Hearts Close to God
with Rev. Barbara Gorsky
September 1, 2024
Our hearts grow closer to God when we are our authentic selves, and we learn that the love of Christ is what transforms our lives from the inside out. We are all on the same journey of seeking hearts that are close to God!
The Scripture
Psalm 15
Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent?
Who may live on your holy mountain?
2 The one whose walk is blameless,
who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from their heart;
3 whose tongue utters no slander,
who does no wrong to a neighbor,
and casts no slur on others;
4 who despises a vile person
but honors those who fear the Lord;
who keeps an oath even when it hurts,
and does not change their mind;
5 who lends money to the poor without interest;
who does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
Whoever does these things
will never be shaken.
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)
5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”
6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
7 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’
8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”
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14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”
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20 He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”
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Mother Teresa is someone I have always admired. I’ve read books about her, memorized some of her quotes, and even have a knickknack with a quote sitting on my desk. This is one such quote that is important to me. “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.” It helps me to believe that I don’t have to be a Mother Teresa to fulfill God’s plan in my life. And yes I can love, and maybe just maybe my love does make a difference. Another quote I like is this. “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” I like her idea of belonging to each other…and this belonging leads to connection and ultimately peace. Her words speak to me in a deep way. She lived she life both internally and externally with her heart close to God.
Finish reading
I remember a story about her I read in the book The Soul of Money, it was a story written by Lynne Twist the author of the book. Lynne was an activist and fundraiser with her life focused on ending world hunger. She traveled to India to meet World Bank officials regarding her hunger initiative. And it was this visit that she had the rare opportunity to visit Mother Teresa. I can’t even imagine what that must have been like to visit Mother Teresa in person! Anyway, in a middle of this visit Lynne had with Mother Teresa, a time that I would call a “Holy experience”, a middle aged Indian couple barged into the room, they didn’t even greet Mother Teresa but rather insisted she stand for a picture with them. The couple threw the camera to Lynne who was dumbfounded at the intrusion said this, “As I snapped the photo, the tall woman fussed at Mother Teresa to look up toward her for a second shot. Mother Teresa was bent over at the neck from old age and osteoporosis, but without hesitating the woman put her hand under Mother Teresa’s chin and forced it up.” She next observed the woman grabbing the camera and without a thank you the couple exited down the hallway.”
This story presents a stark contrast between the couple and Mother Teresa, Lynne and Mother Teresa. A difference of ones who are giving and ones who are taking, ones whose hearts are close to God and others whose hearts are far from God. Remember Jesus said, “For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come” In this story it’s easy to see the condition of the couples’ hearts. Their external behaviors of the couple reflect the condition of their heart which arises from their values and beliefs. For them it was all about getting the “picture!”
But this stark contrast of the condition of one’s heart is not always so apparent, usually people try harder to hide the condition of their heart (Any no I’m not talking about physical heart conditions!) and their external behaviors are fake, fake hiding the truth that lies within.
This is the situation that Jesus is bringing to light in this conversation with the Pharisees and the Scribes. They have this external image of superiority and prestige. They were highly respected, and they were flawless on the outside, flawless in following the traditions that came from their many laws. Not only were they rigid in following the laws, they were also rigid in enforcing the following of the laws by others. In this passage they are questioning why the disciples ate food without washing their hands.
Not to throw the Pharisees under the bus, we must understand that they lived their lives according to these traditions and laws, they governed their whole lives by these laws, it was central to everything they did. But the true question is, did they love God? Were their hearts close to God? Did the traditions and laws they followed lead to this intimate connection to God? Jesus is challenging them, and this has potential to turn their world upside down. One of the commentaries gave insight into these verses. It said this, “What Jesus is pointing to here is the quintessential human struggle to discover and maintain the integrity of the self.” There is an important connection here with the integrity (truth) of the self and our relationship to God. Jesus is turning their focus from the outward world of strict adherence to the tradition and laws to the inward world, to the heart. The secret place where thoughts and beliefs give rise to actions of love and connection to God.
We have to question what the intention of all those laws were in the first place? Why all these laws? The intention of the traditions and laws was to help people turn their lives around so they would align their outward behavior to match their inward hearts; hearts centered on God’s will for them, to have a right relationship with God. What started out as a practice to change outward behavior as a means to love God and receive God’s love became an act to do what was needed in order to look good in the eyes of others. Jesus calls for our life of faith to be authentic with our whole focus being on seeking the heart of God. The Pharisees were not able to see the truth of what Jesus is telling them because of their obligation to hold on to tradition. Jesus reminded the Pharisees of the quote in Isaiah, and he then called the Israelites hypocrites.
What about you and me, are we hypocrites? Is our outward behavior just a false front to a heart that is far from God? Jesus is calling us here to examine our own hearts, see what is within. Forget about the sinfulness of those around us, the judgmentalism that elevates us above others. Our work is to have hearts that are close to God.
I want to go back to the story about Lynne Twist and Mother Teresa. Lynne was so disturbed about the Indian couple that she wrote Mother Teresa expressing her unbridled rage, hatred, and resentment she had felt when the couple had interrupted their visit. She also shared her own prejudice and the limit of her own compassion. Mother Teresa wrote her back saying, “You must open your heart to them and become their student and their teacher, …open your compassion and include them. This is an important part of your life’s work. Do not shut them out. They also are your work.” Lynne looked inside her own heart and discovered something that needed to change. And it was one step of her heart getting closer to God.
We can let the distractions of the outside world, those things that anger us, and fill us with rage keep us from looking inward. The place where Jesus calls us to do the true work.
What are we to do when we find things within ourselves that are dark and ugly? What are we to do with the mistakes we have made, the tragedies that lie within the corners of our hearts, tucked away, hidden from sight? No one is immune to the darkness within, this cold, empty place that keeps God far away. It is at this point, this very point of facing the truth about things within us that are not pretty that sets us free. It sets us free because in the knowing of the truth about ourselves we find that Christ is there. It is in the knowing of the truth that we allow Christ to enter in and fill the darkness with His light, and His love.
Our hearts grow closer to God when we are our authentic selves, and we learn that the love of Christ is what transforms our lives from the inside out. We are all on the same journey of seeking hearts that are close to God! Thanks be to God and to the One who comes to give light, hope and truth to the world. Amen