Friday's SOAP - Matthew 15:1-9

 ¹ Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him, ² “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”

 ³ Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? ⁴ For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother, and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ ⁵ But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ ⁶ In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents.  And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition. ⁷ You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,

 ⁸ ‘These people honor me with their lips,
      but their hearts are far from me.
 ⁹ Their worship is a farce,
      for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’”

S(cripture) - In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents. And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition.

O(bservation) - The greatest threat to Christianity is not from secularism or paganism or post-modernism or atheism (or any ism for that matter). The greatest threat to Christianity is internal - inside the church - when folk turn the movement of following Jesus into a religion.  The fifth commandment was pretty straight forward - give "weight" to your parents (see yesterday).  Religion takes that which is relational and meant to bless and turns it into a rule.  Institutional religion takes that rule and adds paragraphs and sub-paragraphs to it.  (You should see the United Methodist Book of Discipline!)  The Pharisees of Jesus' day institutionalized Judaism and in the process left out the most important part - the heart - the relationship.  The greatest commandment is love God.  The second is like it - love neighbor (assume this includes relatives).  All the law and prophets hang on these two.  If the Kingdom is to be understood, it is about finding greater and greater ways to love, not finding greater and greater ways to circumvent or diminish relationship.  That's why Jesus could say, "Greater love has no one than he lay down his life for his friends."  Jesus taught us ultimate love and had so had little patience for those who would seek to minimalize love by creating laws to nullify love..

John Wesley, the founder of methodism, wrote this about us Methodists - a prophecy of sorts . . .

“I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.”

A(pplication) - It's natural to want religion over relationship. We can create all kinds of black and white rules, form all kinds of lists with which to check the boxes, take dealing with people or dealing with God out of the equation. We must always be on guard. The distinctions between religion and relationship are almost imperceptible when viewed externally - both have prayer and fasting, and reading of sacred texts and giving of alms to the poor . . . But internally, internally it is the difference between night and day, darkness and light, drudgery and joy, slavery and freedom. It does not take much for our Adversary to nudge our externals - meant to grow relationship with God and neighbor - into the realm of religion. Be on guard! Do you have a religion or a Relationship right now? Don't gloss over this most critical question. Stop everything. Ask yourself. Ask God. Religion has no place in the Kingdom of Heaven.

P(rayer) - Abba, All I want is the power of your love. No religion - only relationship with You - that fuels relationship with others. Help me to accept no cheap substitute, no cheap grace, no cheap religion. Amazing love. In love there is no duplicity - only simplicity. Thank you Jesus, for greater love. Amen.