Lunch or supper. It doesn’t really matter
which meal—or what time of day this Pharisee invited Jesus to his home to eat a
meal. In this translation, New American Standard, the meal is translated as
lunch. In our culture if you want to spend more time, uninterrupted by having
to return to work or to other tasks of the day, it is best to invite guests to
supper, the evening meal so that you can visit longer. Sharing a meal is a
hospitable and friendship building experience. Here the Pharisee had asked
Jesus to come for lunch or in other translations, dinner. So maybe it was an
evening meal. This Pharisee, like others, just wanted to find something wrong
with Jesus. He was concerned with Jesus not washing up before the meal, as was
the Jewish ceremonial custom. It was a traditional practice that was originally
intended for priests in the Temple in case they had touched anything unclean,
but was commanded by the Pharisees for all Jews. Jews today still follow a washing
ritual that you may observe in most hotel restaurants on Sabbath.
To avoid health issues—to keep germs away, today
we wash our hands before preparing, serving or eating meals. But most people
now don’t get germaphobic about washing—everyone just washes up before we eat.
Jesus was concerned about the heart. The cleanliness of the hands isn’t as
important as the cleanliness of the heart. What good are clean hands if the
filthy heart leads a person to ruin…to hell? Jesus even insinuated that the
Pharisees were foolish in their practice and admonished them to be more
charitable—that is to say, more loving.
Think about it. Is your heart as clean as
your hands?
Prayer
~ Dear Lord, How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from
these hidden faults. Psalm 19:12. Come now, let's settle this. Though my sins
are like scarlet, Lord, You will make them as white as snow. Though they are
red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool. Isaiah 1:18. Thank You, my
Lord and my Savior.
Daily
Bible Reading: March 31 – Judges 3-5
Friday’s
Feast at the King’s Table
Have you ever eaten something and then
thought…what did I just eat? Was it tasteless, did you just wolf it down, or
were you distracted and didn’t pay any attention to what you were doing? You were
eating! Enjoy what you eat—eat only real foods that you love.
I just picked up a book at the Library, Smart
Chefs Stay Slim, and one of the
lessons from that book is to surround yourself with food you like—but only eat
the best. Like, if you like chocolate—eat THE BEST chocolate. Pass up any
sugar-free or common candy bar stuff.
Recipe for today. If you are not already
familiar with Intense Orange Lindt Dark Chocolate with almond slivers—try some
soon. It is chocolate worth waiting for and savoring each bite. Don’t get
distracted when you eat it—and do share with special friends. You can
rationalize that since it is dark chocolate—it is healthy! Enjoy.
©
2017 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All
scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible
- http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm. www.blueletterbible.org/dailyreading.
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