Jesus said to them, ‘Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?’ (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, ‘It is what comes out of a person that defiles. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’ Mark 7:18-23

Religion has always been concerned about what we put into our bodies. Jewish people have their strict kosher laws. Muslims can only eat halal food. Hindus have their own dietary restrictions and I am sure that there are many others. They believe that what goes into you has the possibility to defile you. This is not just true for religious groups. It happens among the non-religious, too. We have countless of diets out there. There are people who restrict what they eat because of ethical reasons. Whatever diet we follow, we cannot help but feel we are better than others for following our choices. It is human nature. However, this is not what Jesus is talking about here. He is addressing the idea that we are not better people morally because we don’t put certain things into our bodies. We judge those who do harshly.

In my neighborhood, there are many crack addicts. They are not hidden in some corner. They are very visible. I do not know if this is just true for this city or if it is a phenomenon in every mega city. The media loves to report on them. Almost everyday, reporters call the addicts all kinds of derogatory names making no qualms in painting them as the dregs of society. People paint a horrid picture of crack addicts. However, we encounter them everyday. Most of the time, they are oblivious to the world. Sometimes they apologize just for being here. It is quite sad. Recently one was begging outside a grocery store where Mary, my wife, was in line buying something. For no rhyme or reason, a woman in back of the line yelled out to the addict sitting outside the store to get a job and stop being an useless being. Another woman in line commented that she wished that she could be like him, sitting around and doing absolutely nothing all day long. My wife is a brave soul. She turned to this woman and asked her if she really wants to spend the night sleeping outside on the cold floor and eating leftover food everyday. Besides this, she would have to endure insults hurled at her all day long. The woman was taken aback from this statement. Then she changed her tone. She admitted that the addict’s life is nothing to be envied. However, the first woman that yelled at this addict was adamant. She thought that she was right in her opinion. I don’t disagree with her. She was right in her opinion. Jesus would have agreed with her although he definitely would not have expressed it in her way. The addict needed to seek a better life. However, the problem is not her opinion. The problem is her heart. It was full of hate. She hated this addict because of what he put into his body. Most likely, it had nothing to do with the addict. She just had a lot of hatred to vent and it was socially acceptable to pick on a crack addict. She assumed that he was someone evil and morally corrupt and, therefore, felt at liberty to discharge her words of hatred on him. I am sure that she left feeling justified. The Pharisees would have felt the same way.

A few days later, Mary and I had an opposite experience. We decided to take a walk in a neighborhood where we lived before. It just happened to be one of the seediest parts of the city. I know this is far from any romantic place one would go with one’s beloved. It just so happened that we were close to this area where we once lived in the 90’s. I was curious to see whether there was any changes. The neighborhood ironically is named, “Light” (Luz) when it is really quite a dark and depressing place. The buildings looked rundown and abandoned. Most of them should have be condemned decades ago. This area is also infamous for its drug addicted sex workers. Most of them look like the caricature of thin and haggard addicts. It is quite unsettling. A homeless man walked past us and then he stopped and said something. At first, I thought maybe he was asking for some money. He smiled and said that he knew us. Then he went on to say that he has seen us working with the homeless youth. He shook our hands and continued, “It always gave me great joy to see you working with the children.” He was really happy to see us. We told him that we were still working with them. He smiled and repeated, “I knew that I knew you!” He walked away smiling. The strange thing was that many years ago in the mid 1990s, around the very same area, as I was walking by, a sex worker approached me thinking I was a possible client and another worker stopped her and said, “Respect him. He helps us.” She then apologized and said that her friend did not recognize me. I never met any of them before and we did not minister to sex workers. However, she understood the meaning of the gospel wherever it is lived and that it cannot be contained to just one group. Its joy and hope always spreads all over. I will never forget her. Her kind words are imprinted in my soul. I will never forget this homeless man, too. His words, as simple as they were, came out of the abundance of his heart. They were words spoken out of love and they have a permanent and lasting impact in our souls. His personal situation is quite dire. Most likely he is an alcoholic as many homeless adults are. It wasn’t the alcohol which brought them to the streets. It was something else. They need alcohol to cope with the sense of hopelessness. However, despite his situation, there is still something hopeful in his heart. He is able to take pleasure in seeing hopeful things happening around.

There are two types of Christianity striving in this world. One follows the footsteps of the pharisees. It is a religion which judges people according to what we put into our bodies. In other words, it is a spirituality seeking to divide us into two groups, one that is worthy of love and the other which deserves all our hatred. Then there is the Christianity of Jesus, the only true expression. It preaches the good news for all peoples. It is a message that comes from the depth of God’s heart. It is not a message which tries to put a positive spin on everything. It is one which engages in the harsh realities of Life and yet always proclaims hope. It proclaims life-giving words of genuine Love; the most essential thing necessary for every human person in this world in order to derive meaning for their existence. It is a message of healing and restoring Love. It is a message proclaiming the goodness present despite the circumstances and situations. It also recognizes hope when hopelessness reigns. It is able to overcome the hatred which paralyzes and cripples the souls of many. In order to preach this gospel, we first need to allow the divine Light of the gospel to expose our desire to hate and allow His love to transform our heart. Only then, we can become agents of the gospel of Jesus and reject the religion of the pharisees.