St. Paul's On-The-Hill Episcopal Church

The Rev. Stephen C. Holton, Rector

13 Pentecost; August 30, 2009

Song of Solomon 2:8-13

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

WHERE'S YOUR HEART?

Where is your heart? The question is not – is your heart any good? But – where is it?

Not – do you think much of it? But – where is it?

Not – will it make much difference in the world? But – where is it?

Not – will it help anyone besides yourself? Not – will it help even you? But – where is it?

Where is it?

Jesus wants it.

He is not interested in words, however fancy. He is not interested in thoughts, however doctrinal.

He says: “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.”

He is interested in hearts – however small, however puny, however mistaken or undoctrinal.

This is what he deals with in his gathering when the Pharisees and Scribes come up from Jerusalem and start to criticize Jesus' other followers who are eating with unwashed hands. They criticize the newcomers because they are not following the traditions. They are not eating out of certain bowls and not out of others. They are not washing their hands in the right way. They are unclean. They are not following what religion has said are God's laws.

Jesus says – who cares? They're here, aren't they? They've offered their hearts. They've come forward, even if its difficult. They've abandoned their old customs, their old lives to follow Him.

Who cares if they're not doing every last, little, liturgically correct thing? Who cares if they're not believing every last, little, doctrinally correct thing? They're here aren't they? They're following Jesus; learning from Him; trying with Him to change the larger, more important things in the world.

Let them in, He says. They are welcome, He says. And by the way – He says to the old-timers, the Pharisees and Scribes – you are welcome too even when you have not obeyed all the liturgical laws or doctrinal laws; when you haven't met your own standards or the standards of others. You're welcome too.

Much has been made this past week of the life and work of Edward Kennedy. He was one who was morally suspect – shall we say – for many years. Yet he never doubted his ability to do good for the larger world, in any case, and he did.

More importantly, he never doubted his ability to change, and he did.

More importantly still, he never doubted the ability of others, however doctrinally or politically different from him, to reach across the aisle and come together for the common good. So he reached out to them and so they reached out to him, and we are all better for it.

So never doubt your ability to come into the presence of goodness, the presence of God, and be good like God, no matter your past or your beliefs. Do not doubt the ability of others to do the same.

You're welcome too. They're welcome too.

“Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.”

Forget about the laws of uncleanness, He says. Forget about the traditions you came from and whether they make you worthy or unworthy, valuable or not valuable. You are valuable. God made it so. Together, with this fellowship of people from every background and every estimation of worthiness and value, we can do a lot for the this world.

Come. Be welcome. Welcome others.

There is a person in the Bible who never doubts her worthiness, and who never doubts the goodness of God. She throws herself into this new thing God has done for her, this new thing that has come into her life. The Bible includes her even though she is so doctrinally incorrect that she does not speak of God at all!

Her heart is so full that she does not appear to have time for religious observance and all the proper prayers.

She is the speaker in the Song of Solomon. Her story is one long story of this wonderful man who has come into her life. And then later we get to hear him talk about her. They don't talk about religion. They don't talk about liturgy or doctrine. They just want to talk about each other. They throw their hearts into it; and if their words were to have a title and if they were to be a prayer, it would be just this: “Thank you Lord!” “He's so wonderful!” “She's so wonderful!” And that's about it, and they go on about it for pages.

Who knows what they get up to in the future but we can assume its good. The Bible thinks so, for it includes this whole story that is not about God so much as God's blessing – and their whole-hearted embrace of it.

So don't hold back when you are blessed. Don't take time to think out the doctrinal proprieties or the liturgical observances. Just be thankful. And when someone else is blessed in some way, don't take time out to consider whether they deserve it. Encourage them to be thankful, and welcome them to the Table of Thanksgiving, the Great Thanksgiving as we call the heart of the Eucharistic Prayer in the Prayer Book. God has blessed all – sometimes through religion, sometimes not through religion. All should be thankful.

My dad is not particularly religious, but my mom once told me that he doesn't close the door on religion entirely, because he wants someone to be thankful to.

My grandmother, like so many religious people, said grace every night before dinner. She called it: “returning thanks.” We return thanks to God for what he has first given us and how he has first received and welcomed us.

Perhaps Thanksgiving is the essence of religion.

Jesus receives our thanks. Jesus receives us. Jesus receives our gift – even if we think its either good or bad, small or large, worthy or unworthy; even if someone else thinks its good or bad, small or large, worthy or unworthy.

The point is – do we offer it? Do we screw up our courage and offer our small, widow's mite; even though all around everyone is nudging each other and saying – 'look at that gift, that person. It's not much. He's not much. She's not worthy;' or like that prostitute who washed Jesus' feet with her hair, when no one else would, however righteous and religious they were. She actually gave her gift, and Jesus received it, and her, with Thanksgiving.

Where is your heart? Is it in His hands?

Once it's there, once its offered to Him, He can do so much with it, for others. He can use it to bless others, change others, rejoice their hearts, heal their souls.

Where's your heart?

'It's not much,' we say! 'It can't do much good, can't help many people. Others doubt its usefulness.'

Yes. But where is it, we ask. Go ahead and offer it. Put it on the altar. Put it in His hands. You have no idea how much good He can do with it, once He has blessed it, and used it for someone else's need.

It will bless others. You will bless others. Just give it for His blessing. He needs it for the rest of the world.