splitting hairs

Matthew 15:1-9

I just published this post and it disappeared. Crazy!! I guess I'll try again:

Jesus contrasts the "tradition of the elders" to the "command of God" and exposes the fact that the Pharisees give more weight to their tradition than to the word of God. He reveals that by creating these traditions, they have created loopholes by which they can escape obeying the law. The specific example he gives is that some people were not providing the help to their parents that they were commanded to give because the tradition of the elders allowed them to devote some of their money (that would have otherwise gone to helping their parents) to God. Matthew (and Jesus) are again making the point that in the kingdom, people are more important than traditions and obedience is more important than ritual. The law really can be summed up as "love God with all you have and are" and "love your neighbour as yourself".
Jesus uses this occassion to remind the Pharisees of the prophesy of Isaiah and to see themselves as the fulfillment of that prophesy: they are the people who practice the rituals and traditions of religion but remain far from the heart of God. I know that I've been in the same boat. It's not that I've done it on purpose for the most part. It's just that the rituals and traditions become so common for me that I sometimes go through the motions without realizing it. Father, forgive me. May I never find more comfort in rituals than I do in you and may I never put tradition above people or obedience.