September 11, 2026 - Mark 7-9

The Pharisees “saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed.   For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.  And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches” (7:1-5).  As if soapy hands and dishes and couches with coverings are matters that God is particularly interested in!  Things never seem to change, do they?  Still, we are always hearing people say, “Well, I do this or I don’t do that.  I’m pretty comfortable with placing my record before God and letting him judge me.”  It sure is a good thing we do not have to rely upon our own supposed goodness; we would come up short, every time.  For us, there is this, which was spoken by Jesus of himself:  “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise” (9:31).  The cross!  The resurrection!  A Savior!  That’s where we place our hope.

Christ for the world we sing;

the world to Christ we bring

with loving zeal:

the poor and them that mourn,

the faint and overborne,

sin-sick and sorrow-worn,

for Christ doth heal.

Christ for the world we sing;

the world to Christ we bring

with fervent pray’r:

the wayward and the lost,

by restless passions tossed,

redeemed at countless cost

from dark despair.   -- Samuel Wolcott (1869)