Inside

Luke 11:37-41 (The Message)

When he finished that talk, a Pharisee asked him to dinner. He entered his house and sat right down at the table.

The Pharisee was shocked and somewhat offended when he saw that Jesus didn't wash up before the meal.

But the Master said to him, "I know you Pharisees burnish the surface of your cups and plates so they sparkle in the sun, but I also know your insides are maggoty with greed and secret evil.

Stupid Pharisees!

Didn't the One who made the outside also make the inside? Turn both your pockets and your hearts inside out and give generously to the poor; then your lives will be clean, not just your dishes and your hands.

What kind of dinner guest is this man Jesus?

Not a very good one, apparently.

He refuses to observe the custom, that he certainly was aware of, of ceremonial handwashing before the meal.

He walks right in and sits down at the table, in what would be a very highly offensive way.

When his host objects, Jesus calls him "stupid." He states pretty directly that his insides are "maggoty with greed."

Alright. Welcome to dinner.

Obviously, Jesus needed to make a point. And, as good readers of the Gospel, we have to realize that he might be talking down through the millenia to a wider audience than his dinner host.

We've got to listen as though he's sitting at our own tables.

The message? The inside matters much more than the outside. Cups and plates that sparkle in the sun can be beautiful...but the secrets of the heart are not hidden from God.

The great good news is that God stands ready to forgive, and to clean the inside when we can't do it by ourselves.

"Just a Vehicle" by David Wilcox

The warm water beads as it runs down the curves
Of the beautiful surface so tan
She's polishing the Jaguar again

Hasn't run in a year or two
Nice car but the wheels don't move, anymore
Maybe she remembers
Maybe something's got her scared
It's too precious to be careless
And it's finally been repaired

So you never see her drive it
She won't risk it any more
It's too easy to collide it
And it hurt so much before

Could it be
That it's really just a vehicle
Standing like a statue all this time
Could it be
Its just a vehicle
She shines

Looks good but she still feels blue
Great shape but she's not so new, anymore
She's always got her work out
Every day when she gets home
She can see her own reflection
In the mirror on the chrome

When she's feeling empty
Hollow at the core
She sees it's going nowhere
And she knows there must be more

The warm water beads as it runs down the curves
Of the beautiful surface so tan
She's polishing the Jaguar again

Prayer: Give us the courage to show you the inside that you already know. May we learn to spend time in the right places today.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.