pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: tradition


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#1 Tradition

Reading: Matthew 15: 10-28

Verse 18: The things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean’.

Every year for Christmas my family gathers after church on Christmas Eve and we open one present.  The present is always the same: new pajamas.  For Thanksgiving every year we always have green bean casserole and chocolate chess pie.  It feels like we have been doing these things forever.

Our churches also have traditions.  Most churches do.  In today’s passage, Jesus is addressing one of these traditions.  It began like many of our church traditions did and has become almost law by this point.  One day long ago someone started something and soon enough it became tradition.  For the Pharisees that Jesus is addressing, these traditions were very important.  Many of their traditions or laws were based on generations of interpretations of the Bible.  Much of it therefore had come not necessarily straight from God but from man’s interpretation of the Word.  A good, modern day example would be baptism.  In the Bible we do have some examples of baptisms and some understandings of what it means and why one is baptized.  But there is no place in the Bible where it defines exactly how and when a baptism should occur.  Yet this topic causes division and differences and barriers between us.  The same can be said of communion.  I think this makes Jesus sad.

In today’s passage Jesus is dealing with a rule that creates a barrier.  Many of the religious traditions or laws created barriers to people because they kept people away from God.  Ritualistic and detailed handwashing became the rule for the Pharisees.  Eat without perfectly pristine hands and you know what happens…  But Jesus says to the Pharisees, “The things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean'”.  He is saying that what is in a person’s heart is what makes them spiritually clean or unclean, not the condition of their hands.  If evil resides in our hearts, then we are unclean spiritually.  If good resides, then we are clean.  To Jesus, a person’s heart is what mattered.

Jesus’ most important question is: “Do you love me”?  For Jesus love was always the guide and the first consideration.  That’s why He ate with unclean sinners and why he healed on the Sabbath.  Love triumphed.  Faith is not about the tradition or the laws or the unwritten rules.  It is about letting love lead and serving and ministering to others in love.

What traditions or ‘rules’ create barriers in our churches?  How do we make love the #1 tradition or the rule?


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Introduce Jesus Today

Our faith is not something we just suddenly had.  We did not just wake up one morning as a Christian.  Inside each human being, created by God, is an inherent knowledge of God and a sense of His presence in us and in the created world.  But all the stories of Noah, Moses, David, Jesus – they had to be taught to us.  We had to learn how to sing and pray and study God’s word.

For many of us we learned these things from our families.  Some aspects of faith we learned from our personal families.  We saw Mom up early every morning reading her Bible and praying.  We said grace before every meal, whether at home or out at a restaurant.  Other aspects of our faith we learned from our church families.  We heard the stories in Sunday school, we went to church camp or VBS (Vacation Bible School), we were in worship.  Both families are so important in the development and growth of our faith.

But what about all the people who did not grow up in a family that practiced the faith?  How do they come to know God?  Do they even have a chance?

Of course they do.  They have us!  Just as both of our families have poured into us, so too we can pour into others.  Paul writes of being adopted into the family of God and becoming heirs with Christ.  There is no birth right.  All are invited.  Just as much as we want our own children to grow up to have a personal relationship with Christ, we should want this just as much for the stranger we meet.  Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.  He is the only way to God the father and eternal life.  Today, share your story of faith.  Introduce Jesus to someone He does not know yet!

Scripture reference: Romans 8: 14-17


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As for me and my house…

A part of each denomination, each church, and each family are its traditioons.  Traditions can take two forms.  One form is found in the way a denomination baptizes, for example, or in how the Youth group always leads the Easter sunrise service in a partiular church.  Tradition can also be personal – the things your family or small group does every year, like serving the Thanksgiving meal at the local mission.

In many churches and families we face the question of which traidtions to keep and which ones need renewing or updating.  Some traditions we do not even consider changing and that is good.  However, other traditions we wonder about.  Some traditions, particularly in individual churches, are so old that no one can remember why it is done that way.  Finally someone questions that and suggests another way and change occurs.  But it is a delicate balance.  Change must be made with care.

Sometimes we establish a tradition and after a period come to see that it is not such a good practice.  Like Joshua reminding the Israelites not to return to the practice of worshipping idols like they had in Egypt and Babylon, we too must check what we are doing once in a while.  All that we choose to do must be fittered through the lens of how do we best serve God.  In Joshua 24:15, Joshua declares, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”  He challenges the people of Israel to make the same choice.  He challenges us too.

As we look at the traditions of our denominations, our churches, and our families, we must ask if these traditions are serving God.  If that is their purpose, then they must continue.  If not, we must seek to renew them so that they are things that help us to serve God.  Ultimtely, all we do in the church must support the choice that Joshua encourages us to make.  May you and your household serve the Lord!

Scripture reference: Joshua 24: 14-18


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A Heavenly Gasp

Does your family have any unique practices or traditions – a special dish at the holiday season, a quirky birthday celebration, something you do every Easter…?  Maybe you don’t understand it or even understand where it came from, but you go along because that is what is expected.  Then at some point, someone says something like, “Hey, this year instead…” and you gasp!  Or sometimes the tradition or practice fades because you moved away and one Easter morning you realize you don’t ‘x’ anymore and you feel like something is suddenly missing. As a Christian family we get our traditions and practices from Christ.  He is our firm foundation, our Cornerstone.  We are called to be His “living stones” – to live our lives in a way that brings Christ to the world.  Like our family traditions, we find our identity in Christ. Sadly, like some of our own family traditions, sometimes we don’t always fully understand or even like some of the Christian traditions and practices that we are called to.  Sometimes we fail to live them out.  For example, do we always embrace tolerance and practice respect?  Do we always love our neighbors as ourselves?  Sadly, not always.  At these points the gasp does not come from us. But the good news is that we are precious to Jesus.  Despite our human limitations, He continues to build us into His holy nation, a people called to God.  We belong to Him.  Our journey is simply growing more and more like Jesus every day.  And despite ourselves, we do.  It is through Jesus.  Thank you Lord!!