Why I Do the Dishes.
“And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.”
In today’s gospel, Jesus addresses three different audiences: a group of Pharisees and scribes. The crowd that is perpetually present who I have come to think of as his groupies. They don’t actually seem to say a lot but they are always there. And finally, the disciples who, true to form in Mark’s Gospel, just don’t get it. Ah, now here is a group of people that I can strongly identify with. How many times has the lightbulb dimly flickered months, if not years later?
The message is delivered differently to each of these groups, but the gist of the message is the same for all of them. The same message is said slightly differently three times, so that by the end of the third telling we might just realise that this message is personally for each and every one of us.
And the message is this. Our very selves are defiled, made unholy, not by what we take in, the outside things, but by the corrosion of the human heart. Jesus’ three different versions of this message build on one another, thus enabling a fuller understanding of what is at stake: we must prepare our hearts, and thereby our selves, for the kingdom of God. This requires not worrying over what we “eat,” but how.
For most of the gospel, Jesus is arguing the toss with the Pharisees and scribes “who had come from Jerusalem”. St. Mark often slips us small details almost nonchalantly, seemingly on the way to a larger point. But these small details are there for a reason. The fact that these Pharisees and scribes are from Jerusalem actually matters a great deal. For Mark, Jerusalem’s greatest significance is that this is the city where Jesus will die. Mark’s story is breathlessly hurtling toward Jerusalem, and to the death and resurrection of Jesus that will set in motion the fulfilment of the kingdom of God. By surreptitiously letting us know that these Pharisees and scribes have hiked it all the way from Jerusalem, Mark is linking not only them, but today’s argy bargy, to Jesus’ death and resurrection.
To further make the point that it is Jesus himself that is under attack have a look at the question the Pharisees ask Jesus.
“Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”
The question is not about the disciples. The question is really a flimsily veiled swipe at The Master. Almost as if to say “If you were a good rabbi you would keep your motley crew under control and they would always keep the tradition of washing before meal times.”
The Master’s response, a hefty quote from Isaiah shifts the argument to a deeper level. It’s what is within that really matters.
“‘These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
So you can wash your hands all you like before meals but unless you understand the symbolism of the action you might as well not bother.
And it works the same way with washing up. Look for and understand the why… the inward.
The same thing applies at the other end of the meal with the washing up.
Understand the why… and the inward.
Many of you will know that at parish functions it is my special joy to don my rubber gloves, toss a Mothers' Union apron over my head, fill up the sink with hot soapy water and get stuck in. Why?
Lots of reasons
Because it needs doing. How often did my mother say, ‘Well the dishes aren’t just going to jump into the sink by themselves now are they?’
Secondly, each dish reminds me of what is supposed to be going on inside me. “For it is from within, from the heart, that evil intentions come” (Mark 7:21a). Our heart is the centre of our will, thinking and desire. It is the place from which all our intentions arise. Its part of the human condition that we gradually grubby up over a period of time and we need to be scrubbed and rinsed on a regular basis. One of the first things we do when we gather as a community for the eucharist, is we fess up to the times we have mucked up. While I am the sink it’s not just the cleaning of the dishes that I am thinking about.
Some of you have picked up on the third reason already. When you're at the sink it is almost inevitable that chatter happens, and relationships are enhanced and strengthened. Tell me the story of how you came to be here; tell me the story of where you are going; tell me where you stand, here and now. Make a bad joke, sing a song, hum, whistle; debate politics, novels, Harry Potter movies. Tell me your most embarrassing story. Complain about the weather; if it is winter, it’s too cold, if it’s summer, it’s too hot. Change out that dirty water. Smile.. sigh. The common goal of getting everything washed, wiped and tidied away, together with the physical proximity are the perfect combination for that special something that is unseen and invisible, to be made stronger and more enjoyable. That’s why I do the dishes and long may it be so.