outside and inside

Good morning all,
Jesus again shows that he isn't afraid or concerned with upsetting his audience. Here the question is ritual hand washing, though Jesus expands that to include ritual washing of plates and utensils as well. We think of washing things for meals mostly as a health issue; for the Pharisees it was a religious issue. The word Pharisee actually means "separated one," because one of their main concerns was maintaining separation from non-Jews. The Pharisees didn't go as far as a few sects in Judaism at the time and withdraw from society completely, but washing after contact with non-Jews was an important part of their religious practice.

Jesus criticizes them here not for seeking to separate themselves, but for being too concerned with outward ritual and not enough with the inner life of faith. His biggest accusation is that they are "like unmarked graves that people walk over without knowing." The reason this is such a harsh thing to say is that dead bodies were ritually impure, so a grave was seen as a huge source of spiritual contamination that people would avoid. Jesus says that the Pharisees present a clean outward appearance, so they don't give people any warning, but inside they are dangerously impure. The inner life and outer life are both important and they should both point to justice and love for God. May it be so for us today.

Blessings,
Sam


Luke 11:37-44
37While he was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him; so he went in and took his place at the table. 38The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not first wash before dinner. 39Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41So give for alms those things that are within; and see, everything will be clean for you. 42“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practiced, without neglecting the others. 43Woe to you Pharisees! For you love to have the seat of honor in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces. 44Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without realizing it.”