But, they're not dirty

Brings back memories from years ago, “Wash your hands before you eat!”  How many times as a child did you hear those words?  Or, as a parent, how many times did you shout them to your own children.  “Wash your hands before you eat”.  And of course, they would look and examine their hands and say, “why, they’re not dirty”.

To them, they probably didn’t look dirty on the outside, but we all know the germs, the hidden bacteria that makes a home on our hands. So, we wash our hands before you eat and constantly throughout the day, so we don’t get sick.

In Jesus’ time the washing of the hands was not so much in the interests of hygiene, but it was a ceremonial cleanliness that was at stake, hands washed and washed in a certain way.  The water for the washing was actually kept in a special jug, not just any water that they found in a nearby well.

This ceremony had to be so exact to the Jewish people that one time a rabbi who once omitted to the washing was buried in excommunication.

Jesus was trying to make a point, it’s not the ritual that makes us clean, but what’s in our hearts. Yes, clean and examine your hands before you eat, be careful what you touch, sanitize them to prevent a virus, but just as importantly examine your heart. It is your heart that will condemn you, not how clean your hands are. Look deep into your heart.

And one of the most difficult things to do is to figure out ourselves, to get deep into our own turmoil and confusion; our own interior pain and see the things that others don’t.

 Today, more than ever, we may have that free time, the window of opportunity to truly examine our conscience. To go deep into our heart to reveal our inner most thoughts and that does takes courage. But, knowing ourselves can be the radar needed to avoid the near temptations to sin, and bring us closer to God. In these troubled times, that is needed.

We are all sinners, and Jesus knows we are sinners, “You, who are without sin can cast the first stone”. The stones were dropped. So, we need to wash our souls to make them clean, rid them of any disease preventing us from having that relationship with God. St. James says it so well in his letter, "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Wash your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." 

Yes, please, wash your hands frequently to stay healthy, take every precautionary measure to avoid this virus, but just as importantly, cleanse your heart with prayers every day. And it is prayer, especially Psalm 91 said often, that can keep us safe.  What a lent, what a cross