Seeking the Guidance of God's Spirit
a sermon based on Mark 7:1-23
by Rev. Frank Schaefer

Project this list or have it printed in the bulletin:

      Believer's Guidelines

*Love God With All Your Heart

*Love Your Neighbors

*Keep the Commandments

*Pray Daily

*Study the Scriptures

*Go to Worship Services

*Do Good Deeds

*Treat Others As You Want Others to treat You

*Give Offerings to the Temple/Church

*Resist Temptations

*Hate Sin

*Engage in Spiritual Discipline of Fasting

I'd like for us to take a moment to read the list of guidelines I brought with me today  (read them line by line). What do you think of them? Rules to live by? Would you say that these are good, solid guidelines? Do you think that a person who follows them is a good believer? Well, I certainly think so, and I have a feeling that you agree with me.

Here is the strange part about these guidelines: they were the guidelines the Pharisees followed to the T.  [pause for effect]

It really makes you wonder why Jesus came down so hard on the Pharisees. Apparently they had a pretty good idea of what was important.  So, what, according to Jesus, is wrong with any or all of these guidelines?

Perhaps, in order to answer this question, we need to look at our Scripture passage. Once again, the Pharisees had caught Jesus, or in this case his followers, in an act breaking the "Law"—apparently they didn't wash their hands before eating. And you thought that moms invented that rule? I still hear my mom's voice in my mind whenever it's time to sit down at the dinner table: "did you all wash your hands?"

The Pharisees are quick to accuse Jesus. Once again, the Pharisees think they have something concrete to charge him with. They thought they could "bust" him on violating the Sabbath, for not observing the cleansing rituals, for not requiring his followers to fast, and so on. But, were the disciples and their teacher really guilty of breaking the Mosaic law?

One thing we have to understand is that the cleansing ritual that the Pharisees wanted to enforce in this instance were not really included in the original text of the Mosaic law as found in the OT bible. It was one of many traditions that were elaborations on and additions to the original law of Moses. And the Pharisees apparently were the self-appointed watchdogs over those rules and regulations and traditions. I don't think, Jesus had a problem with hand-washing before dinner. I bet he thought it was a good thing. But once again, he lamented the fact that the religious leaders got upset over something so trivial, rather than getting upset over the really bad things that were going on in the community, such as . . . fornication, theft, murder, adultery, deceit, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.

And that's where the crux of the matter lies. You see, it is much easier to follow some simple ceremonial rules and feel "religious" than to ask God for help and seek God's guidance on a daily basis for the many sins that are still entangling us. I really don't think that Jesus was against the guidelines for believers the Pharisees followed, nor was he against the rituals of cleansing. I'm sure he endorsed them. Remember how he once said, "I did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it." (Mt 5:17)

But . . . . Jesus would certainly have liked to add another guideline to the Pharisaic "Believer's List." In fact, this guideline would probably have been pretty high up on that list. What would this guideline have been? It would have been something like: "In All You Do, Seek the Guidance of God's Spirit." That's what Jesus meant when he promised to send us the Helper, the One who was to lead us into all truth."

You see, Jesus makes it clear again and again that Christianity is not a religion of the book like other religions such as the Islam, for instance. In the holy book of the Muslims--the Koran--you can pretty much get an answer for every question you may have. Whether it concerns raising and disciplining your children, punishment for committed sins, how often and what to pray, how to live in society, in marriage, etc.

Christianity is not a religion of the book. It is a religion of the Spirit. The bible is very important, but it is neither a detailed nor a complete instruction book on how to live our lives. We don't have all the answers spelled out in detail. In fact, sometimes there are various answers. The Bible needs interpretation to answer our questions as to everyday applications and life. And for the task of interpretation we need the Holy Spirit. Being guided by God's Spirit means that we are in a mystical relationship with God himself; that we interpret the bible with the help of God and in the spirit of Jesus.

I like the way the Reformed theologian Karl Barth put it. In his Systematic Theology he speaks of a vertical connection between God and the human person. He describes this connection in terms of a divine revelation. Barth even goes as far as saying that a person could read the bible cover to cover and not find any meaning in it or understand any of the truths. He says, God's word is contained in the Scriptures, but it is veiled from our eyes. What does it take to find God's Word in it? God Godself acts to lift that veil from our eyes. That moment Barth calls "revelation." At that moment when God removes that veil, the Scripture text becomes the Word of God.

So, let us this morning complete our Pharisaic guidelines of believers by adding the line: "Seek the Guidance of God's Spirit." (you may want to pen this line in (or add it electronically in power point, etc.)

Once we add this guideline it changes everything else--especially when it comes to the commandments and the law. Suddenly, it makes sense that we should be more concerned about what comes out of our mouths than what goes into it. It's not so bad if you find yourself in a position where you cannot wash your hands before a meal. But it is certainly bad if angry or hurtful words come out of your mouth that can destroy a relationship or devastate a person. The same is true for lies, or sarcasm, for words spoken out of envy or jealousy. When we start seeking the guidance of God's Spirit, we will soon start interpreting things in the Spirit of Jesus; and it will be a life changing experience for us and everybody around us.

The only problem is that we human beings don't like to be dependent; we'd rather be self-reliant. Yet, Jesus wants us to rely on that vertical relationship, and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in everything we do. In fact, I believe that the reason why Jesus was so upset with the Pharisees was exactly that attitude of self-reliance that almost always seems to lead to a self-righteous attitude. Jesus couldn't stand it. We never find Jesus using a harsher word than when he speaks to the Pharisees in condemnation of their self-righteousness. Let us learn this lesson and let us acknowledge that we need help; let us reach out to God every day and let us daily seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we do all the other things on the Believer's Guideline list. Amen