An Examination of Heart

Today is communion Sunday, and Thornton Muncher, a Vanderbilt Divinity School student and our summer intern, is delivering the Communion Meditation, based on a passage from Mark 7, an encounter between Jesus and the Pharisees when they question him about the behavior of his disciples relative to the law. Thornton has studied and worked for reconciliation between Christians and Jews. Historically, Christians have often attempted to bury the Judaism of Jesus, believing that Christianity has replaced Judaism, and, through history, this passage from Mark has often been used to criticize Jewish practices. But we believe that God calls us to reconciliation, to love our neighbors. Much as the Pharisees held tradition as important, we Methodists know that one of John Wesley’s four corners of faith is “tradition.” Although there are theological differences between Christian denominations, Christian faith should unite us rather than divide us, and Jesus’ words in the passage from Mark tells us that it is what comes from the heart that unites or divides us. Jesus did not denounce the traditions of the Pharisees, but he calls us to guard what comes from our hearts, to love God and our neighbor. Although they might be “other” to us, they are still held in fellowship by God – God loves everyone, unconditionally, and we are called to examine our own hearts.