From the Heart (Matthew 15:[10-20] 21-28)
Listen.August 17th, 2008
Rev. Dr. Craig A. Wagner
Introduction
Last week I read a story about a confirmation class that was discussing the second commandment: “You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God.” The conversation eventually evolved into a discussion of profanity. The pastor asked them to list the words they thought were swear words. The students looked at the pastor and asked, “Where?” “What do you mean by that?” the pastor responded. They asked whether the pastor was referring to how they spoke when they were in school, at home, on recess, or with their friends hanging out. “Is there that much difference?” asked the pastor. “Of course,” they responded, “wasn’t it like that when you were young?”
Then there are the times in my life when I meet someone for the first time. Their language can be rather vulgar until they find out what my profession is. Words coming from the mouth reflect what is on our heart and in many instances do not glorify God. There are times when profanity is simply a habit and comes spewing out of our mouth, or perhaps people use profanity when they want to appear strong and powerful, or perhaps they use it because they do not understand the language sufficiently to find alternative words for what they are trying to say. Yet, in all of these instances we must assume that their heart is not close to God. Jesus reminds us in our passage today that it is not what goes into a person that defiles that person, but what comes out of the mouth from the heart.
From the heart
Chapter 15 in the gospel of Matthew begins with Jesus in a disagreement with the Pharisees and the scribes. The disagreement was over the question of tradition verses faith. The Pharisees and scribes often allowed tradition to get in the way of faithful living.
The Pharisees often spoke about honoring father and mother, but their actions displayed a hypocritical attitude. Instead of caring for their parents, they would give all they had in financial support to the temple, be honored for their generosity, and then consider that their obligation to their parents was finished. Their hearts were focused in the wrong direction; far from what God desired. As Jesus argued, what they spoke from their lips sounded good, but their hearts were far from God. The Pharisees and the scribes took offense at him. This is perhaps an understatement!
Then Jesus spoke to the crowds he tells the crowds and the disciples, who had a hard time understanding what he was attempting to teach them, that it is not what goes into a person that defiles that person; it is what comes out of that person. Jesus gets rather earthy when he explains his comments to the disciples. What one takes in through the mouth eventually is dispelled and ends up in the sewer, but what comes out of the mouth reflects what is in the heart.
What comes from the heart reflects the true person and what that person believes and stands for. A person’s speech, as well as their actions, betrays their belief and what is important in their life.
It is out of the heart that either good things or evil things come; good intentions and evil intentions spring from the depths of one’s heart. Jesus gives us a litany of the things that defile a person: evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, false witness, and slander. These are the things that serve to move us away from God. We can think of other intentions, too such as hatred, envy, jealousy, lying, swearing – and so on. Even though the scribes and the Pharisees speak a good game and ay all the right words, their attitudes are betrayed by their actions and in so doing we see hypocritical actions and behavior patterns stemming from many of the religious leaders in Jesus’ day.
From our hearts
This morning I challenge each of us to search our hearts and examine what is on our hearts, where is our heart at home? Is it found in Christ and his values, or in the things that separate us from the Lord? What do people see and experience when they hear you speak or see your actions or are confronted by your character? Do they see God’s child or someone else?
It’s not what goes into us from society, but it is what comes out of us reflecting the values and faith that we have in our hearts. When I was a young boy, I remember watching a lot of westerns on television – I won’t bother you with the stars of those shows, or even the names, as that might date me. Suffice it to say that there was quite a bit of violence on the programs – people shot one another, they had fist fights and so on. It is also true that my friends and I would play cowboys and Indians on the hills around new subdivisions that were being built in our neighborhood. Yet, with all that exposure to the violence of the old west, I do not consider myself to be a violent person; in fact, guns are not a part of my life at all!
We are called to strive for a heart that is directed by God rather than by the dictates of human beings. Ephesians 5 reminds us that we are to be imitators of Christ. This means not only in outward actions but in our thoughts and in our hearts: fornication, impurity, greed, obscene sill or vulgar language should not be even mentioned among the children of God. We are called to be the children of light, not of darkness. Paul goes onto say we should not even associate with those who live with those who are disobedient.
Are there areas in your life, in your heart where forgiveness needs to happen and where the Spirit needs to forgive and renew? While it is true that only God knows our inner most thoughts and desires and intentions, each one of us stands before God with our souls illuminated. Isn’t it interesting that for the confirmation students in our opening story, it’s alright to use vulgar and profane language with their peers but not with their family? Something is terribly wrong with that discrepancy; and they know it!
Psalm 51 states, “Create in me a clean heart O God.” This morning I pray that we allow the spirit to direct our hearts to Jesus and to focus upon him that our actions and speech reflect the glory of God. Next Sunday is our registration for the fall theme, “Living the Mission.” Living the mission entails being a disciple of Jesus the Christ of the world. We expect every member of our congregation to be involved in this journey into deeper faith and more intentional discipleship. An integral part of this journey is a journey into the heart of each believer. Create is us clean hearts, O God so that we may live as children of the light. For many of us this is a challenge; but I call each one of us to take the challenge into a renewal of our hearts and our faith. It’s going to be an exciting time for all of us at CLC.
Jesus’ heart
As disciples, we are called to live with the heart of Jesus – where our actions, thoughts and words reflect the glory of God. We see them at the greatest in the life of Jesus. This is true even in the last part of our gospel for today. At first we raise our eyebrows in his treatment of the Canaanite woman whose daughter is tormented by a demon. His initial dialog reflects his community’s understanding and prejudice against the Canaanites. Ultimately, Jesus heart goes out to this woman and her daughter was healed instantly. Jesus heart moves beyond the boundaries that society has created and into the hearts and lives of his people.
A heart for God lives in a desire to do God’s will and to stand against those actions and speech that are offensive to the Lord. With hearts focused on God, great things will happen for his glory. With hearts focused on God we can stand against the immorality of the world, the profaneness of people and the violence that surround us. As we stand firm with hearts focused on Christ, God cheers us on.
As I watched some of the Olympics last week, what I noticed as Michael Phelps won medal after medal was not his winning so much as his mother cheering him on – even with tears in her eyes. Jesus cheers us on as our hearts reflect his glory.
There are times, perhaps way too many, where our hearts and our inclinations and our passions are focused on the wrong things. There are times when we allow the things that are bad to come into our lives and profane the presence of God. In those times, we confess and we allow Jesus to turn us around so that his good news and his life touch our hearts, heal us so that we can make a difference in the lives of others. We walk as children of the light!
Conclusion
Today we are bombarded with obscene words. In fact whenever I try to find a movie clip suitable for projection during our Lenten services, I find that it is extremely difficult to find one without the profane words. What once were words spoken quietly in locker rooms or back alleys are now commonplace. Some words are even printed on T-shirts, bumper stickers and certainly in books. We are exposed to these words and thoughts at movies, on DVD’s and even network television programs. We are getting used to it and it seems less offensive – BUT it’s not. What else should we get used to? Has God changed his mind or are the commandments null and void? No, they are not. We need to take a stand because we are known for what comes from our hearts and is reflected in our speech, our actions and our lifestyle. We pray once more this morning, “Create in me a clean heart O God and put a new and right spirit within me” Psalm 51. 10. Amen.