In touch	Check-in	Intercessions
In touch begins immediately below	Scroll down or click for Check-in	Subscribers only: see intercessions

 

In touch

Up-to-the-minute jumping-off points for sermons, linking the reading to the latest news and global issues

Clean hands, clean hearts

Jesus reveals what it really means to be pure (Matthew 15:18).

Context

It’s important to recognise off the top that washing your hands before you eat is, generally, still a good idea. Jesus is not trying to undo all your good hygiene.

What he is trying to undo however, is the idea that true, deep purity can be found in performative, hollow actions – or soap and water. Rather, it’s something that comes from within. An agreeable notion – but one that requires us to examine ourselves.

Whether it’s Lizzo facing renewed criticism for alleged treatment of backup dancers, talismanic Lioness star Lauren James being sent off for stamping on an opponent, or the news of yet more criminal charges applied to former US president Donald Trump, we don’t have to look far in the world around us to sense the deep longing for a consistency between an individual’s stated values (or their hearts) and their actions.

We can demonstrate all the right things in the practising of our faith but, if we do so with cold unchanged hearts, it’s meaningless. The pharisees are quick to spot the perceived inconsistency of Jesus’ disciples, but are blind to their own iniquity.

How can we learn to be more like the gentile woman who persistently petitions Jesus to heal her daughter from a demon? Jesus seems cold but, as indicated by her determination to receive from the person she has correctly identified as Lord, he then exalts her for her great faith.

This king is ushering in a kingdom that grants citizenship on the basis of real, authentic humility, not empty action. Whether we find ourselves outwardly condemning high-profile individuals or inwardly critiquing those we interact with every day (even it seems justified), how do we find a way to check ourselves, acknowledging our own failings? We can’t be perfect; but we can be cleansed by the one who is.

 

Ideas for sermons or interactive talks

We are invited to demonstrate humility in all parts of our lives. Being slower to judge and condemn and quicker to listen is a good place to start.

Break people’s week down into a few key areas. You could include the ‘9 to 5’ (which could be work, school, or whatever it is people spend their days doing), family, friendships, hobbies and interests, neighbourhoods, or anything else you might be able to think of.

Gently suggest people start considering where their hearts are less than pure in these areas. Where they may have, unbeknownst to them, become something of a pharisee; interested in their own perceived perfection, while looking down on others who they believe to be ‘unclean’ – even if they wouldn’t quite use that kind of language.

Are there visual reminders for these spaces and places you could set up around the church as prayer stations? For example, a hard hat or a stethoscope to represent work, an empty coffee cup to represent friendships, and a pair of football boots or dancing shoes to represent hobbies and interests – and anything else you can think of.

Lead people in a time of repentance for the impurities they sense in these areas of their own lives, and look to the example of the woman and how she is gleefully accepted through her persistence as an example of faithful humility - knowing that she isn’t perfect, but proclaiming Jesus is Lord all the same. And, receiving his mercy and grace!

 

Questions for discussion

• Why are the disciples the target of the pharisees’ accusations?
• Why would Jesus respond to the woman in a seemingly cold way at first?
• What are some ways in your day-to-day life you might make small actions to demonstrate a meaningful humility?

Sam Brown is a Church Advocate for the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC). He helps church leaders envision a church where members are equipped and supported to be Christ’s ambassadors in all parts of their lives.

 

Check-in

Connecting faith with everyday, real-life issues for young people

Today’s story centres on a woman, on the margins of mainstream society, who was so desperate that she would – and did - do anything to get to Jesus.

As we watch the news, we hear stories of people who are just as desperate, due to war and persecution, that they flee their homeland with hopes of a safer life elsewhere. It’s interesting how scripture is just as relevant today as it was when it was written.

It’s so easy for us to hear about another boat of refugees capsizing at sea and then forget about it when the news ends; or make a donation to charity and want to get involved but, with all the best intentions in the world, life gets busy and we forget.

And yet that’s not what Jesus did; not in this story, and not in countless other stories, both in scripture and throughout history. We see time and again how Jesus sees and hears the marginalised or excluded from society and responds.

And the crazy thing is that, in most cases, he chooses to respond through us, his Church. Look out for the person sat outside the supermarket, begging; the person playing football at the park by themselves; or the lady sat by herself on that bench looking distressed. Yes, we need to respond safely, wisely and appropriately but doing nothing isn’t an option in the Kingdom of God. Raise money for a charity; volunteer for somewhere like the Salvation Army Modern Slavery Team; set intentional time aside to pray; or buy a copy of the Big Issue from your local vendor. Whatever it is, doing nothing isn’t an option.

Jonathan Buckley is Youth Coordinator for Sheffield Methodist Circuit

 

Views expressed are the authors' own. Hypertext links to other websites are for the convenience of users only and do not constitute any endorsement or authorisation by ROOTS for Churches Ltd.

The week in focus is also available via Twitter and facebook.

ROOTS publishes weekly lectionary-based worship and learning resources online and in two magazines. FIND OUT MORE.