This Dotted Line
Mark 7:1-1-8. 14-15, 21-23
Noted atheist and humorist Mark Twain once said, “It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.” He likely meant that as a criticism, since he also wrote that the Bible was full of “obscenities and thousands of lies,” but many have tried to make this quip mean something else entirely.
Those who believe in the Bible have tried to make Twain’s quip support their belief that the commandments which reveal our sin and unworthiness should rightly bother us, which should then instill in us the fear of God and the need for a savior. And for many people, the Bible has just that effect.
Twain was right that reading your Bible can mess with your mind. For those who are genuinely looking for a word from God, there can be a lot of clarity found when reading the Bible. There can be comfort and solace in times of trouble. There can be encouragement and hope in times of despair. There can be words that challenge us and words that make our spirits soar. But there are passages that will bother you and just mess with your mind.
Consider with me for just a moment one chapter in the Bible. Ephesians 4 is one of the most popular chapters, filled with memorable verses written by the Apostle Paul to the church members living in Ephesus. The chapter begins with a clear purpose:I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. This is clearly an introduction to a lesson on discipleship.
We then have this beautiful rationale for our common discipleship – Thereis one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.What Paul is about to tell the church in this chapter is how we should all act when following Jesus Christ, which is just the kind of thing you would expect to find in the Bible.
Paul then lays out how, even though there is one discipleship, we are called to different ministries: The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. In other words, we all have a part to play in helping all of us become more like Jesus Christ.
Paul follows this up with some negative examples to avoid, examples which come from the everyday experience of the people. There are words of constancy, speaking the truth in love, avoiding the heated sins of the heart, so that disciples would be seen as different from those in the world. And this would have felt familiar as a style of teaching, as the Chosen People were used to having the law distinguish them from the world.
But then we come to this verse, which almost feels out of place, that just blows my mind. At Ephesians 4:28 we read, “Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy.”
Up to that point, Paul has given advice which applies to all of us. We understand the need for admonitions to good behavior. We know that even the best of those among us sometimes get angry or jealous or prideful. We understand that Paul has to remind us that these are not holy responses to the grace of Jesus Christ.
But then we have this verse, right there in the middle of this letter to the church at Ephesus. Paul makes a point to say something to the members of the congregation who are known to work as thieves – and that blows my mind. In this new Christian congregation, there are known thieves accepted as part of the membership, and even Paul knows about it.
Can you imagine that happening in one of our churches today? In every congregation I have ever been involved with, there has always been at least one person who drew the line at welcoming known working thieves into the membership. They might have even used that kind of language – “you’ve got to draw the line somewhere, if being a Christian is going to mean anything.”
In fact, I think the one defining characteristic of the church today – at least, as the world sees us – is that we are obsessed with drawing the line between what is right and what is wrong. We spend an inordinate amount of time drawing the line between those whom God loves and those whom God does not love. And to the world, the predominant argument between churches seems to be,“where do we draw the line to separate those persons saved by Jesus and those who are not saved?”
Some people and some churches draw the line over issues of sexuality. They may even walk the line to make sure we know where the line has been drawn. It doesn’t matter if the line is drawn to exclude or to include groups of persons and behaviors – all that matters to them is if you are on the “right” side of the dotted line. In their eyes, if you cross this dotted line, then you are beyond redemption, beyond the grace of God, beyond what it means to be called a Christian.
Some people and some churches draw the line over issues of immigration. They may even walk the line to make sure we know where the line has been drawn. It doesn’t matter if the line is drawn to exclude or to include groups of persons and behaviors – all that matters to them is if you are on the “right” side of the dotted line. In their eyes, if you cross this dotted line, then you are beyond redemption, beyond the grace of God, beyond what it means to be called a Christian.
Some people and some churches draw the line over issues of race and gender. They may even walk the line to make sure we know where the line has been drawn. It doesn’t matter if the line is drawn to exclude or to include groups of persons and behaviors – all that matters to them is if you are on the “right” side of the dotted line. In their eyes, if you cross this dotted line, then you are beyond redemption, beyond the grace of God, beyond what it means to be called a Christian.
Some people and some churches draw the line over issues of hand washing. At least, that’s the divisive issue in our reading for today. The Pharisees had a long-standing, scripturally influenced, well-thought-out, well-discussed tradition that clearly drew the line between godly behavior and condemnation. Not only that, but the tradition declared that every dish had to be washed, every food item had to be washed, every cooking pot and utensil had to be washed, and just to be safe, every surface that could potentially come into contact with the food had to be washed. Washing was a big deal for the Pharisees, long before anyone knew anything about germs, and there is a line clearly drawn.
If we had a vernacular translation of our reading, the Pharisees might have said to Jesus, “Dude! Really? Tell your disciples to wash their hands already. It’s more than gross – it’s just wrong, wrong, wrong. We don’t like it. Our tradition doesn’t like. And God doesn’t like it. So, unless you just hate God, make them wash their hands already.”
Now, if Jesus were an ordinary religious leader, we would expect there are only two ways to respond to this request of the Pharisees. One is, “You’re right. Soap and water coming right up. We promise to do better.” The other response would be to redraw the line, by perhaps pointing out that this is a minor issue in the grand vision of God. Or we can redraw the line because radical hospitality means loving us just as we are so that we can be changed by that love. Or we can redraw the line becausethere is a changing understanding about the importance of exposure to germs for building immunity.
That’s what we would expect in today’s world. Either get on the right side of the line, or redraw the line. But Jesus isn’t an ordinary religious leader. Jesus is the messiah, the Son of God.
Instead, Jesus pointed out that they were focused on a dotted line, instead of being focused on God. Jesus pointed out that they were more concerned with the observance of the law rather than the fulfillment of the law. Jesus pointed out that they were focused on dividing the people, instead of focusing on how we are called to be one body and one Spirit– which helps us understand Paul’s words to the thieves in the church at Ephesus.
If the point of being a Christian is being on the right side of the dotted line, then thieves are obviously on the wrong side. But Paul knewit was not just the thieves who were on the wrong side.It is our confession that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And in our reading, Jesus lifted up just a few examples of being on the wrong side, if we insist of focusing on the dotted lines.
Fornicators are on the wrong side. Murderers are on the wrong side. Adulterers are on the wrong side. Greedy people are on the wrong side. Wicked people are on the wrong side. So far, most of us feel like we are still on the right side of the dotted line.
But Jesus wasn’t done. Anyone who has ever told a lie is on the wrong side. Anyone who has ever done something just because they felt like doing it is on the wrong side. Anyone who has ever been envious ison the wrong side. Anyone who has ever been proud is on the wrong side. Anyone who has ever done something foolish is on the wrong side.
Jesus could have given many more examples of being on the “wrong side” using the Old Testament, because there are 365 “draw the dotted line” commandments. Some of these, which most people do not hold rallies to oppose or condemn others, include things like eating bacon, and eating cheeseburgers, and getting tattoos, and wearing blended fabrics in our clothing.
The point I think Jesus was making becomes clear: if you think getting to heaven means never crossing the line, then no one is going to heaven. No one is saved; no one is worthy; no one gets through life without crossing a line drawn somewhere.
But if being faithful, being a Christian, being a disciple is about becoming more like Jesus, then it doesn’t matter where you have been, or where you are now, as much as it matters where you are headed. Instead of focusing on crossing the line, we become more concerned with being in the line that forms at the cross of Jesus. Instead of focusing on who is worthy, we focus on Jesus, who alone is worthy. Instead of focusing on where to draw the line, we focus our hearts on being drawn to Jesus.
I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating. In the Garden of Eden the creature that tempts Adam and Eve is a serpent, which may or may not have been a snake. “Serpent” means “to crawl away.” “Repent” means “to crawl towards.” In our journey of faith, we either “serpent” or we “repent.” We are either moving away from God or we are moving towards God.
Dotted lines are concerned with how far away we can get from God and still be on the “right side.” To be concerned with dotted lines is to be a serpent, because dotted lines are not about moving towards God, but about how far away we can get from God.
What this means, then, is this: if you find yourself overly concerned with where the line is drawn, no matter what the justification is for drawing the line, you need to repent. If you are focused on dotted lines, you are facing the wrong way. If your eyes are turned to see how far away from God you can be and still be on the right side, then you need to repent, to turn around and look to Jesus.
If being a Christian disciple is about becoming more like Jesus, and I believe it is, then all of those “wrong side sins” are a reflection of where we fall short now. They are an indication of where we need to grow as disciples, as we go on to perfection in love.
So, as Paul pointed out in Ephesians, if you want to follow Jesus, even if you are a thief now, even if you are on the wrong side of a dotted line that someone has drawn, then move closer to Jesus. To spend your life watching out for all the dotted lines is to be forever concerned over whether you have done enough for God to love you. If you want the assurance of God’s grace revealed in Jesus Christ, then the time has come to change your focus, the time has come to repent of your sins, the time has come to turn and move towards Jesus. This is how we will know that our sins are forgiven!
Hymn 372 “How Can We Sinners Know”