Worship Service – August 8, 2021

Isaiah 29:13-16

(13) The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.

(14) Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.”

(15) Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord , who do their work in darkness and think, “Who sees us? Who will know?”

(16) You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, “He did not make me”? Can the pot say of the potter, “He knows nothing”?

Matthew 15:1-20

Clean and Unclean

(1) Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, (2)”Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”

(3)Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? (4) For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ (5) But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’ (6) he is not to ‘honor his father ‘ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. (7) You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

(8)” ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

(9) They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ “

(10) Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. (11) What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’ “

(12) Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”

(13) He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. (14) Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

(15) Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”

(16) “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. (17) “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? (18) But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ (19) For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. (20) These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

(25) Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. (26) “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, (27) and do not give the devil a foothold. (28) He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.

(29) Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (30) And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (31) Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. (32) Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

(5:1) Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children (5:2) and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Message;

“Listen and understand.”

” Listen and understand.”

Growing up in a home full of boys, I can almost here my parents saying those words. Sometimes they didn’t seem so loving and sometimes they were spoken to teach us, or to keep us from danger, or from making a serious mistake. But they were almost always commanded, to help us understand we’re on a dangerous path and I need to change.

Jesus spoke those words to the crowd in our Gospel reading today, for those same reasons. In our Old Testament reading today you could replace what Isaiah wrote when he states,”The Lord says:” to “Listen and Understand”.

Likewise, Paul in his letter to the Ephesians we could replace the word,”Therefore” to “Listen and Understand”.

It’s my prayer today that each of you will mark these passages in your bibles and read them again in the days to come.

 ” Listen and understand.”

Isaiah reminds us, there are the people who think they have an in with God, which is a temptation to judge others but not themselves. They sing the right tune but their hearts, their understanding is misguided by their own desires.

Isaiah uses the word “heart” and it stands for the capacity to think and make decisions. They listened to what the prophets taught them but they failed to understand.

They were much like the Drug Enforcement officer who stoped at a ranch in Texas and talks with an old rancher. He tells the rancher, “I need to inspect your ranch for illegally grown drugs.” The rancher says, ”Okay, but do not go in that field over there,” as he points out the location.

The DEA officer verbally explodes saying, “Listen Mister”, I have the authority of the Federal Government with me.” Reaching into his rear pants pocket, he removes his badge and proudly displays it to the rancher. “See this badge? This badge means I am allowed to go wherever I wish…. on any land. No questions asked or answers given. Have I made myself clear? Do you understand? “The rancher nods politely, apologizes, and goes about his chores.

A short time later, the old rancher hears loud screams and sees the DEA officer running for his life being chased by the rancher’s big bull. With every step the bull is gaining ground on the officer, and it starts looking like he might get gored before he reaches safety. The officer is clearly terrified.

The rancher throws down his tools, runs to the fence and yells at the top of his lungs, “Your badge, officer! Show him your BADGE!”

Isaiah’s prophecy goes on to remind us that calamity and controversy often must come first, unless, of course, the people take some notice of the value of the wonders God provides. They “Listen” but their “understanding”, their “hearts” are not on God. Isaiah has little hope of that, but it is never over until it is over.

Like the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, in our gospel reading,who approached Jesus and the disciples. Jesus told them that they, ”nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:”These people honor me with their “lips”, but their “hearts” are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.”(Matt.15:7-9).

In verse 15:10, Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand.” In verses 15:15 and 16, Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”

Jesus asked them,”Are you still so dull?” In other words He was beside himself. I’m almost certain he must have been thinking, didn’t I just tell the crowd to “Listen and understand.” Weren’t you listening?

They were much like the guy who wife, was suffering from depression. So he took her to a psychiatrist. The doctor listened to the couple talk about their relationships, and then said, “The treatment I prescribe is really quite simple.” With that he went over to the man’s wife, gathered her up in his arms, and gave her a big kiss. He then stepped back and looked at the woman’s glowing face and broad smile. Turning to the woman’s husband, he said, “See! That’s all she needs to put new life back into her.” Expressionless, the husband said, “OK Doc, I can bring her in on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

Obviously, the husband listened but didn’t understand what the psychiatrist was teaching him.

In the same way as Jesus’s critique of the Pharisees’ expectation that his disciples follow the oral tradition is not a direct criticism of that set of traditions. Instead, Jesus criticizes adherence to these traditions when adherence results in the breaking of the law itself! He claims that these Pharisees are breaking the command to honor parents by devoting to God resources that could and should provide for parents (15:3–6). Then Jesus cites Isaiah 29:13-16, tying the hypocrisy of torah disobedience in the name of adherence to traditions to this same kind of hypocrisy that Isaiah saw in his day. Isaiah’s prophecy of empty worship drawn from human rules. This fits Jesus’s complaint against these Jewish teachers as well. He tells them that ritual cleansing before meals is unnecessary and misses the true source of impurity (15:10–11).

Jesus in 15:16–20, clarifies that it is the “heart” of a person (rather than hands) that ultimately produces what is unclean, for from the heart come intentions that result in disobedient actions. We’re given a list in (15:19). Jesus is not invalidating the Jewish purity system; rather, he is providing an alternate interpretation of purity issues over against the tradition of the elders. That’s why Jesus told His disciples to,”Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”(Matt.15:14).

Paul in his teaching to the Ephesians, in 5:1 tells them to “Listen and understand” “be imitators of God,” as, ”dearly loved children”, and gives them sound teachings in 4:25-31. He tells them, and us, to have “hearts” that “Listen and understand”.

To often we don’t realize what we as, ”dearly loved children”, have.

Jesus taught,(Matt. 15:17,18) “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.” Paul in his teaching begins with,(4:25) “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor,”.

As I was thinking about that I remembered a story of a guy who was driving around the back woods of Montana and he sees a sign in front of a broken down shanty-style house stating :”Talking Dog For Sale”. So he goes to the front door, rings the bell, and the owner appears and tells him the dog is in the backyard. The guy goes into the backyard and sees a nice looking Labrador retriever sitting there.
”You talk?” he asks.
”Yep,” the Lab replies.
After the guy recovers from the shock of hearing a dog talk, he says “So, what’s your story?”
The Lab looks up and says, “Well, I discovered that I could talk when I was pretty young. I wanted to help the government, so I told the CIA. In no time at all they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, because no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping. I was one of their most valuable spies for eight years running. But the jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn’t getting any younger so I decided to settle down. I signed up for a job at the airport to do some undercover security, wandering near suspicious characters and listening in. I uncovered some incredible dealings and was awarded a batch of medals.”
”After that I got married, had a mess of puppies, and now I’m just retired.”
The guy is amazed. He goes back in and asks the owner what he wants for the dog.
”Ten dollars,” the guy says.
”Ten dollars? This dog is amazing! Why on earth are you selling him so cheap?”
”Because he’s a liar. He’s never even been out of the yard.”

Sometimes people change their minds, their “hearts”, ”put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor,” and come to new insight because they see the force of some other way of looking at things. Then maybe one day God will use them to bring others to do His will. Because one day God will hold them accountable.

Do you think it was hard for the first generations of disciples to explain Jesus’ death on the cross? It was almost as difficult to explain Jesus’ life. Whenever he spoke publicly it was with authority and with profound scriptural insight.

Jesus abandoned teaching in the synagogue, and instead chose to preach and teach in the fields, by the sea, on remote mountaintop, and from the humble homes of his disciples.

Jesus’ lifestyle just didn’t mesh with the cultural expectations befitting a revered rabbi. The brightest and most promising students didn’t seek him out to learn at his feet. Jesus traveled about the countryside, choosing those who became his “disciples,” his inner circle, from what looked to be random encounters with the most average of working guys.

We each have been given, if we choose, a “heart” that is able to,”Listen and Understand”, and have the power to use words and language that provide a means of grace to those who hear them. We have the ability to inspire others.

Do you give others the opportunity to be as Paul puts it, ”a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God”. We need only to, ”Listen and Understand”.

Be imitators of God, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us!

Jesus taught us to, “Listen and understand. What goes into a man’s mouth (his “heart”) does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, (the way we live) that is what makes him ‘unclean.’

Listen and Understand!

In His Service, Pastor Joe.

Listen To Audio: Sermon 20210808

Prayer of Confession:    Dear God, Please help us to have more self-control.  Train us Lord, like an athlete to be strong and determined.  Feed us with your truth in the scriptures to make us healthy.  May we exercise muscles of forgiveness, patience and peacemaking.  Lord, increase our stamina to give out to those in need.  And may we be freed from past hurts and confusions so that we can run free.  Amen.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

Pastor Joe will be available at the church on Thursday afternoon from 2 to 4. If you need to speak to him, contact Pastor Joe at570-267-4570 (cell) or Email: joe.s.travis@gmail.com

Loose change (coins & bills), goes to General Fund

Sunday School starts at 8:30 A.M.

Ladies meeting Thursday August 12th at 11 A.M. We will be cleaning the community building on August 12th from 10-11 before our PW meeting. Please plan on helping out if you can.

All Ladies are invited to celebrate Paul and Emily’s upcoming wedding with a bridal shower for Emily on Saturday, August 14, from 1-3. Please let Bonne know if you plan on attending.

Men’s Breakfast Wednesday August 18 at 8:00 A.M.

Session meets Tuesday, August 24, at 9A.M. in the community building.

Newsletter Deadline – Tuesday August 31, 2021.

Choir practice will begin Thursday, Sept. 2nd at 1:00 P.M.     Please come and join us in singing praises to Jesus!

Please sign up to host one of the social hours on the Sunday after Communion Service on the first Sunday of the month. Hosting only means setting out what is brought and cleaning up afterward. It does not mean bringing everything to share.

EMAIL address for the church has been changed to:   fhpc400@att.net