Scripture: Luke 11:38-40
When the Pharisee saw that Jesus didn’t ritually purify his hands by washing before the meal, he was astonished. The Lord said to him, “Now, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and platter, but your insides are stuffed with greed and wickedness. Foolish people! Didn’t the one who made the outside also make the inside?”
Thought for the Day: As the children of clergy get older, a high percentage of them can find themselves with a negative feeling toward the church. This happens for a whole host of reasons, but it often is the conflict the children see between the preacher in the pulpit and the preacher in his/her pajamas. There is a pretty big gap between the lofty thoughts of hope and the less than lofty thoughts offered by a less than stellar parent who happens to be a minister. This is one of the reasons (not the only) that I tend to be a bit confessional in my sermons. If anyone is going to look bad in one of my illustrations, it tends to be me. Finding these illustrations of fragility and faults is not difficult. I hope my son doesn’t see too much hypocrisy in me, though like most people, I have my fair share that still needs some work. In my confessional style of preaching, I hope people see a person who is trying to clean both the outside as well as the inside.
Prayer: Keep me about the good work of self-reflection and introspection. Keep asking the tough questions about faith and daily life and where they do not appear to be in alignment. Merciful God, be gentle when you can, but if necessary, push me in such a way that I can awaken to where my hypocrisy is speaking too loudly. Amen.
SEE YOU TONIGHT – 6:30pm
