Eating Bread with Unwashed Hands

Reading Mark 7 today. The Pharisees didn't like the disciples of Jesus too much, did they? In fact, they cornered Jesus in this portion of text to directly accuse the disciples of Jesus of not keeping the traditions of the elders , one of which was to eat BREAD with washen hands. (ritual hand washing). Apparently this was not a practice that the followers of Jesus Christ valued or saw any spiritual value in at all.

It was a clever tactic, only the end result was that it backfired and became a mirror into their own spiritual condition. Christ turned it around instead and used this to expose their own hearts. He took this opportunity to show them who it was that was truly falling short in terms of what God truly is after (in us all). He laid it all out bare and used this opportunity to expose to THEM their useless rituals and traditions, which they performed, as complete failure in terms of God's love and true desire for mankind. How indignant they most likely were at the thought of all that they had placed their hope in, for ages,... to be told that it was actually against Christ ?! and not helpful at all !?

In their religious mindset they understood and perceived that the way to impress God and be in God's favor was to be religious in their endeavors to perform a certain way, pray a certain way, read scripture a certain way, have church a certain way and a certain day. The Pharisees felt they had the direct approval and complete favor of God for their efforts;  they were very meticulous, in fact they were handed down through the generations by scribes such as Nehemiah. Their intent at the time of Nehemiah was good - to not go into captivity again - i e in our time that would be to not fall into sin.    (One example of the failure of this logic, is  that the divorce rate among the church is as high - I have heard higher - than the 'world' .  Clearly this logic that one will not fall into sin by following rituals, man's commandments, traditions, or being of a  denominational mindset is not working)   

Eventually traditions and rituals are  elevated and worshiped above Christ the Lord.  They become extreme in their devotion or should I say bondage, as it becomes the burden of all their efforts. This brings total distortion of the Truth. Not just a portion. And we know that the Truth is a person - they totally missed Jesus. They missed Him standing there in front of them due to their distortion.    They are vehement in their pursuit of self righteousness ... and their attack against TRUE Jesus lovers and followers is a broken trail behind them. In the sad end, they become the exact opposite of what they profess, or should I say of WHO they profess to know.

How does this apply in the here and now? Do we subonsciously bring into our own relationship with Christ this idea of needing to "wash" our hands before we are free to eat the BREAD that comes down from above? I think we do.  Think about it.  Christ is the Bread of Life and we truly want to make ourselves bare before Him, bare and more bare, in the sense that we rely no longer on traditions and various rituals as any form of Gods favor. Bare in the sense that we acknowledge their is no value in them.  That they might even be dangerous to spiritual growth with Christ.  They are very prevalent in Christianity still from what I have seen.  There is no way we can earn God's love and favor.  WE are truly sad if we think that we can, but even sadder if we turn around and teach others to do the same (as the pharisees did)  "If any man have ears to hear - Jesus said - let them hear."

There are many accusations spewed out against us who are outside the traditional institutional type thinking and environment. That would seek to disqualify us as legitimate in terms of our faith (that is bare) and in terms of our love and commitment to Christ and mankind.  WE are no longer a part of the church they would say because we "eat our bread with UNWASHEN hands." However, it is beside those disciples that we stand,  who also were railed against.  The great Son Jesus has spoken long ago and is still saying that same thing.   He   values highly not religious endeavors  (no value) but only those whose hearts would remain steadfast in love, devotion and committment to Him, .. even when it means living quietly and even solitarily in the midst of all this noise. Even when it means that the pharisees would gather together to make their accusation with all it's vehemence known.  It's all out there. The landscape of Christianity is filled with voices, so so many. They all blend into one voice at times -  often decrying that they alone know God perfectly and are sent to make it known to us.  

We have to listen so very closely now.  So many voices out there.  They will not always use scripture, but  often  they will use scripture cleverly, and know scripture so perfectly,  yet clearly lack God's Spirit, lacking love, compassion, true mercy.  Lack the ability to endeavor with the Spirit's love, help and guidance the simple ability to  show the way CLEARLY to Christ.  They will instead show the way "unto their religious beliefs etc."  Their knowledge of scripture and doctrines becomes (as it did in the case of the Pharisees of old and of now,) a repeated scenario of scripture quoting doctrine police who see themselves as God-sent,  to correct, rebuke the masses.  They become a massive hindrance and stumbling block.

There is so much to say but it struck my heart this morning reading this, of that direct accusation against the disciples.  That they were eating Bread (Jesus) without Washing Hands (keeping their forms, self imposed rituals and traditions). Let's rejoice together in Christ the Lord  that He has freed us from these things so that we can eat Bread with unwashen hands.