Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“‘Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands before they eat.’ He answered them, ‘And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?’”
NL Daily Devotion for Wednesday, March 1, 2023
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Touché, Jesus! As I’ve often said, Jesus turns everything on its head. We hear him say time and again things like, “You have heard it said…but I say…” He constantly called out the hypocrisy of the status quo and re-directed people back to God’s laws concerned with the welfare of God’s beloved children. He crossed all sorts of boundaries, offending the sensibilities of the powers that be in order to proclaim a gospel of radical welcome. Here he draws a clear line between tradition, the things people establish, and law, which God established. He is saying that God’s law, which is inclusive love for all people no matter what, supersedes the need to follow rituals that serve no function other than to set people apart from one another.
What can we learn from this interaction? Where in our own lives do we judge people for doing or thinking things a little—or a lot—different than we do, rather than seeing them for who they are: beloved children of God? Food for thought, this Wednesday morning.
Do I judge others who don’t follow the traditions I do?
