Lips Near, Hearts Far

Mark 7:6. The Pharisees have asked why Jesus's disciples eat with unwashed hands, breaking the tradition of the elders. Jesus answers with Isaiah. Isaiah was right about you hypocrites, he says: these people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

It is worth pausing on the word hypocrite. In the Greek theater it meant an actor, someone speaking lines behind a mask. Jesus is not accusing the Pharisees of being irreligious. He is accusing them of performing religion while the inner person is somewhere else.

The verse matters today because lip-honor is easy and common and often sincere in its way. We can sing, pray aloud, post the right sentiments, keep the rules our tradition values, and be far from God the whole time. Jesus is not against the lips. He wants the heart to come along. The question this verse presses is simple: where is your heart while your mouth is saying the right things? Isaiah asked it of Israel. Jesus asked it of the Pharisees. It has not stopped being asked.