“The Gospel in Peanuts: “The Whole Trouble”: Original Sin” Devo

July 8th, 2018

“The Gospel in Peanuts: “The Whole Trouble”: Original Sin” - Romans 7:15-25 and Mark 7: 1-8,14-15, 21-23

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Unclean Hands” - Mark 7: 1-5

There is an old saying that goes something to the effect of “cleanliness is next to godliness”, and as can be the case from time to time, some folks think that this saying is scriptural, even though it is not. What Jesus reminds us in today’s scripture lesson is that it isn’t always about being clean, but it is about living in a way that honors God.

Today, we find Jesus in a conversation between his disciples and the religious leaders of the day. The topic before them - cleanliness. In ancient times, religious leaders had two things that they held in balance. The first was the written word of Scripture. In order to be a religious leader, you had to go through years of studying the Scriptures. But they also had the oral tradition. Remember for quite a length of time, the Scripture wasn’t written down like it is today, and certainly folks didn’t have Scripture lying around their homes, like we do today. It was how faith was taught - not by reading but by hearing. 

Something that emerged through holding oral tradition and written Scripture together was a tradition - practical applications of what had been taught. We see a great example of this in today’s scripture lesson  - as the religious leaders were talking about throughly washing hands before eating, washing food items from the market before you eat them, and washing the things you eat from and with. Hence the topic before the disciples. 

Why do you think the religious leaders were so concerned with hand washing?

How do we learn scripture today - by hearing or by reading? 

Prayer: God of the Word, we thank you for the gift of what has been handed down to us about the faith. We thank you for the Saints who have taught us about your Word before we could even read it for ourselves. We thank you for your People who lived into your word and guided us in the faith. May we soak up your Word this day so we can continue to share it with others. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Rules” - Mark 8: 6-8

Jesus’s problem today is not with tradition itself. The problem emerges when we forget a.) where our traditions come from and b.) try to make traditions as important as scripture. In the words of Jesus “you abandon the commandments of God and hold to human tradition.” Ouch. 

Often the religious leaders get a bad rap for forming traditions, but let’s be honest, as the Church we created traditions as well. Traditions often are reflections of what we value as congregations. The problem emerges when we make tradition the guiding rule for who we are and how we act. 

Jesus wants the religious leaders to think through why they have so many traditions around washing and cleanliness. But he also wants to point out a much deeper heart issue in their life - they have made the tradition as important as the Scripture. They focused so much on the rules around how to do something, they had forgotten the why.

How can we balance tradition and scripture in our lives?

What makes tradition become rules in our faith?

Prayer:  Precious Lord, sometimes we miss the point of “why”. We forget why we do what we do, and sometimes even forget how what we do informs who we are. Forgive us, Lord. Let us freely examine again our traditions and lives, we pray. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Contaminate” - Mark 7: 14-15 

Let’s be honest, most traditions grow out of good intentions. It’s a human expression of an important value. But we cannot let our human traditions become more important to us then God. Sometimes our social customs become barriers to God’s intentions and then we have a real problem. In the Church world I call this the issue of “we’ve always done it that way.” Powerful words that we sometimes use as a barrier when God is calling us to do something new or we don’t particularly want to live into the Word of God. It becomes a lot easier to fall back on tradition then to ask the hard questions about why we have the tradition in the first place and if our tradition still honors God the best way we know how. 

  Jesus is taking this idea of clean and unclean and uses to it to teach those around him that it isn’t what’s outside that can make us unclean so much as what is inside - our heart and our intentions. He is essentially asking is your heart more focused on keeping the status quo or honoring God, because sometimes you can’t do both. 

What is Jesus trying to teach people about their hearts and lives?

How does Jesus’s message reflect in our modern times?

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for your powerful words this day. Words that invite us to repent. Words that invite us to change our ways. Forgive us for the times that we have made it more about whats on the outside then what is on the inside. Renew us, we pray. Amen. 

Thursday: “Inside and Out” - Mark 7: 21-23

Are we more focused on not changing and keeping our traditions or honoring God? In other words are we more focused on whats on the inside or on the outside? Sometimes there are wonderful moments when we can do both, but sometimes God is calling us to set our traditions aside in order to live into the mission of the Kingdom of God in our current context. Is the intention of our heart to truly follow God wherever God is leading? Or are we so caught up in the way that we do things, that we are missing the very presence of God?

  Hear me out - traditions can be good things. But when we pour more time and energy into keeping our traditions then spreading the Word of God we are missing the point. When more of our resources go into maintaining the way we like things then listening to to the voice of God, we miss the point. When it is more about the way we’ve always done things then honoring God, right here and now, we are missing the point. Let us be known, above, all as people who honor God.

How do you honor God each day?

Prayer: Lord, mold us into a people who seek to honor you. A people who seek not just to look good on the others, but a people who have clean hearts on the inside. Break open our hard hearts and outer shells so the light of your grace can flood into our souls. Amen. 

Friday: “Sin” - Romans 7: 15-25

The Apostle Paul, even after his powerful conversion experience on the road to Damascus still recognizes the sin in his life. He describes it as not doing what he ought do, and doing what he ought not do. But he also sees sin in looking for freedom in the wrong places. 

How often do we, too, look for anyone and anything other than Christ to be our salvation? It leaves us miserable. Instead, Paul invites us to see the sin in our own lives and then to hand it over to our one and only Savior, Jesus Christ. The only one who can break the chains of sin and death. 

How do you describe sin?

How has Jesus rescued you from sin?

Prayer: God, we thank you that through your death and resurrection you have made a way for us. We thank you for your powerful love the made such a way, even before we knew you. Let us accept the gift of your grace and share that gift with others, we pray. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “The Gospel in Peanuts: The Wage of Sin” - Romans 6:23, Deut 4: 23-24, and Psalm 118: 8-9

Family Activity: Talk about what Jesus offered us through his death on the cross. Parents, why is Jesus important to you? How can you share the love of Jesus with your family?