Week 35: Day 3
Controversially, Lauren suggests the Pharisees may have got something right…
The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed...
...So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”
Intro: Welcome back to Orbit, I’m Lauren Windle and I’m going to give you a short reflection to help you put God at the centre of your life today.
Bible: Today's reading comes from Mark chapter 7 and we’re looking at verses 1, 2 and 5.
The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed.
So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”
Thoughts: Now, controversially I am going to flag up something the Pharisees did right here. I know – it’s not often you hear that! But there is nothing wrong with evaluating someone’s ministry. The actual concept of listening and asking questions is fine – even sensible.
But here’s where they got it wrong and where we’re liable to get it wrong in our lives too. Firstly, they already had ideas about Jesus. They had made up their mind he was a wrong’un before they started their evaluation. They turned up looking for ways to pick fault. Second, they didn’t measure Jesus’ teaching against the scriptures, they measured him against their own standards and traditions.
We are great at snap judgements. We see a picture, a tweet, the headline of a news story and we decide we know exactly what’s going on there. We know what that celebrity is about and here they are attention seeking or misleading or whatever they’re doing. Sometimes that really is what they’re doing. But let’s be wiser, let’s be kinder, let’s allow for the possibility that what we’ve heard or assumed isn’t correct and explore more deeply before making our decisions.
When it comes to church or any Christian person preaching, comparing what you hear against the scriptures is vital. Even if you’re listening to someone with a big following who is well respected. It could even be Martin Saunders. The guy who runs Youthscape and Satellites festival and this Orbit reflection you’re listening to now. He’s written books and given talks – we should take his word for it right? Wrong. Listen to what you hear, mull on it, question it and then turn to your Bible to test it. Don’t do what the Pharisees did and test it against what you think is right. Test it against what God says is right.
On the whole, you’ll find the vast majority of preachers are guided by God’s word and wisdom. That does include Martin – who I don’t think spouts heresy or anything. I’m so grateful for the spiritual leaders and theologians who have dedicated their time to studying the Bible so they can help me understand God better. But that doesn’t mean I’ve out-sourced my understanding of God to them. We all still need to take responsibility for our spiritual lives and learning and do that by turning to the Bible and testing what we hear against his word for ourselves.
Pray: Jesus, help me to look to you as my source of wisdom. Help me not to rely on the opinions and teaching of other people for my understanding of who you are, but guide me to the scriptures where I can check things for myself. Help me not to assume I know what someone is saying or how credible they are but teach me to listen and evaluate it against your word. Amen
Silence: There's now just a few moments of silence for you to pray, reflect on these ideas, or simply sit and be still.
Action: As you know on Orbit there’s a little challenge to help you put this passage into action in your life. Here's today's:
Next time you’re listening to a talk or a sermon or even listening to one of these reflection. Pick out a topic or a Bible verse they reference and look it up for yourself. If it’s a topic you may want to Google “What does Jesus/the Bible say about XXX?” to get some relevant verses. Then read the Bible for yourself to see if you agree with what that preacher is saying. You can also read incredible commentaries – I like enduring word to give you more context and help you understand the verse.
Outro: That's all for Orbit today. Check back in tomorrow and we’ll be back with another reflection.