This week I went to a bar. Not a usual hangout for pastors. I met a friend there to talk about all the stereotypical things that a "Good Christian" does and doesn't do. It's quite the list and this was just two of us brainstorming. A "Good Christian":*
- doesn't go to bars
- doesn't do drugs
- doesn't drink alcohol (or at least doesn't get drunk)
- doesn't have sex before marriage
- doesn't dance
- doesn't swear
- don't have tattoos or piercings
- doesn't listen to secular music
- doesn't do yoga (or other spiritual practices originating in different cultures or religions)
- doesn't get divorced
- isn't Republican or Democratic (depending on your political leanings)
- doesn't gossip
- doesn't miss a Sunday at Church
- isn't LGBTQ
While many of us adhere to some of these rules for good reason, some Christians have made these things more important than an authentic relationship with God. You break one of these rules, you get spiritual cooties and you're out of the "Good Christian" club. Woe is you. But that's not what Jesus teaches.
In Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23 Jesus calls out the Pharisees for playing this same game of spiritual cooties. They are so concerned about man-made rules and rituals that their hearts are disconnected from God. They have so lost touch with their relationship with God that they have to rely on rules to tell them whether or not they're in a right relationship with God.
Like many things Jesus overturns this idea and reminds those who are listening that our relationship with God is not a matter of rules, it's a matter of the heart. Sure God gives us commandments, Jesus offers us teachings about right and wrong, but screwing those things up doesn't mean you're screwed. In fact our mistakes often become means of grace that put us in just the right position to experience God's transforming mercy and grace.
Jesus says that in God's sight what "defiles" us, or gives us cooties, is what goes on in our hearts. And while the message is freeing, "we don't have to be slaves to rules anymore!", I get a twinge of dread. Because I know what goes on in my heart and it's not all love, snuggles, rainbows and unicorns. I know that my heart harbors evil, I know that I'm not perfect deep down there. So are we just out of luck? Sure you can try to remove the evil from your own heart, not let it manifest itself in your actions, but it's probably still there.
I said this on Sunday and I will keep saying it because we often get our job descriptions confused: purifying our hearts, making our hearts holy, is NOT OUR JOB. This can be confusing because we have this idea that we need to get all these things straight before we go to God, but we can't. Sanctification, making us holy, is the work of the Holy Spirit. We cannot do this on our own and God knows that. God in the person of the Holy Spirit hears our prayers, knows our hearts and works within to make us holy. To clear up that evil in our hearts. But it's a life long process and we have to be in it, we have to be praying and asking the Holy Spirit to change our hearts and our minds, to guide us, show us and empower us to be real Christians, not just "Good Christians" in the world today.
*This list is not meant to represent my views or the views of this church.
Feel free to comment with your own "dos" and "don'ts"
Pastor Jen can be reached at jhibben@wdmumc.org. She invites your comments and reflections.
