Grace Rather than Tradition or Law

Matthew 15:1-20

Earlier in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches his familiar sermon, the Sermon on the Mount. In it, He commands us to "Be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect." I struggled with these words when I first read them. "I am definitely not perfect." "How can I be perfect?" "Nobody is perfect!" Then I realized I was thinking in terms of law and not grace. According to the law, I am imperfect and that is the purpose of the law, to help me realize that I need Christ -- I need grace. Christ's sacrifice on the cross was a gift of grace so that I might have His perfection, His righteousness.

Christ taught the difference of law and grace later to his disciples in terms of the external and internal. External laws have little power to change a person. Only with the power of Christ's Holy Spirit working in our hearts, internally, can we make progress and become more perfect, more like Christ. That is, until the day we enter Heaven and receive a new, perfect body.

Much of what Matthew wrote was to help the Jewish people embrace Christ. Matthew writes in a way for Jews to grasp the impotence of the law and their traditions, and rather, apprehend the power of Christ's grace. Let us read as Jesus dialogues with the Pharisees, the Jewish rulers of the day to rebuke them and to instruct His disciples as to the real path to purity.

The older we get, the more set in our ways we get. Only Christ can transform us and help us break the patterns that prevent us from being more like Him.

READ Matthew 15:1-20

Does washing our hands, if it obeys a law, make our hearts clean? Does dirty hands mean an impure heart?

Does being a good citizen or following traditions make us pure? No! We can be very obedient to external laws and very obliging to the traditions we have learned to follow throughout our years, and still be impure in our hearts.

Jesus tells us that what comes out of hearts demonstrates our purity. In order to enter Heaven, we must be pure. Not on the basis of the good deeds that we have done, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and the renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly, through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace, we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:5-7). By believing in the righteousness of Jesus and His taking the punishment for our sin, we are declared pure, righteous in God's eyes, and we can enter Heaven. By His Holy Spirit dwelling in us, we can learn to walk righteously here and now. Although we will falter from time to time, we can ask for forgiveness and continue walking down the straight and narrow path with the help of Christ. Praise the Lord, that this struggle between flesh and spirit will end when we enter Paradise.

Do not be fooled that being a good person or keeping up traditions is a ticket to the Kingdom of Heaven. It is only by His grace that we are saved.

Fish and Bread

I'm so happy to see my friends at Good Sam after my travels to visit family.
I would like to share some stories of my travels with you and to praise God for His goodness meanwhile.

My new family lives in the Spanish city of Bilbao, a formerly industrial city shifting now towards tourism. Among many distinctives, the food is incredible. The men are the cooks. They gather in gastronomy clubs just to perfect their culinary art. The men in my husband's family, including my husband, are very good cooks. The sea and the river winding through the string of villages bring the many of the rich resources for delicious meals. At times while walking along the river or by the sea from high cliffs, we saw men gathering snails and clams and crabs. Others were fishing from architecturally astounding bridges, some modern, some built by the Romans. So many kinds of fish and so many ways to prepare it! And of course I must comment on the bread too... Fresh baked every day, long crusty loaves. In the homes of my in-laws we ate so well, and so much. Am I making you hungry? God is so good to provide us our daily bread. More than the good food, He provided for us in many ways during our trip, safety, beautiful surroundings, hospitality, love, shelter, rest, His guidance and presence. He blessed my husband and I with a wonderful time getting to know each other, his family and our cultures. God is so good. He knows what we need for each day.

I found some similarities in the Basque culture and that of Jesus and his disciples. Geographically they enjoyed the sea of Galilee, the Jordan River and surrounding hillside. They enjoyed seafood and bread, too. I recall the story of his feeding the 5000 from 2 fish and 5 loaves as he taught the multitudes on the mountainside by the sea. It is good to reflect on God's provision for us. Jesus demonstrated his love for us supremely on the cross and in many ways through his acts of compassion like healing the sick and providing food. This story is also to teach us that we need more than just physical nourishment, we need to feed on the Word of God, on Jesus' teachings. God is so good to satisfy our longings with His truths. I thank God for His preserving the Bible for us to feed on His Word. The need to be satisfied is the same today in Socorro and in Spain as it was for Jesus' audience. We often make the wrong choices in trying to feel satisfied, but let us be reminded that only Jesus can provide for our EVERY need. He fills us to overflowing. Am I making you hungry to read His word?

Let us read together this familiar story, the Feeding of the 5000: Matthew 14:13-21

Did you know that in the next chapter there is a story of the Feeding of the 4,000? This time, Jesus tests His disciples to see if they have learned to turn to Jesus for their provisions and I believe the account attests to their growing faith. Once again Jesus, moved with compassion towards the needs of His followers, provides for them, with a superabundance.

Let us not only look to God to satisfy our earthly appetites, but let us also look to Him to fill us with His Holy Spirit and His truth.