Out Our Way: The Gospel According to Goliath: The real deal

Mark 7:1-23

As some of you may know, the name of this column, "Out Our Way," is based on the work of J.R. Williams, a cartoonist from back in the '30s and '40s, who immortalized the cowboy with his single-panel cartoons. My dad had a book of his cowboy cartoons that I still have and still go to from time to time.

One of my favorites was a cartoon of a scrawny old man sitting in a kid's saddle on a worn out plug mare, wearing a worn out suit coat and hat, shoes and a single spur. One of the old-time cowboys tells a relative newcomer to the west that that old guy is the richest rancher in two counties ... because every time he had enough money to dress like a real cowboy, he bought another ranch!

Williams also had some fun with us "wannabes," dudes who did buy all the fancy boots, shirts, hats and whatever, but never really cowboyed. In one cartoon, "Cotton," another real deal cowboy, says, "There's two of them fellers for every cow in the state. I wonder which half of what cow he herded?"

The point being: You can look like the real deal, you can sound like the real deal, you can pretend to be the real deal and you can fool lots of folks - but you can't fool a cowpony or a cow.   

Same is true in religion: Many talk the talk but don't walk the walk. They may look like the "real deal" and fool a lot of folks, but they won't fool God.

Some of the Pharisees were harping on ritual and criticizing Jesus for allowing people to eat with unclean hands. Now, moms and dads, we aren't talking about dirty hands here; of course we teach the kids to wash up before supper! No, what the Pharisee were talking about was a particular ritual that they practiced to "sanctify" and "purify" themselves and the food as part of a religious ritual. Sort of like saying grace, except we do that to thank God for the blessings of our lives and to be aware of them. It is supposed to be act of conscious gratitude and a reminder to count our blessings.

Now, there is nothing wrong with the ritual the Pharisees practiced, but going through the motions of faith and being truly faithful are different things. Ritual and tradition are meant to help us grow in our faith, not to replace it. But many of the Pharisees had done just that. Religious legalism is fraught with this danger, for we control the outward acts far more easily than the inward transformation.

Years ago in seminary, I opted to honor Confederate Memorial Day. I had family on both sides, but the majority came out of Tennessee and Kentucky. Thus, I proudly displayed the Confederate Battle flag in my room on that special day. Now, one of my black friends came up to me all upset, for to many blacks, the battle flag of my ancestors is the modern emblem of the Ku Klux Klan. He challenged me by saying, "Bronco, I never thought you were a racist!" I challenged him by reminding him that my ancestors fought under that flag and I had every right to remember and honor them.

He finally chuckled and said, "You're all right, Bronco. Besides, back east here the only difference between a northern liberal and a southern redneck is that the southerner will call you 'N*' to your face." Well, I sure hope that's wrong, but as another black friend said, "Bronco, if you were black, you would see a whole different America."

Well, I still have the flag and I still honor it, but now I am very sensitive to the dishonorable use of it by people who have made it into a symbol of bigotry and hate instead of liberty and freedom. I still hold with the local community being the primary legal authority as opposed to federal bureaucrats dictating local policies, but besides being the cowboy at seminary, I was also an "unreconstructed rebel." My black frends delighted in shocking the eastern establishment folks by befriending me. I suppose I may be a bigot and a racist in some ways; I think most of us are as part of our fallen nature. But I am aware of it and ashamed of it and am seeking to repent of it. It's the folks who are satisfied with the mere appearance of being tolerant that I have found to be the most intolerant. In the same way, it's the folks who claim to be Christian but who don't follow His example that are the most irreligious.

How can you repent of what you don't recognize as evil, and how can you recognize it unless you take the time to do a little self-examination? It can be difficult and sometimes painful, but it is the WAY of Christ. I can't be content only to talk the talk; I must also learn to walk the walk. With all my seminary study, I know the lingo pretty well and can preach a theologically-sound sermon, but when it comes to doing the Gospel ... ah, there I am still a beginner. Fortunately I know it and can focus on becoming the man of God I believe I was called to be.

--

John Bruington, Goliath and Scout can be checked out weekly on the website http://www.havrepres.org. Regardless of church affiliation or lack thereof, I invite you to check it out online and join the journey. It's OK if you are new to the faith; you will find we are not very far ahead of you and you will catch up quickly. The Way lies before us. Come walk it with us.