The Goodness of Tradition: Austin Shanley
The following homily was shared at our Sunday Evening Eucharist service September 1, 2024.
"When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
—For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace
they do not eat without purifying themselves.
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds. —
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
"Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?"
He responded,
"Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:
This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.
You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition."
He summoned the crowd again and said to them,
"Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.
"From within people, from their hearts,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile."" (Mark 7:1-18, 14-15, 21-23)
Our Gospel reading for this evening is one encounter of many where Jesus calls out the Pharisees for their hypocrisy. In this particular encounter, Jesus criticizes them for their commitment to their traditions, but not to the law of Moses. What is interesting about this criticism is that many of the pharisaical traditions are derived from their desire to keep the Law. Somewhere along the way, the tradition was upheld as law, and they demanded the people of Israel to keep it to an oppressive degree.
What is interesting about our Gospel reading is that it says that only some of Jesus’ disciples were eating with unwashed hands, which means that some of them did wash their hands. Also, if we pay close attention, Jesus isn’t criticizing the tradition itself, but the hearts of the Pharisees. There is a trend in modern evangelicalism that seems to interpret passages like this as a reason to do away with all tradition, and in some cases see them as evil. But the reality is that traditions are still good. In fact, Jesus establishes new traditions himself, such as partaking of his Body and Blood- which we are about to do- and baptism. Therefore, we should actually encourage the practicing of tradition, so long as it serves the right purpose.
The question is, what is that purpose? What makes the way Jesus practiced and established tradition good and the way the Pharisees practiced tradition bad? The mistake that the Pharisees trapped themselves into (and I say they trapped themselves because I believe they had good intentions when establishing their traditions) was they kept the law and traditions only for the sake of keeping them. They wrongly believed that abundant life was found in their obedience, and not by the loving kindness of our God. What makes the traditions that Jesus established so special and good is that they serve to propel us deeper into communion with the Lord. This is why it is good to state the purpose of these traditions as we practice them. Before we partake of the Lord’s supper, we recite the Communion liturgy before we actually eat the bread.
The Lord’s Supper as a tradition serves as a good template (or example) of how we should practice our own traditions. If you have been at The Wesley long enough, you will notice that we already have many traditions. Some of our traditions you can easily tell why they are good, such as morning prayer, while others are not that straightforward. While using a calendar seems good from a practical standpoint, how does it deepen our fellowship with God? It does so by helping us pattern our lives around our relationship with God. It means making sure you have time each day for lectio (a tradition of prayer), and helping you schedule hangouts (a tradition of fellowship). The calendar isn’t by itself a spiritual tool, but we use it to help us devote time to seeking the Lord, deepening our relationships with each other, and fulfilling the Great Commission.
However long you end up being with us at The Wesley, we will be encouraging you to practice the traditions we have here. But we aren’t asking you to do them just to do them. We believe that it will serve the ultimate purpose of deepening your love and devotion to Jesus.
Austin Shanley is a dedicated disciple of Christ and friend to us at The Wesley. A member of this year’s Discipleship Team, he has a passion for encouraging and leading others in their faith. Austin enjoys mountain biking, fishing, playing video games, and hanging out with friends. He is currently enrolled in his senior year at LA Tech. We’re blessed to have him in our community!