About this Blog

I don't know what happened to this blog. The format has changed and there is added content of what I did not originally put in my posts, making them difficult to read. I am saddened, but hang on to other, new things in my life which are not recorded here. Please be aware that since I am a licensed preacher for the Episcopal Church since 2014, all sermons written from that year on are the property of the Episcopl Church. However, I am not ordained in the church. I am not a deacon, priest, or vicar. I am simply a licensed preacher for the congregation of St. Martin's in Moses Lake, WA. I would welcome feedback on my sermons because I would like to make them better in any way I can. Thank you for your readership and please pass on the address of this blog to your friends.

What is Defilement?

14PentecostProper17B, August 29, 2021, St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, by Annette Fricke What is defilement? The heading to this gospel passage in my “Synopsis of the Four Gospels is “Defilement---Traditional and Real.” This gospel text is another one of those confrontations Jesus has with the Pharisees. The Pharisees hold both written and oral tradition equally. This title is used to describe Jesus’ allowing his disciples to disregard the oral tradition of the ceremonial washing of hands before eating. A part of that gospel taken out of this reading, is where Jesus points out that “the tradition of the elders… is nothing more than ‘human tradition’ that seeks to evade the commandment of God.” The Pharisees saw it as disregarding the law, and therefore, sinful. Jesus disputed the whole matter of ritual purity and food laws. Now before we cheer on Jesus, the intent of the Pharisee teaching is to “mark a respect for every aspect of God’s created order.” So basically what Jesus is saying is that we can respect every aspect of God’s created order without that ritual. In August of 2012, I attended the funeral of my mother’s best friend from her childhood. As it turns out, she was a great friend of many others. The pastor went to visit her often and was strongly reprimanded if he did not bring her, each visit, the names of the congregation prayer list. If other people in the congregation did not know she prayed for them, they did now. The little church of both her childhood and mine was as full as any Christmas pageant I had ever seen there. I remember my mother telling me that her friend’s husband was an alcoholic. That was difficult for her. Defilement is descriptive of how people saw alcoholism, at least for that time and congregation, and was a shameful and shaming word. However, alcoholism was apropos to our family, although my mother never admitted it. I am just speculating here, but I think it was because it was considered sinful to be alcoholic. It wasn’t just her side of the family; it was Dad’s as well. For many years, alcoholism was considered to be a moral failure, and the only treatment in that day, was to attend AA meetings. Related to that, the new requirement for mental health counselors, begun at least as early as 2007, was to 1. Take classes in substance use disorders, 2. Pass the state test and, 3. Complete several hours under a substance use disorder professional. There was a time when only substance users themselves were qualified to be substance use counselors because it was believed that they knew what the struggle was and were therefore more appropriate counselors to address addiction. Sometimes defilement means denial; denial that defilement exists and denial that substance use is a problem in our society. How do we address problems in society if we deny their existence, have no education, and no resources? Now that we have access to these things, let’s continue to address substance use in our community. It is more than just making treatment available. To do justice in the world, we are called to be aware of the issues of jail time vs. treatment and help decide on a humanitarian, gospel-informed approach. Today, society is asked to address another very real problem. We are still in the process of addressing a global pandemic. It is once again mandated in certain situations to avoid the spread of the active virus in our midst, that we wear a mask and wash our hands on a regular basis. It is practical and it does help slow down transmission of the virus from one person to another. It is not a ritual cleansing, although, it is hoped that washing hands ‘religiously’ will become a habit and a way of taking care of those around us as well as ourselves. Washing hands has been the practice of healthcare workers for many years, especially since the discovery of the presence and role of disease-causing bacteria and viruses. It is not just for surgeons. Keep in mind the spirit of these guidelines and the intent, which is to stop the virus from infecting and killing us. We are all vulnerable. What is defilement? to make foul, dirty, or unclean; pollute; taint; debase. -to violate the chastity of. -to make impure for ceremonial use; desecrate. -to sully, as a person's reputation. Jesus was all about life and preserving life, that we might have life more abundantly. Jesus does not think that pure and impure are moral terms to be applied to life or thought to be sin. According to Jesus, “…sin is a matter of the heart, the will, rather than violating laws of purity. Sin involves principally acts harmful to the neighbor. These actions, arising from a corrupt will, are what defile.” ‘Go and sin no more’ is an admonition that means to fuse our wills to what Jesus wants for the world; to promote life, to live life with the love of Jesus in our hearts. It means that we do not live in a perfect world, but we do have the means to make it a better world. The God who forgives the sins of the world empowers us to do so. My references did not post. I used a couple of pages, namely 103. 104, and 106 from Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament, Mark, by Donald H. Juel, @1990 Augsburg Press, Minneapolis.