Isaiah 29:11-19; Ephesians 5:22-33; Mark 7:1-13

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

When it comes to traditions, there are two great errors that many people make. One is that we treat all traditions as suspect and toss them all aside. The other is that we are so beholden to tradition that we refuse to change anything for the sake of it. We must be in-between. We must both understand traditions and cherish them, while also being willing to step beyond a tradition that has outlived its usefulness.

What is a tradition? It really is nothing more than a habit that has been passed down through the generations. Habits are those things that we do repeatedly for the sake of ease or comfort. Certain family vacations can ascend from habit to tradition if it becomes a habit of the next generation. Traditions are important for this reason. It ties the generations together. But with time also must come understanding. We do this not because someone else did, but because it is important to us also.

This is what angers Jesus in our Gospel reading this week. The Pharisees confront Jesus about his disciples not following the traditions of the elders, Jesus tells them they have departed from the entire purpose of the tradition. “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men,” Mark 7:6-7. Traditions without understanding are useless. The Pharisees no longer understood the tradition but followed it for tradition’s sake.

This is what we must understand concerning the Church and her traditions. We cannot without understanding toss aside every tradition because we want something new and modern. We must seek to understand traditions first. If we don’t know, we must seek out someone who does. Yet, on the other hand, even if every person in the church is defending a tradition, there may still be good enough reason to set it aside. If the tradition itself has become the focus instead of what it teaches, then it is no longer useful for us and has supplanted its purpose. It isn’t wrong for us to reexamine our traditions to make sure they still serve the right purpose.

I know that some church traditions appear antiquated and difficult to learn, especially to newcomers. However, there is a great need to hold on to the good traditions. For the church is founded upon one tradition above all others… Jesus! Jesus himself is our tradition. He has been handed down from generation to generation so that all people of all ages may learn Christ and his grace. But what is the purpose of this? It’s to point us back to God tradition-ing, or handing over Jesus to us. God gave us Christ, literally handing him over to sinful men so that Christ may die for our sins. Jesus was handed over to death upon the cross so that we may be given into the hands of God! 

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

Almighty and merciful God, defend Your Church from all false teaching and error that Your faithful people may confess You to be the only true God and rejoice in Your good gifts of life and salvation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!