Defilement and purity
by Neil Bergmann
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All these evils come from inside and defile a person (Mark 7:23).
Jesus responds to the Pharisees’ concerns about outward uncleanness by explaining that uncleanness comes from within a person, not from without. This can still be a hard lesson for us to learn today.
We don’t use the same words as the Pharisees. We don’t often talk about somebody being pure, perhaps even less about somebody being unclean. Nevertheless, we still make judgements about others, both within and without the church, as to how ‘good’ somebody is. And, of course, we want others to think that we are good – kind, sincere, polite, honest, courageous, wise and helpful. All qualities worth having.
The problem comes when these virtues become an end in themselves, and we believe that we can be good people through our own strength and effort. Returning to the gospel soon puts us straight. Our inherent nature is not good; it is just the opposite. If we depend on our strength, we will not be living authentic, Christian lives; we will just be putting on a show.
Instead, every day, we are called through our baptism to die to sin, ourselves and our pride in our own goodness. Then, we can rise to live again in Christ. God alone gives us any goodness we have. God alone can provide the strength to conquer our sinful nature.
Freed from slavery to sin and empowered by the strength of the creator of all creation, we are equipped to live our best lives. Freed from slavery to sin, we can join Christ’s mission to proclaim God’s kingdom of peace, justice and love to a world that desperately needs it.
Patient and loving God, we like to think we are good people. Please give us the humility to accept that we are weak and sinful without you. Help us stop depending on our own strength and prepare us to rely totally on your strength. Then, use us in your mission to the world. Amen.
Neil Bergmann is currently the chair of Lutheran Earth Care, Australia and New Zealand. A retired computer engineer, he worships at Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Rochedale, Queensland.
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