly detailed standards of cleanliness, yet the inside of the cup bears little scrutiny.

The destructive hidden sins of greed or self-indulgence which litter our holy places are so easily brushed quietly under the altar’s rug while we build higher and stronger filters to ensure no particle of impurity comes through our front doors. All potential new members must first prove they are thoroughly cleansed of outward impurities before being admitted to our sanctuary.

To be honest the whole mess has made me sit down and be silent for the last few months. What's the point of ranting on a Blog? Perhaps a few weeks of silence would provoke some clarity?

Then last night I heard the compelling story of Luke 5 and Luke 15. The religious observers were infuriated and confounded by Jesus’ willingness to “eat” with society’s outcasts. As I sat listening to these well-known narratives from antiquity I suddenly wondered what our cultural equivalent is to the first century concept of “eating.”

Eating in that context was about offering public acceptance and recognition to another human being. I can just hear the cries of anguish from those inside the Church who feel we should spend more time, talent and treasure publicly denouncing these anti-Christian individuals. Yet here I am wondering how we can find ways to publicly align ourselves with them.

I hear my friends say we need to defend the “Truth,” and we ought to be careful to guard against “heresy” while we all seem to be buying ever deeper carpets to cover up all the hypocrisy and sin that is rampant in our churches.

 

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

1Peter 4: 17

When I first really heard a sermon on this verse it was September 17th 1995; I remember the date because that was the last time I had a drink, smoked, used another human being sexually or took drugs. The profound insight that judgement should and would begin with me and other Christians provoked me so much I had to finally find the humility to ask God to help me kick the addictions in my life.

I wonder why it is harder to get into the House of God than it is to remain in the house of God? My experience was the opposite!

What a bunch of dirty cups we Christians tend to be…..