How clean IS clean?
Being clean is important. So: how clean IS clean when it comes to
dirt and germs?
We all know it is important to wash our hands before we eat. But when
we work and play hard, it is not easy to get all the oil and dirt. And I am
told the antibiotic soaps we use are changing some germs to be tougher and
harder to kill.
We all know it is important to wash our hands to prevent flu from
spreading. Some schools schedule regular, mandatory hand washing. But
people still get flu, eve H1N1, when everyone washes.
We all know it is important to wash in hospitals, and they are very
careful and thorough. But with the best scrubbing, infections are still
possible (necrotizing fasciitis, etc.). So, even the people who work the
hardest to be clean never can get ALL the germs. And some of the special
hospital super-cleaning might make germs much harder to get rid of.
In our Gospel reading, there were people concerned with spiritual dirt:
sins. That is not a bad idea. Luther reminds us in the 1st petition to the
Lord's Prayer we are praying for God's Word to be taught in truth and
purity, AND that you and I would lead holy lives. Put another way: we try
not to get dirty with sin. The Ten Commandments for Christians only are a
guide on living a holy, or spiritually clean, life.
The problem in the Gospel, and today, is some people feel keeping
totally and absolutely spiritually clean is not only possible, but people
can use extra laws not in the Bible to make themselves cleaner than clean
before God! Those man-made, artificial rules become more important than God's!
In the Old Testament, when a person touched something ceremonially
unclean, they had to be baptized for God to remove the spiritual dirt.
These rules are mostly in Leviticus and Deuteronomy.
But a group of religious laymen began adding to the list of unclean
things. On that list was "non-Jewish things". So when a pious Jew went to
a store to buy something, since he MIGHT by chance touch a spiritually dirty
item or person, he had to baptize himself; and all sorts of other things.
You might be wondering why I keep using the word "baptize". That is
the word for "washing" or "applying water" in Greek. Some people feel
baptizing MUST mean "going completely under the water". The way "baptize"
is used in Mark 7 and elsewhere suggests it does not ALWAYS mean this. Can
you imagine each time you come home from HyVee or Fareway you must totally
dunk your couch, pots, pans, and clothing? Baptize in the Bible means to
apply water. To demand Holy Baptism MUST BE a total dunking is to add extra
commandments to God's Word and Laws.
'Pious' Jews were telling the Son of God that if He did not teach
ceremonial baptism the way they did, Christ was breaking the Law and HE was
the spiritually dirty sinner!
Sinful human beings that we are, this happens all the time. Nations
make rules to say life may be ended by the choice of a mother (here in the
USA since 1973), or by a government panel (in Denmark since 1984). God's
Word says: "Thou shalt not murder."
A society or a church body may vote intimate relations are okay outside
of a genuine marriage. God's Word says: "Thou shalt not commit adultery."
Individuals approve of insults, gossip, lies, and political correctness.
God's Word says: "Thou shalt not bear false witness," and as Ephesians 4:15
says "We should speak the truth IN LOVE" (epistle from Aug 2).
Nor does the list end here. We make manmade rules which go against God's
rules.
As bad as these rules are, what is worse is the spirit behind them.
When we make our own rules this way, we are judging God. We are saying WE
are clean and HE is dirty. We are like a clay pot, telling the Sculptor HE
has no skill (Isaiah 29:16).
Imagine if you will, 2 boys playing in a puddle. They had white
shirts, khaki shorts, and white Nikes. Had. They played for hours. Oh,
did I mention this puddle is runoff from a hog confinement? Their clothing
and skin are filthy and smelly.
When the boys look at each other, one might think the other is a little
worse or smells a bit more. They've gotten used to the filth. They don't
realize the filth will hurt them. So they keep on playing.
SUDDENLY, the boys hear mom calling. Using the only liquid they can
find - what is in the puddle - they try to clean themselves. The more they
try, the filthier they become.
You are that boy: not bodily but spiritually. The sinful world around
us tries to say "we can clean ourselves". With what? More filth? With
some action WE judge to be a little less filthy than others? Being clean
before other people is important. But being clean before God is crucial.
It is not a mother, but God Who calls. It isn't a relative standard of
clean that's needed but a perfect, spotless, and whiter-than-white purity.
No amount of pharisaic whitewash soap or human baptizing rules can clean us.
Traditions of men and rules that overrule God's rules do not make us
spiritually clean. If anything, they make self-righteous spiritual filth
harder to remove.
Jesus is not condemning all traditions. But He damns all those that
take the place of God's Word and make us into hypocrites: phony actors who
feel our filthy actions make us clean before God. God's Law shows filth; it
can't remove it.
The only way those little boys can be clean is if clean water (and
soap) from outside their mud puddle is used. The only way we can be cleaned
is when God washes away our sins by His Word and Spirit. Only the blood of
Jesus that can cleanse us from all sins.
For example, God gives us a sacred application of water: Holy Baptism.
'It is not just plain water, but it is the water included in God's command
and combined with God's Word.' 'Baptism works the forgiveness of sins,
rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who
believe, as the words and promises of God declare.' 'He saves us thru this
washing.' Or, in simple words, "Baptism saves you" (1 Peter 3:21).
Baptism is not a manmade tradition. It is God's gift TO us; and FOR
us. Baptism is God's work. He begins in us what He brings to completion in
the day of Christ Jesus, thru Word and Sacrament.
Our spiritual cleanliness does not depend on opinions of humans. It
does not depend on feelings or fervor in worship, for often our hearts and
lives are far from God as Isaiah and Christ warn. When we believe our godly
living can make us or keep us clean before God: it's like the germs that
grow stronger with poor cleaning, spiritual filth is harder to get rid of.
Not only must our filth be removed, the self-righteous filth we use to try
to remove the filth must also be removed.
True spiritual cleanness always depends on God alone. It depends on
Christ on the cross for us. God's cleaning works to cleanse us from our
filthy sin; AND from the self-righteous filth we may pretend that cleans us,
but really just makes us dirtier. And God's spiritual cleanliness is not
just NEXT to godliness, it IS godliness. Christ wanted these people (and He
wants us) to believe and trust in HIS absolute cleaning.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins
and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness." And this IS the Good News
(Gospel)! God can and does forgive all of our sins in Christ. He washes us
and makes us whiter than snow.
He creates in us a clean heart. He renews a right spirit within us. He
restores us in the joy of His salvation. He upholds us with His Spirit. He
defends us from false teaching, enables us to confess Him, and gives us
power to rejoice in His good gifts of life and salvation!
Many that day hated Jesus for saying they were not good enough for God.
They were not obeying His Law, and had turned away from God's salvation.
But Jesus went on to die on the cross for them; and for us. How clean is
clean? In the cross of Christ, we have been declared absolutely clean! May
we always lead faithful lives according to God's Word, by trusting in His
power ALONE to cleanse us! Amen.
Pastor Michael Harman,
St. Peter LCMS - Newell, IA
vacancies at ...
Immanuel, Pomeroy
First Evangelical, Fonda
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