In this week’s Gospel, Mary comes to Jesus. She knelt at his feet and said to him,

“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go” (John 11:32-44).

The real question I have for you today is: Are you open to the mystery of God and the unimaginable ability for the Gospel to transform our lives? Where will you be when you emerge from this Covid 19 cave? We live in a world filled with hate and there are always factions drawing each of us against one another. We are faced with forces that draw us from the love of God and the love of one another. We must believe that the Gospel has the power to turn us ever so slightly from our current trajectory to the Kingdom of God. To do that we must face the fact that we need to turn from the dead areas of our lives and the darkness of the cave we sometimes live in and walk into the light. How does our Lord come to the dead areas of your life and call you to come out? What is the tomb of your life? There are factors that bind all of us and limit us. Hate, violence, selfishness, the need for power and excessive money are examples of things that bind us and limit us. Warren Wiersbe once said that “God doesn’t bless us just to make us happy. God blesses us to make us a blessing (to each other).”

At St. John’s we have a wonderful family of people that are a blessing to one another. At St. John’s, we want to bring people to newness of life through the teachings of Jesus Christ and in the sacraments. We are a Christ centered church that values tradition, yet moves forward in the Holy Spirit. During our stewardship campaign, many people have witnessed why they love St. John’s and what brings them joy. We have something special here at St. John’s. It is the love of Christ. Our parish is dedicated, “to know Christ and to make him known.” We are trying to live in the present reality as we move towards the kingdom of heaven. The political environment may make us a little anxious, but our faith is the rock that never moves. Please love God and one another as Jesus Christ loves us. We have something very special here at St. John’s. Giving your time, talent, and treasure brings both you and this community to a place where we can minister to our children, the poor, the sick, and the thirsty. Giving of ourselves for the sake of others literally ushers in the coming kingdom.

On Sunday, we will celebrate All Saints' Day, the Holy Eucharist, Baptism and Loyalty Sunday. We will reaffirm our own commitment to Christ in the Baptismal Covenant. I ask each of you to first commit yourselves to Christ and then to turn in your pledge card during the offertory. If you are out of town, please mail your pledge card to the office by November 14th. Please join us for this very special Sunday and give generously to St. John’s.

In Christ’s love,

Rev. Duncan Burns

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“Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross

that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace:

So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love,

may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you;

for the honor of your Name” (BCP p. 101).

When we are transformed by the love of God, our heart overflows with that love. This transformation occurs both through our will and through the will of God. When you love because you are loved, there is more energy and more patience. When you love because you are loved, you are thankful for everything you have. Hospitality and generosity just become second nature to us. Helping others can become refreshing and rejuvenating because the love, mercy, and grace of God flow through us. We bring others to the love of God by allowing our hearts to overflow with that love. Bringing others to believe in the power and love of God is not about understanding theology. In fact, the details of our theology have caused us to fight with ourselves for centuries. We are not Christians because we think the right way. What really counts is the love in our hearts. Right thought without right actions to your neighbor is the problem that Jesus had with the Pharisees.

The Harvest Fair was a beautiful example of how St. John’s spreads the love of God. Many parishioners gave of their time, talent, and treasure. Chris Boccia and Fran Gorman deserve our sincere thanks for a job well done. They have worked tirelessly for months organizing and preparing for this event. I would also like to thank everyone else that helped out. We worked together like a family to help those in need in our community. The community supports St. John’s because we support the Community. The ECW will send the majority of the proceeds earned and donated at the Harvest Fair and give that money to worthy local charities. Please finish our work by attending our next ECW meeting and help us to support those most in need in our community.

Today we celebrate the second week of our Stewardship Campaign. Please place your pledge card in the offering plate or mail it to 12 Prospect St., Huntington, NY 11743. Stewardship should be a joyful celebration of giving back to God what God has already given us. We use the gifts that God has given us to do the work God is calling us to do. God will never ask you to do anything unless God provides the means for you to do it. You should give proportionately to God what God has given to you. If you have time, give of your time. If you have talent, give of your talent. If you have treasure, give of your treasure. God wants to bring you to wholeness in your life. Give from your heart and St. John’s will serve this community with generosity as we have for the past 276 years.

In gratitude for God’s gifts and yours, we ask you to prayerfully consider your annual giving pledge. The only way our Vestry can develop a responsible budget each year is by knowing how much financial income we can expect from each of our member households. Your regular contribution is vital to our ministry. If you have not already sent in your pledge card, make your pledge now using our secure online form:

https://onrealm.org/stjohnshuntington/AddPledge/stewardship

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

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This week, we sent out our annual pledge cards so that the vestry could plan the budget for next year. I humbly ask you to pray about your stewardship at St. John’s, fill out your pledge card, and send it to the office. Stewardship should be a joyful celebration of giving back to God what God has already given us. “God’s initiative is always to bless, and that blessing is never earned, it is freely given. This year at St. John’s you will hear witness to the joy that many people have found at St. John’s. I ask you to think about the joy that you have received and write down one word at the entrance to the church. We will have poster board and magic markers to collect your thoughts, To worship God is to offer something of value. We offer praise and thanksgiving not only with our lips but with our lives. The annual pledge campaign can be an opportunity to bless God and bless the community from the offerings of the labor of our lives. Through our commitment to proportional giving, we offer a pledge of thanksgiving for all we have received and for all we will become as we grow into the image of Christ” (Blessed to be a blessing).

This Saturday, we ask for all members of St. John’s to support our Harvest Fair. We ask you to come to church and enjoy some great baked goods, soups, chili and cheese. If you are available, stop by at 6:00PM tonight or 9:00AM on Saturday and help out. If you are a newcomer, please come down and feel the joy and family comradery that exists at St. John’s. Our ECW gives a tremendous amount to local charities each year after the fair. Help us, to help others.

Give of your time, talent and treasure to God because you truly believe that Christ died that you might have abundant life. When a heart is filled with the love of God, the desire to give a portion back comes from deep within, not from a rational sense of obligation. We use the gifts that God has given us to do the work God is calling us to do. God will never ask you to do anything unless God provides the means for you to do it. You should give proportionately to God what God has given to you. If you have time, give of your time. If you have talent, give of your talent. If you have treasure, give of your treasure. God wants to bring you to wholeness in your life. Give from your heart and St. John’s will serve this community with generosity as we have for the past 276 years. Both for the individual and for the community, stewardship is a joyful act for the sake of God's world. Please give joyfully from your heart. God is well pleased when we give in this manner and will provide everything we need to do the work that God calls us to do.

God’s abundance is a feeling that what you do matters and that your life has meaning. God’s abundance includes our worship, our music, our pastoral care and our physical buildings and property. In a time of despair and worry, God offers hope and contentment. In a time of enmity and separation, God offers love and unification. In a time of uncertainty, God offers us eternal life. By the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, we know that God’s unending love for us is real and that God’s promises are true. I urge you to see your life as a precious gift from God and to give of your time, talent and treasure accordingly.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

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My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following Your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please You. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that, if I do this, You will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust You always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for You are ever with me, and You will never leave me to face my perils alone. (Thomas Merton)

This past week the clergy of the Diocese of Long Island met for a clergy day. The bishop mentioned that many clergy were retiring and that several had taken ill this past week. This pandemic has taken its toll on all of us. We are weary of the threat of catching Covid and the divisions that have been amplified during the pandemic. I heard on the news that a whistleblower accused Facebook of profiting from creating division on its platform. At times like these, I love to refer to Thomas Merton’s famous quote. It reminds us that Christ is with us and it is all right to move ahead (even if our path is unclear). Bishop Provenzano reminded us to help our parishioners deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ. This is essential for our spiritual and physical health.

As Jesus is setting out for a journey, a man kneels before him and asks, “What must I do to have eternal life?” The Greek word for eternal is aionion. The definition for eternal in this week’s Gospel message is life from God. Jesus Christ who was, is, and will come again helps us to understand what a life in God means. Eternal life comes through the grace of God and not through our own effort. We are asked to believe that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. We pray to God and follow the example of Jesus Christ the best we can. We come to church to hear the Word of God and to be in communion with Jesus through a continual remembrance of his life, death, and resurrection, until his coming again. When we give of ourselves for the sake of others, we feel the peace that passes all understanding. This is a foretaste of the eternal life that we will experience in the next life.

At St. John’s our mission is to know Christ and to make him known. Our priorities are our children, hospitality, mission, outreach, stewardship, and pastoral care. Every year we have our entire congregation work together on the ECW Harvest Fair. We will raise a substantial amount of money that will be distributed by the ECW (women of the parish) to local charities. A donation will also be made for the continued ministry at St. John’s. I ask each of you to fully participate in this year’s Harvest Fair on October 23rd. I would especially encourage our newcomers to volunteer. There is a sense family at St. John’s that you will be a part of when you volunteer at the Harvest Fair. When we try and align ourselves with the purpose of God, we can experience this feeling of purpose and good will.

Our Harvest Fair gives each of us the opportunity to use everything we have to benefit the ministry of St. John’s and charities in our community. I believe that when we give a little of ourselves, our gifts, and our money to benefit those who are less fortunate than ourselves, we are following Jesus Christ. If we believe that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, we too will be inheritors of eternal life, both now and in the Kingdom to come.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

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“The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.”

 Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms

We hear the Gospel, that we might know more completely how to love, and when we fail – because we do fail – we are given the key to God’s heart, the key to the vast treasure of God’s mercy that stands ready for us to take. God offers each of us the key to a heart filled with true pleasure, true love. I have recently been counselling several marriage couples through a previous divorce. I spend a good deal of time with folks looking at God’s love and mercy and how to live in a loving relationship with your spouse. Today’s Gospel was not written to make people feel pain, but it can bring a former hurt to the surface again. God’s intention for us is to have companions and to share mutual love. When our baptized children stop going to church, when marriages fall apart, when priests use their office for their own selfish needs, or when family members and friends become estranged, we feel the pain of brokenness. Jesus wants us to see that in this broken world there is a life, a truth and a way that brings us to God’s Kingdom and to bring us the feeling of wholeness and the love that we all desire. Let’s keep that vision of God’s creation where even the least of us is loved and cared for. Jesus died that we might know that God forgives us for our past mistakes, but rose again that we might follow him to wholeness.

There is a lot of brokenness in the world today. My heart breaks for the young mother of three that died last week of Covid. Her children and friends cried with a sorrow that echoed throughout our church. Gabby captured the hearts of most of us because of a senseless loss of a beautiful young girl’s life. Most of us will feel the sting of the death of a loved one and the heart ache of a broken relationship. God sent Jesus to the temporal world where pain and sorrow are felt by all of us. Jesus walks with us through our pain and eventually back to wholeness. We pray every day for those who are hurting among us and it is by walking with each other at the most difficult of times when we feel the love and mercy of God.

The Good News of the Gospel is that Jesus came to this broken world, died, and showed us the path to resurrection. If you have been broken by the senseless acts of others or by your own mistakes, God wants to hold you in his arms and love you back to wholeness. In fact, God has a host of angels in heaven and a multitude of companions right here that want to nurse you back to the Kingdom of God. In this Kingdom, we love one another as we want to be loved. In Sacred Ground we say that we are working towards beloved community where we see all people through God’s eyes and not through any bias or hatred. Join us every weekday at 9:00 in the morning and you will join a beloved community. By praying for one another and worshiping God, we become whole by the mercy and grace of God. Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30 KJV).

In Christ's love,

Fr. Duncan

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Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, all at the entrances of their tents. Then the Lord became very angry, and Moses was displeased. So Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you treated your servant so badly? Why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? Did I conceive all this people? Did I give birth to them, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a sucking child, to the land that you promised on oath to their ancestors’? Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they come weeping to me and say, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ I am not able to carry all this people alone, for they are too heavy for me. If this is the way you are going to treat me, put me to death at once—if I have found favor in your sight—and do not let me see my misery.” (Numbers 11:10-15)

Justo Gonzales is a Liberation Theologian and historian. He compares the activity of the church across the world over the past two thousand years. Gonzales observed that the North American and European Christian churches are receding. The geology of Christians is shifting. The global south is growing by leaps and bounds and the Northern Churches are barely holding on.

When we look at our lives in the past several years, most of us notice that our Christian landscape in America is changing. Episcopalians have decreased from 3.4 million in 1965 to maybe 1.6 million today. Of the 1.6 million, a majority will not attend church this Sunday. Mark’s Gospel asks us “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it?”

In the reading from Numbers, the people of Israel are complaining to Moses. God brought them out of bondage in Egypt, to the desert and provided them with manna to eat. They struggled to see that the landscape had changed and could only look back at the good food that they enjoyed as slaves in Egypt. They missed their roasted meat so they complained to Moses. Moses tells God that their burden is too great. They whine and complain about not having meat. The fact of the story that most people do not realize is that most of these folks will never make it to the Promised Land.

At St. John’s we are called to proclaim Jesus Christ as the messiah, the son of the Living God. For the past few weeks we have been asked question after question. This week Fr. John Morrison will be recognized for his ministry at St. John’s and will preach at the 10:00 service on Sunday. Please join us to celebrate his ministry, his move to Connecticut, and to hear him preach, “Questions, questions, questions.” At 11:30 we will have a memorial service for Robert Boise and celebrate his ministry at St. John’s. This week we had a Sacred Ground session with eight different churches, the Thrift Shop was open, we had two sessions of bible study, five Morning Prayer services, a wake, two memorial services, a baptism, a wedding, a youth group barbeque, three AA meetings, two choir rehearsals, yoga, Nursery school with 54 children, Sunday school, an ECW Harvest Fair meeting, a St. Hilda’s Guild meeting, four Holy Eucharist services, and we have almost completed a $150,000 historic restoration of our building. I give thanks for your faith and the saltiness of your ministry in an ever changing landscape.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

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Mark 9:33-35 Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way? But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.

Micah 6:8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good;

   and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

   and to walk humbly with your God?

Luke 14:11 For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Eph.4:1-2 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

Col. 3:12 As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.

Jam. 4:6 But he gives all the more grace; therefore it says, God opposes the proud,

 but gives grace to the humble.

Luke 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the disciples a second time that Jesus will be betrayed, killed and rise again on the third day. Jesus knows that he is running out of time. Jesus is instructing the disciples because although they know he is the Son of the Living God, they do not know what is ahead. They will soon be headed for Jerusalem and Jesus needs the disciples to understand the truth about what is about to happen. The disciples are so confused about Jesus’ self-sacrificing love that they argue who is greatest among them. It will take the resurrection for the disciples to catch on. Judas will betray Jesus, Peter will deny knowing him, the rest of the disciples will hide in the upper room for their very lives as Jesus is crucified. Today’s lesson is about humility. May the Spirit of Truth guide us down this path gently.

In Christ’s love,
Fr. Duncan

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“Open my heart, O Lord that I may lay aside the preoccupations of my life and know that you are already here. Teach me your desire for steadfast closeness and swallow me in your love. Open my ears that I may know an intimacy that is already there. You have dwelled in me since my baptism. Let me deepen my desire for intimacy with you (Martin Smith).”

Martin Smith gave me this prayer at a retreat I was leading. I wrote it in my journal and share it with you because I think that the preoccupations of our lives are becoming overwhelming and the peace of Christ that passes all understanding is a treasure that we all need and desire. This pandemic seems to be with us for another fall and winter. Please take a moment away from the media and back to the one that loves you eternally. I pray that you will open your heart and your ears to the love of Christ and that St. John’s will continue to be a place of radical welcoming, hospitality, and God’s grace. May we crave the one whose steadfast love is eternal. May we share that love with our families, our congregation, and our neighbors. May we love one another as Christ loves us.

As you volunteer your time, talent, and treasure at St. John’s, it is my responsibility to keep you centered in Christ. One of my most important roles as pastor of this congregation is to lead each of you to a deeper spirituality. We are all very busy people and most of us can relate to “running” from one place to another in our life. It gets so crazy at times that I think people forget where they are running to.

Please take a few minutes from your busy life and enter into the peace that passes all understanding. God loves you deeply and wants you to live a meaningful life. When we draw close to the love of God, we begin to see the path of self-giving love that Jesus Christ has taught us through his life, death, and resurrection. At St. John’s, you will see many examples of those who give themselves to others.

There are saints among us that have such a deep love for Jesus Christ that the love of God exudes from their ministry. They often care for the sick, visit the lonely, feed the hungry, and provide Living Water to those who thirst. They provide this Living Water by living a Christian life that is rooted in their faith and love of Jesus Christ. They may work at the Thrift Shop, help with our Harvest Fair, visit shut ins, or serve on our St. Hilda’s Guild. You will not often see them taking credit for anything they do and may never even notice the wonderful ministry that they do, until you are in need yourself and they care for you and love you like family.

I ask you to join us on September 19th and 26th to celebrate the saints that serve at St. John’s. We will give thanks for the ministry of Rob Wheeler on September 19th at the 10:00 service. We will give thanks on September 26th at 10:00 for the ministry and service at St. John’s for Rev. John Morrison. At 11:30 on September 26^th, we will have a service of remembrance for Robert Boise. Please join us in the church, on zoom, or on Facebook live.   

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

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This Sunday's first reading is from the 35th Chapter of Isaiah. Here we see a reflection of the power of Israel's God to restore creation. Once God's aims are accomplished, and God's vengeance is satisfied, nature is restored to the order God desires. In fact, nature is made better than it was before. The desert not only blooms as it might do in a normal spring season (Vs. 1-2), it also runs over with new sources of water (Vs. 6-7). The desert has been transformed into a marsh. And like the orders of nature, the people themselves are also better than they were before. All their physical infirmities have been healed (Vs. 5-6), and their fears have been allayed by the knowledge that God's vengeance, in this case, is expressed for their benefit and not their harm (Vs. 3-4). Here the prophesied curse of ears that do not hear, eyes that do not see, and minds that do not understand the intentions of God (Isaiah 6:9-10) are replaced with a promise of bodies whole and strong and a God that can be heard clearly calling for the people's restoration. This is a clear and awesome promise of a faithful God, the same God we worship today.

Our second reading from St. James is part of a letter to Jewish Christians who were caught up in the social tensions of the mid-first century.  At this time, there were outbreaks of violence and insurrection taking place in Jerusalem and environs — a conflict that would culminate in the Jewish revolt of A.D. 66-70. In fact, the whole Roman world was dealing with unrest, including food shortages, economic problems and the rapid turnover of Roman emperors that led to an erratic government policy toward Christians, Jews, and others. The problem before the church in this time of upheaval can be summed up: "How do we remain a faithful Christian community in the midst of this time of trial and temptation?" St. James wrote to encourage his brothers and sisters and to give them some instruction on how to navigate in difficult times. In essence, he says faithfulness must be practiced. He gives a series of instructions on how to live a good Christian life. However, he admonishes them not to just listen to the way but practice it. We may be sorely tested in life, but if we see those tests as an opportunity to be faithful, we can come to appreciate it as a gift from God.

Today's Gospel from St. Mark continues from last Sunday. Here we are told of two healing miracles by a rather tired traveling Jesus. Although different, these miracles, clearly reveal the awesome power of Jesus as well as expressing his desire to keep his identity secret. The first miracle reported here involves the daughter of a Gentile woman. It seems like Jesus initially does not want to heal the girl, however, Jesus clearly respects the mother’s persistence. On the basis of her words, he directs her to go with the promise that the demon has left her daughter. The reversal that Jesus demonstrates in his willingness to perform the miracle from verse 27 to verse 29 is unparalleled throughout the gospels. That an unclean, Gentile woman should be the cause of such a reversal is even more astounding. In the second healing miracle, Jesus adopts a rather unusual procedure for healing the deaf man by putting his fingers into his ears, spitting, and touching his tongue. In antiquity, saliva was sometimes imagined as conveying healing or magical properties. We remember that Jesus also uses his saliva later in the gospel to heal the blind man at Bethsaida (8:23). However, for the healing of the deaf man, even more, actions are evidently necessary as Jesus pronounces the word "Ephphatha." In Jesus' speaking of an Aramaic pronouncement at the moment of healing, one might be reminded of the scene of Jairus' daughter's healing where a similar pronouncement affected the healing (5:41). Just as this secrecy does not stop the word about Jesus spreading within the narrative, so, too, does the gospel itself stand as testimony that such witnesses to Jesus will not ultimately be silenced. 

-- Cn. Richard Visconti

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Our first lesson from the Book of Deuteronomy has the prophet entreating Israel to be faithful to the laws given them by God Himself. He tells them never forget and be faithful in teaching their children, what God has done for them. I believe we are all prone to be forgetful in the little things of life. We look for our glasses for 10 minutes, only to realize that they were on our head the whole time. Or look for our keys but eventually realize they were in our pocket. God’s immanence — meaning ‘within’ or ‘nearness’ — says that God is like that. Even as you search for God, God is already near. In reality you already have Him, your search is over. 

Today’s second lesson from St. James’ letter to the 12 tribes of Israel is filled with very practical advice and counsel. He is encouraging them to be intentional about living out their faith. St. James entreats them to practice what they hear and believe. Those who only listen to the Word are like a person who sees the face he inherited from his family in a mirror, and when he turns from that image forgets what sort of person he is. Have you ever thought about what your life would be like without a mirror? Seriously: What would we do without mirrors? Similarly, we can't get along without God's Word. We absolutely need it. And we must heed it. If we only hear the Word and do not practice it, we, too, forget what kind of people we are – namely, people who have been birthed by God and therefore people who have the responsibility to do what the Word of God says. The one who fixes attention on the law will become a doer, and in that doing will be blessed.

Our Gospel from St. Mark, once again relates a confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees. Some of Jesus' disciples were more orthodox in their Jewish practices while other disciples were less strict in their observance of washing rituals. It seems to be a trivial thing – not eating with clean hands. Although our moms may agree with the Pharisees here. But the real issue is not hygiene but popularity. These religious leaders see Jesus as a rival – surely motivated in part by envy. They want to undermine his authority, scatter his followers, and in due course some even hope to kill him. In other words, the Pharisees and scribes are hungry for what Germans call Schadenfreude, pleasure at the downfall of another, a feeling that is particularly savory when the other is a populist figure or seen as an adversary.

Jesus reinforces his denunciation of the Pharisees and scribes when he addresses the crowd. Simply put, neither unwashed hands nor food bought at the market nor ceremonially unclean pots and dishes contaminate a person. Rather, a person is polluted by his or her own thoughts, which originate inside and then radiate out. However, it should be clear that Jesus is not denying the existence of outside influences that defile us. If anything, interior evil thoughts and outside evil influences form an inseparable nexus that defiles, degrades and ultimately destroys the divine goodness (i.e., imago Dei) God gives to each individual.

-- Cn. Richard

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