Impurity and the Disposition of the Heart- Mark 7
Our readings today play off of each other in an interesting way.
First, we have the Song of Songs, which is also called the Song of Solomon. It’s a bit of an odd book. If you read it outside of the context of the Bible, you might not see why it should be in the Bible. It seems to be a kind of love poem. And at times it is a bit risqué. Some Jewish children weren’t allowed to read it until they were thirteen because of some of its sexual content. It doesn’t even really talk about God. … A second century Rabbi, Rabbi Akiva, was asked by his students if the book should be in the Bible at all. He replied,
“Heaven forbid that any man in Israel ever disputed that the Song of Songs [is holy], for the whole world is not worth the day on which the Song of Songs was given to Israel, for all the Writings are holy, and the Song of Songs is the Holy of Holies” (Mishnah Yadaim 3.5).[1]
What does Rabbi Akiva mean?
There are many times in the Bible when the people of God are described as God’s spouse, but it is a tumultuous relationship. God is faithful but the people run off with other gods- in a sense, to commit adultery. We see this image over and over (Hosea 2; Isaiah 54:5-8; Jeremiah 2:2-3,32; Ezekiel 16; 23). … The traditional way to read the Song of Songs, is as a metaphor of God and God’s people, head over heals in love for one another. It is an image of God and the people chasing after one another for the sake of love. It is what the relationship between God and God’s people should be.
The masters of Christian spirituality described the purpose of the human being, our highest calling, as being in love with God- to have God fill the mind. The highest act of the human intellect is to focus on God without distraction. The metaphor is of two lovers gazing into each other’s eyes, almost forgetting about the rest of the world. So you can see why the Song of Songs was so loved by them.
From here I would like to turn to our Gospel reading. Many obsess about an external purity (even in our own time). The Pharisees were picking on the disciples of Jesus for eating with hands that haven’t been ritually cleaned. This is a tradition of the elders, but not necessarily something commanded in Scripture (normally only commended to priests offering sacrifices- Exodus 30:17–20). … It is a very human instinct to declare people pure or impure on the basis of some outward behaviour. In the desire of a community to chase after holiness, or chase away sin, sometimes outward markers are given heavy weight. It might be refusing to smoke or drink alcohol, and if someone in the community is caught smoking it is considered a spiritual issue more than a health issue. … Communities sometimes seem to want easily recognized markers for purity and corruption. … Of course, washing our hands is a good thing. And smoking is bad for our heath, as is drinking alcohol. But, Jesus wants to get to something deeper. That’s all surface stuff.
Jesus turns this discussion inward.
There are many times in the Bible when the people of God are described as God’s spouse, but it is a tumultuous relationship. God is faithful but the people run off with other gods- in a sense, to commit adultery. We see this image over and over (Hosea 2; Isaiah 54:5-8; Jeremiah 2:2-3,32; Ezekiel 16; 23). … The traditional way to read the Song of Songs, is as a metaphor of God and God’s people, head over heals in love for one another. It is an image of God and the people chasing after one another for the sake of love. It is what the relationship between God and God’s people should be.
The masters of Christian spirituality described the purpose of the human being, our highest calling, as being in love with God- to have God fill the mind. The highest act of the human intellect is to focus on God without distraction. The metaphor is of two lovers gazing into each other’s eyes, almost forgetting about the rest of the world. So you can see why the Song of Songs was so loved by them.
From here I would like to turn to our Gospel reading. Many obsess about an external purity (even in our own time). The Pharisees were picking on the disciples of Jesus for eating with hands that haven’t been ritually cleaned. This is a tradition of the elders, but not necessarily something commanded in Scripture (normally only commended to priests offering sacrifices- Exodus 30:17–20). … It is a very human instinct to declare people pure or impure on the basis of some outward behaviour. In the desire of a community to chase after holiness, or chase away sin, sometimes outward markers are given heavy weight. It might be refusing to smoke or drink alcohol, and if someone in the community is caught smoking it is considered a spiritual issue more than a health issue. … Communities sometimes seem to want easily recognized markers for purity and corruption. … Of course, washing our hands is a good thing. And smoking is bad for our heath, as is drinking alcohol. But, Jesus wants to get to something deeper. That’s all surface stuff.
Jesus turns this discussion inward.
“There is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile” (Mk 7:15).“For 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.” (Mk 7:21-23).
Jesus says this in other places in the Gospels. When Jesus talks about lust, he talks about it as an attitude of the heart. It is a cultivated lust. It is a welcomed lust. That is like a seed that can grow, and the fruit of that plant can be adultery (Matt 5:27-30). So, deal with the seed before it can grow. …
He says the same thing about anger. This is a cultivated anger that becomes resentment and contempt. It is like a seed that can grow, and the fruit of that plant can be murder (Matt 5:21-26). … Or, you can think about it in reverse. Think about a murderer and follow that action back to its root and it’s likely that you will find a welcomed and cultivated anger there.
I just want to pause here to talk a little bit more about anger. It is a big deal in the Bible and in the writing s of the Early Church. There is so much of it in our world right now. One of the really dangerous things about anger is that it keeps us from being open to another point of view. You can’t be angry and think you might be wrong. It divides the world into enemies and friends with a heavy wall in-between the two.
What do we normally say about anger? … It is about justice. … Let’s look at what James says.
“let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness” (James 1:19-20).
When you look at the Greek there are a couple interesting things to consider. First, it actually says “the anger of man”, so this is talking about human anger. Secondly, the Greek word for righteousness (δικαιοσύνη) is also the word for justice. … So what James is saying is that if you see human anger, then you don’t see God’s righteousness or justice there. … I remember when I read that and it really hit me. It sort of blew me away and it started me on a path to study anger in the Bible and in the Early Church. I was amazed to see that it was almost universally considered to be dangerous to the soul as a motivation for action, and as a feeling to be hung onto and cultivated. If we want to do good for God in this world- if we want to grow close to God- then we have to find a way to do this without anger.
For example, Evagrius Ponticus was a 4th century monk and theologian who studied with the who’s who of Christian theology and spirituality at the time (especially the Cappadocian Fathers and the Desert Fathers). Evagrius, saw anger as particularly damaging to our prayer life. He saw the contemplation of God in prayer as the highest act of a human being, so if anger can get in the way of that, it is a very dangerous thing. He actually saw prayer and anger as mutually exclusive, so if you are full of anger you kind-of can’t pray. You can look like you are, but you aren’t praying as you ought to. This is how the monk and scholar Fr. Gabriel Bunge describes Evagrius’ teaching on how anger and prayer relate-
For example, Evagrius Ponticus was a 4th century monk and theologian who studied with the who’s who of Christian theology and spirituality at the time (especially the Cappadocian Fathers and the Desert Fathers). Evagrius, saw anger as particularly damaging to our prayer life. He saw the contemplation of God in prayer as the highest act of a human being, so if anger can get in the way of that, it is a very dangerous thing. He actually saw prayer and anger as mutually exclusive, so if you are full of anger you kind-of can’t pray. You can look like you are, but you aren’t praying as you ought to. This is how the monk and scholar Fr. Gabriel Bunge describes Evagrius’ teaching on how anger and prayer relate-
“The prayer of an angry man is a subtle form of idolatry, because he has before him in his mind not God, but rather constantly the face of the one at whom he is angry.”
(Sorry for the non-inclusive language, but he is writing to male monks). If we are supposed to be praying to God, but the person we are angry at is front and center in our minds during our prayer, then he thinks we are on the verge of idolatry and giving our time of worship and prayer to the one we are angry at. Evagrius said, very sharply,
“For what the mind constantly looks upon during prayer should rightly be acknowledged as its God”[2].Maybe he is overstating this, but I think there is still something here we should pay attention to, especially regarding how the church has thought about the effect of anger on spirituality over the years. I don’t think he is saying that you shouldn’t pray if you are struggling with anger. I think, however, he would say we should not accept the presence of anger as a welcomed guest during prayer. It is something that we should resist and over time, with the help of God, especially by spiritual disciplines, conquer.
…
Returning back to our Gospel, these outwards actions that Jesus describes, do destruction to our soul and to our neighbour-
“fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly” (M7:21-22).
These are the real pollutants, and their origins, their seed, is found growing in the human heart. Don’t let those seeds grow. Deal with the heart. Worry about purifying your heart, much more that purifying your hands, or any other outward acts that make to seem to be pure and undefiled to your friends and neighbours.
This is the negative side. But there is a positive side, as well. There are good seeds. If we can develop a love for God that is symbolized by the Song of Songs, then the plant that grows, and the fruit it bears, is beautiful
This is the negative side. But there is a positive side, as well. There are good seeds. If we can develop a love for God that is symbolized by the Song of Songs, then the plant that grows, and the fruit it bears, is beautiful
“love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5:22-23).
Amen.
[1]
Francis Landy. Paradoxes of
[2] “Dragon’s Wine and Angel’s
Bread”- Gabriel Bunge. (Evagrius, M.c. 37.24 f.)
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