The Eleventh Sunday after Trinity 16 08 26
OLD TESTAMENT READING: Genesis 45.1-15
NEW TESTAMENT READING: Romans 11.1-2a, 29-32
GOSPEL: Matthew 15.10-28
The Jewish leaders at the time of Jesus were obsessed with the idea of purity. Their understanding was that to be found pleasing to God people should be pure. The leaders prescribed purity in certain ways. One was about cleanliness. To wash hands before eating, before praying. They also had a tradition that said certain animals are impure and eating them would make a person impure. If a person had a skin infection, they are impure, a person has a bodily discharge is impure. A person who touches a person with skin infection is impure. Likewise they had lots of purity traditions and they were very serious about these traditions.
Jesus also spoke about purity but had a totally different understanding of purity and defilement. He taught that what goes into the mouth is not what would make a person pure or impure but only what comes out of the mouth. What comes out of the mouth is what is in the heart. ‘For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile’.
Jesus stressed the importance of the purity of heart by saying, ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, they shall see God.’. The heart in the biblical understanding was the combination of the mind and feelings.
Jesus said what we speak or do reflects what is in the heart. ‘You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.’ (Matthew 12:34). Jesus said, ‘The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.’( Luke 6:45).
It is not only evil thoughts affect a person even worrying unnecessarily makes the heart heavy. ‘Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly’, (Luke 21:34)
Jesus said the way forward is to turn to God in total surrender that God may dwell in our hearts and give strength to ones heart.
In the Old Testament reading we heard of a person with a beautiful heart. We heard about Joseph. Last week we heard from the Old Testament reading how Joseph’s brothers were cruel to him and they tore his multi coloured robe and threw him into a pit and not stopping there they sold Joseph their own brother as a slave to the traders.
Much later Joseph is elevated as governor in Egypt. He is facing his brothers who are approaching Joseph for a favour. There is famine in all the lands and his brothers come to Egypt not knowing they are standing before their own brother to whom they were so cruel.
Joseph does not see this as an opportunity to take revenge. Joseph has an amazing heart to forgive his brothers for what they have done to him and he offers refuge to his eleven brothers and their families in Egypt so that can escape the famine.
Joseph is a very good example of purity of heart, there is no anger resentment, vengeance. He does not accuse his brothers for what they did to him but sees the cruel actions of the brothers as his blessings.
While we seek so many things from God, the most important thing that we should seek is for s to have a purity of heart which is not selfish and which is filled with the goodness of God, God’s joy and peace. Let the words of Paul be our prayer, ‘And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints’. (1 Thessalonians 3:13).