Welcome back to the gospel. After
seven weeks of going through Ephesians, we are returning to Mark.
I began almost every sermon in
Ephesians reminding you of who wrote it and its funnel-like
structure. I'll do the same with Mark, reminding you of a few
important points of the overall gospel.
Mark, if you remember, is a Passion
narrative with an extended prologue. It is the only gospel to
proclaim itself as a gospel. It focuses on where Jesus is going and
it challenges us to follow him there. Where Jesus is going is the
cross. Almost everything in Mark points us to the Passion and the
cross.
When we began this journey with Jesus
to the cross some thirteen weeks ago, the first story we heard was
that the religious leaders wanted to destroy Jesus because he dared
to challenge their idea and idolatry of the Sabbath. In various
passages after that first encounter, Jesus is up against the status
quo and up against those in power while he tries to make changes for
the better. Sabbath controversies, unauthorized healings, and people
wanting to keep him in his place were all part of Jesus upsetting the
apple cart which eventually led to his crucifixion.
Today we have another controversy
swirling around Jesus: that of ritual purity. Jesus is in hot water
(no pun intended) because his disciples hadn't washed their hands.
This isn't a, “Scrub up for dinner” order from your mom. Mark
explains that this is a ritual cleansing performed by Jews as a way
to purify themselves, their utensils, and their food so as to avoid
outside Gentile contamination. It's simply a purification rite,
maybe similar to what I do at the altar immediately before
celebrating Communion.
But as so often happens, things that
were begun for good and holy reasons (or even just good reasons) end
up becoming something worshiped and idolized.
There's the story of a new priest who,
when he was administering Communion, didn't follow the tradition of
his elders because he failed to touch the aumbry located at the end
of the Communion rail. This upset some parishioners who thought he
wasn't being serious or reverent enough while administering Holy
Communion. After some research, it turned out that the reason former
priests did this was to discharge static electricity so they wouldn't
shock the parishioner at the beginning of the rail.
Or candles. We use candles on the
altar to symbolize a variety of things. But I have been in churches
where people wouldn't leave until the candles were extinguished
because . . . tradition.
What happens in these situations is
what happened to Jesus – traditionalists will point to a person's
refusal to follow tradition and use that act of refusal to attack and
discredit those with whom they disagree. You can see this in all
kinds of places – traditionalists attacking anything and anyone
whom they perceive as turning their backs on the traditions of our
fathers/elders, or the church, or . . . you name it.
We've seen this with women's ordination
and same-sex marriages. We've seen it in sports and politics. I
even ran across a Facebook group whose sole purpose, it seemed to me,
was to extol the virtues and necessity of clergy wearing cassocks
while denigrating those who don't. Tradition, unfortunately, is too
often used to maintain the status quo in everything from social
status to economic position to political power.
Tradition isn't about upholding the
status quo. Tradition isn't about fighting for the way we've always
done things. These things, good or bad, may be traditional, but
that's not the point of tradition.
In our understanding of Scripture,
Tradition, and Reason, or in a theological context, Tradition is
rightfully defined as the revelation made by God and delivered to the
faithful through the mouths of the prophets. The substance of
tradition is consistent with the central facts and beliefs of the
faith. In other words, we need to understand the core beliefs of our
faith in our determination of what qualifies as tradition.
And sometimes that which is traditional
can change over time while remaining part of the Tradition.
The men who formed our very first BCP
in 1789 also knew this, and in their preface to that book (which has
appeared in every BCP since) wrote this:
It is a most invaluable part of
that blessed “liberty wherewith Christ hath made us
free,” that in his worship
different forms and usages may without offence be allowed,
provided the substance of the Faith
be kept entire; and that, in every Church, what
cannot be clearly determined to
belong to Doctrine must be referred to Discipline;
and therefore, by common consent
and authority, may be altered, abridged,
enlarged, amended, or otherwise
disposed of, as may seem most convenient for the
edification of the people,
“according to the various exigency of times and occasions.”
In other words, what has been
traditional shall not trump Tradition itself.
What is core to marriage? I would say
that it is a union of two people in heart, body, and mind; intended
for mutual joy, for help and comfort in prosperity and adversity,
and, when it is God's will, for the procreation of children.
What is core to the priesthood? That a
person proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to love and serve the
people with whom a priest works, to care for young and old, strong
and weak, rich and poor. To preach, declare forgiveness, to bless,
and to administer Holy Communion.
What is core to our faith? The Holy
Trinity; Jesus fully human/fully divine; that Christ has died, Christ
has risen, and Christ will come again; and our baptismal covenant.
If we get to a point where we confuse
doctrine with discipline, we misunderstand Tradition. If we get to a
point where we are more concerned with outward appearances than with
inner integrity, we misunderstand Tradition. If we get to a point
where we are outwardly ritually pure, but spew forth evil thoughts,
theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, etc, we not
only misunderstand Tradition, but we defile ourselves.
When talking about Tradition, know the
difference between the tradition of God and what people have made
traditional. It was challenging this difference that brought Jesus
one step closer to the cross. And when we challenge what has been
traditional, we probably won't get crucified, but it will most likely
get us in hot water.
Amen.
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