“And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?"
Let me begin by stating clearly that this article is not a condemnation of the church as it exists today. After all there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ. However it is my fear that many confuse convection with condemnation. God convicts us of sin while he never condemns us. Convection at times can feel a lot like condemnation. However with condemnation there is no recourse with convection there is always an open door for both change and forgiveness. Let's proceed further not out of condemnation but convection.
By this time most of us have seen Fiddler On The Roof, and will remember how Tevye, the leading character, opens with the song, Tradition! The whole Jewish community was built upon and governed by the long-standing, unbreakable traditions of the past. The unspoken thesis of that play and movie is the way these traditions were being challenged by the unrest and uprootings of the day, and that to have tradition violated causes grief and hardship to many. This is suggestive of the scene we will view today in Mark's Gospel, as Mark brings before us the stark contrast between the ministry of Jesus, who is reaching out in healing love to men and women all over the region, and the hindering work of the scribes and the Pharisees, who attempt, armed with tradition, to halt that ministry of love.
By this time most of us have seen Fiddler On The Roof, and will remember how Tevye, the leading character, opens with the song, Tradition! The whole Jewish community was built upon and governed by the long-standing, unbreakable traditions of the past. The unspoken thesis of that play and movie is the way these traditions were being challenged by the unrest and uprootings of the day, and that to have tradition violated causes grief and hardship to many. This is suggestive of the scene we will view today in Mark's Gospel, as Mark brings before us the stark contrast between the ministry of Jesus, who is reaching out in healing love to men and women all over the region, and the hindering work of the scribes and the Pharisees, who attempt, armed with tradition, to halt that ministry of love.
Thomas Dickson, one of the great preachers of the last century, once said, "Tradition was the most constant, the most persistent, the most dogged, the most utterly devilish opposition the Master encountered. It openly attacked him on every hand, and silently repulsed his teaching.
