A New Message For A New Year

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Matthew 15:10-14

Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind.” And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.”
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Which one are you? Are you one of the blind being led by a blind guide? Are you more concerned about religious rules than you are about the state of your heart? Do you spend more time building a large church than working to bring justice to the world? Which one are you?

Many people look at Matt.15:10-14 and think that Jesus is talking about the dietary restrictions some people followed during this time. In ancient Israel, people were concerned about what they ate, who they ate with, and how the food was prepared. They believed that a person could be made ‘unclean’ by what he ate. In fact, if we take this text on the surface and in the context of Jesus’ historical timeframe, it is easy to conclude that what we eat is connected to how close we are to God. I want us to look a little deeper, though. Look deep and find a new message for a new year. I want us to make this text relevant.

In Matt.15:10-14, Jesus is addressing the false piety that he saw in his community. He was speaking to the people who were more concerned about what they ate than they were about human suffering and telling them to change. Jesus is also speaking to us. He is telling us to look at our behavior and the effects of our actions and decide what kind of people we are and what kind of people we want to be. Jesus is very clear. It is not what we take in from the world that defiles or corrupts. It is what we send out to the world. In other words, we are not corrupted and we do not degrade others by what we take into our minds, and our hearts, and our souls from our surroundings. We are corrupted and degrade others by what we send out from our minds, and our hearts, and our souls into our surroundings.

This is very different from what many of us have been told. Often religious leaders teach that we are corrupted by the world. They tell their followers to stay away from places ‘of the world’ and people whom they call abominations. These religious leaders use Bible verses to validate what they say. They also encourage their followers to put the responsibility of the consequences from their actions on others. ‘If I hadn’t been with so and so, I would not have been arrested for selling drugs. If she hadn’t been dressed the way she was, I wouldn’t have raped her. If he hadn’t made me so mad, I wouldn’t have had to yell at him.’

We have been taught to blame others for the hurt we cause. We have been taught to look for and identify the scapegoat.

Jesus is saying something very different. It is not what goes in that defiles. It is what comes out. Jesus is putting the responsibility on us. We decide what kind of relationships we will have. We decide what kind of person we will be. We decide to hurt another or not. He is telling us that we can choose to spread corruption and degradation by our actions and words or we can choose to spread honesty and integrity through our actions and words.

It’s not what goes in that corrupts. It’s what comes out.

Today we have many opportunities to choose between whether we support the spread of corruption or support the spread of integrity. Every day we see and hear about new examples of how our political leaders are spreading corruption and degradation in our country and in the world. The president has admitted to spying on people without any legal justification. Our country bombed and invaded another country on what we now know was a lie. There are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

It’s not what goes in that corrupts. It’s what comes out. It’s not what we read, or hear, or see that corrupts us. It’s what we do with what we read, or hear, or see that corrupts.

I want to stop a moment with a caution. Understand Jesus was not addressing children in this passage. Consequently, I am not talking about children here. The passage and this sermon are about and to adults.

In our work places we constantly decide whether we will spread corruption or integrity.

Gossip.

All work places have this. We gossip about each other. We gossip about our bosses. We gossip about the institutions for which we work. Gossip hurts people. Gossip is usually based on lies.

We decide what we are going to do with the corruption of gossip. We decide to spread corruption by telling someone else the gossip. Or, we decide to spread integrity by not telling someone else the gossip.

It’s not what goes in that corrupts. It’s what comes out.

In our personal lives we make choices about whether we will spread corruption or integrity.

Domestic violence.

In our homes and in our neighborhoods we often see and hear men abusing women and parents abusing their children. We may live in a home where violence is present. Domestic violence hurts, even kills people. Often alcohol abuse is involved. Children are traumatized by domestic violence. Their emotional, physical, and mental development are affected.

We decide what we are going to do with the corruption of domestic violence. We can ignore what’s going on and through our lack of attention support the spread of this corruption. Or, we can act and address the corruption. We can do what needs to be done to get help for families suffering with domestic violence.

It’s not what goes in that corrupts us.

In our churches we must make choices about whether we support the spread of corruption or integrity.

Homophobia.

Many times we sit in pews and listen to homophobic statements from religious leaders. These leaders stand before congregations and attach their homophobic ideas to biblical texts. They do this through misinterpretation and ignorance. They misinterpret the Bible and are ignorant about the Bible’s historical context. Homophobia hurts, even kills people. Homophobia is the basis some of us use to justify the denial of civil rights to an entire group of Americans from all walks of life, all races, and all ethnicities.

We decide what we are going to do with the corruption of homophobia. We can be silent and through our silence support the spread of this corruption. Or, we can speak against homophobia. We can speak against this with our actions. Do not attend churches that are invested in spreading hate, fear, and misinformation. We and speak against this with our voices. Let people know that you do not accept the misuse of the Bible and other religious writings by homophobes.

It’s not what goes in that corrupts. It’s what comes out.

We have some well known and documented examples of people who have spread corruption. The Klu Klux Klan, slave holders, Nazis, and skin heads are all examples of groups of people who have spread corruption in the world. But, what about right now? What about today? Who is spreading corruption in our communities and country now? What should we do to stop the spread?

One of the largest groups of people who spread corruption today is in our religious institutions.

Today we are bombarded with the efforts of people who call themselves religious. They have much of the media and many Americans convinced that they know what is right for our country. They use the Bible to push their political agenda on all Americans. They collaborate with one another and form coalitions that work to deny civil rights to women, gays, Muslims, and anyone who disagrees with what they want. They can be found in religious institutions, teaching institutions, political institutions, medical institutions, and they present a false piety to the world that deceives and misleads. The best way to identify who they are is to look at their actions. Look and see if they spread corruption or integrity.

When faced with an opportunity to support peace, do they fight for war? Do they work to get revenge as they call out for justice? Do they spread corruption, or integrity?

When faced with an opportunity to establish equality, do they battle for control? Do they seek to oppress others in the name of religious morality? Do they spread corruption, or integrity?

When faced with an opportunity to support freedom, do they develop ways to isolate those they call ‘different?’ Do they strive to instill fear in those who do not conform? Do they spread corruption, or integrity?

Look at the actions of those who say they have the answer. Listen to their words.

We can stop this. We can stop by speaking with our actions, words, money, time, and talents. We can leave places where people try to convince us that the world is divided between us and them. We can speak out against the fear they spread and help people find the courage to unite. We can withhold our money from institutions that work to take away the rights of individuals. We can withhold our talents from organizations that seek to control others based on a narrow view of what is right and wrong. We can volunteer out time and offer our talents to organizations that work to free us all from the oppression of religious fanatics and power hungry politicians.

We can understand what those who spread corruption already know—we are the most powerful when we are united.

What kind of person are you? Are you a spreader of corruption and degradation? Do you support the spread of corruption? Or, are you one who brings honesty and integrity wherever you go? Do you support the spread of integrity?