Homilies
Keeping Up Appearances - That Midas Touch!
"Holy Spirit, take my words and speak to each of us according to our need."
I wonder how many of you have seen the sitcom ‘Keeping up Appearances’? The main character is Hyacinth. She had a simple, not well-off background but married into a middle class, suburban world and is desperate to show how good and worthy of respect she is. If you have seen it, you might recall that her married name is Bucket which she feels is far too common and so every time she introduces herself, she refers to her name as Mrs Bouquet.
You might be wondering why I am rambling about an early 90’s television programme- but it is precisely this which sprang to mind when I read the gospel reading for today. The scribes and Pharisees had become so entrenched in following Jewish purity laws that they had gone far beyond what was intended and had become beholden to false standards of human purity rather than God’s to which they then held others accountable as well.
In the Old Testament, God gave laws about purity, defilement and foods, meaning that foods like shellfish and pork were off the menu. These laws were given to teach about the concepts of clean and unclean, holy and unholy. If the Israelites broke these laws and consumed food that was off limits, they were considered unclean BUT…
Not because the pork or shellfish had made them unclean but rather because they had disobeyed God’s law. It was the disobedience that made them unclean rather than the food. Their disobedience came from within them. Their hearts were not in accordance with God’s laws.
In today’s reading Jesus tries to explain that neither food or anything else that you put into your body can make you unclean. He reasons that food does not go to your heart. Food is ingested and passed out, but the things that make a person unclean come from the heart.
Of course, physical cleanliness has its place in keeping us healthy. We wash food to remove pesticides and things that will make us ill. We wash our hands before eating to avoid transferring germs into our body, but Jesus is talking about spiritual cleanliness.
Our moral and spiritual control centre is our heart. It is the source of our affections, motivations, attitudes and thoughts, defining our very character. Those who are pure in heart, generate purity in life but if we allow our hearts to become defiled, then it is like a poison that spreads throughout our being and defiles all we touch.
Perhaps, you may recall the story of King Midas who wanted to be rich and wished that everything he touched turned to Gold? It seems like a great wish! But what did it cost him? He couldn’t have true relationships with his family, no hugs or kisses, he couldn’t stay healthy because he couldn’t eat – all the food turned to gold as soon as he touched it. It became a curse for him in every aspect of his life and until it was actually happening he couldn’t see how pervasive and detrimental it would be to so many aspects of his day to day life.
So, what I am trying to say is that although the Scribes and Pharisees, Mrs Bouquet and King Midas, all had the appearance of purity on the outside, their heartfelt intentions were not pure. They were keeping up appearances, rather truly living as intended. The focus was on them, by human standards. External platitudes, paying lip service to following expectations but without engaging with or understanding the true meaning behind such actions.
In the week ahead, I will be challenging myself to guard my thoughts and motivations and check that they are truly in alignment with obedience to God’s teaching. It’s very easy to be swept along with human desires in our consumerist society. Greed, envy, even anger are second-nature responses if we allow them to be. But the rewards of cultivating love, compassion and understanding, although not easy……..show God’s love and grace within our hearts, both for our sake and the benefit of others.
My prayer for this week is that we may we all let our lights shine, so that through our words and actions the glory and grace of God, not ourselves, may be seen and desired by others.
Amen