Wash me and cleanse me

¹⁴Then he [Jesus] called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: ¹⁵there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.”
²¹For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, ²²adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. ²³All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” (Mark 7:14-15, 21-22)

This Sunday’s Gospel lesson builds on last Sunday’s. In the first 8 verses of the 7^th Chapter of Mark, Jesus described ritual washings, including hands, cups, pots, and bronze kettles. These washings were not required by the Torah. They were invented by the religious elite and then imposed on the people by their edict. These washings were based on assumptions about uncleanness and a remedy for its removal. The elite believed that as a Jew moved about the marketplace, he or she could inadvertently come into contact with an unclean person or object. When contact was made with an unclean object or person, the person innocently making contact was infected with the uncleanness of the person or object he or she met. The previously clean person was now just as unclean as his/her donor and would make all he or she touched unclean. The ritual washings instituted by the religious elite promised to break this cycle of uncleanness.

Jesus exposed the heresy and hypocrisy of the religious elite’s understanding of the source of uncleanness and its remedy. He declared their understanding of ritual uncleanness and its cure pure fantasy. Jesus went on to describe real uncleanness and its source. Every human being, specifically, his or her heart, mind and soul, was a source of uncleanness and defilement. Jesus’ sermon ends there. His words were designed to evoke a response.

Jesus’ words were spoken to prick or bruise the consciences of the people before him some 2,000 years ago and to bruise my conscience this very day. Jesus wanted to convict them, and me, of our sin, sinfulness and even more. If my mind and my innermost being are the source of sin, Jesus is saying that I am in bondage to sin and I cannot free myself. His words cause a question to erupt?

“Jesus! Is there a remedy for my uncleanness?

The answer is an unqualified yes! Jesus’ words point us back to the Old Testament, specifically, the account of King David as set forth in 2 Samuel chapters 11-12. King David had committed adultery with Bathsheba, Uriah the Hittite’s wife. His illegal tryst resulted in Bathsheba’s pregnancy. He husband was a away with King David’s army. In order to cover up the pregnancy, King David ordered Uriah’s return home so that he would sleep with his wife and cover up the illicit pregnancy. Uriah, bound by a soldier’s promise of celibacy during military campaigns (as set forth in the Torah), refused to sleep with his wife. King David ordered Uriah back to the front line. He carried a letter with him addressed to General Joab commanding the general to put Uriah on the front lines in a place that would assure Uriah’s demise. Uriah died and King David had covered his sin. God did not leave King David there.

He sent the Prophet Nathan to the king. He told David a parable about a rich man who had many sheep and a poor man who had only one sheep (who he loved dearly). A guest came to the rich man’s house. The rich man felt obliged to offer his guest a meal. The rich man stole the poor man’s sheep and butchered it and fed it to his guest. Nathan asked David to comment. David replied: “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.” (2 Samuel 12:5-6).

The parable was specifically designed to arouse David’s wrath and indignation at the unjust and illegal acts of an imaginary rich man. The Prophet declared that that the parable’s imaginary man pointed to real king; the imaginary man’s acts pointed to King David’s adultery and murder; and David’s wrath and indignation for an imaginary man and his imaginary sins pointed to God’ real wrath and indignation at David’s grievous sins. David responded once more. “I have sinned against the Lord.” (2 Samuel 12:13). God forgave David.

The Holy Spirit had cut David to his core and laid bare his sins. Holy Spirit inspired David to write Psalm 51. David was inspired to write: “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.” (Psalm 51:3-4)

David begged God for a washing: Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” (Psalm 51:2)

He begged for forgiveness, a clear conscience and a fresh start: “Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.….. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.” (Psalm 51:9-10; 12-13).

King David asked God to reach out and touch his heart, soul and mind. He asked God to create something new within him, a new heart, soul and mind and an upright and willing spirit to sustain him. King David’s life was radically changed and transformed by God. Jesus came to radically transform the lives of billions.

Jesus had come into the world to rid us of our sins by and through his innocent suffering and death on the cross. We receive the forgiveness of sin when we are baptized. When we are baptized we are joined to the death and the resurrection of Jesus. When we receive Holy Communion, the blood of Jesus washes over our heart, mind and soul and covers over our sin. When we confess and receive absolution, our sins are forgiven and our consciences are made clean and a new start lies before us. Jesus and the means of Grace wrought by him are the cure and the antidote. Thanks be to God for Christ Jesus.

Lord Jesus, convict us like you convicted King David, forgive us as you forgave him. Most importantly, create a clean heart in us.

14th Sunday After Pentecost