The Blame Game

Gospel: Mark 7: 14-23

We human beings are highly adept and laying blame on other people and things when in point of fact we should be blaming ourselves.  We attribute evil in the world to the devil, or to liberals, or to conservatives, or to any object or people we deem unclean.  We then believe that if we come in contact with such things that such will make us unclean and evil.  We then invent a whole religion around banning such things and people and cleansing ourselves from contact with them.

But Jesus declares all of that to be utter rot.  The source of evil is not some thing out there.  Evil is within each one of us, and our choices alone bring evil upon us and the world.  Acknowledging that fact and our own need of repentance is the fundamental and foundational piece of authentic religion.  Examining our own consciences and accusing our own selves of sin rather than doing so on others is the real work of religious practice.  

The religion of Jesus is a hard one because it forces us to do two things we do not want to do:  encounter God, and encounter other people.  Both of those things reveal our shortcomings and flaws and our need of reform in our lives.  So we invent other things to do and practice and pretend that is real religion.  But it is not.  The authentic way of religion is the encounter with God and an encounter with other people, in seeking and extending mercy and love in the world.