Handwashing
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
It’s remarkable how early in human history the practice of handwashing took on importance despite there being no knowledge about microscopic organisms we call germs. Different cultures throughout history developed rituals and protocols around hand washing, often connecting them to religious practice out of what might have simply been a simple observation: when folks wash their hands, people seem to get less sick and die less often.
In the 19th century, a woman whose name you might recognize revolutionized nursing by insisting that nurses regularly wash their hands when caring for patients. Her name was Florence Nightengale. A Hungarian doctor in the 19th century named Ignaz Semmelweis noticed the dramatic difference handwashing made to the mortality rate of infants, dropping it dramatically—from 18% to 1% in one instance! He is considered the father of handwashing practice in medical environments (even though he gained this insight by noticing how a doctor-led maternity ward was much more deadly than a nearby midwife-run maternity clinic).
In the gospel of Mark, chapter 7, Jesus has a forceful rebuke of Pharisees who criticized the disciples for not washing their hands before eating. He accused them of making doctrine out of human practices. Mark’s audience hearing this story some one hundred years after the fact were dealing with tensions between gentile Christians and Jewish Christians when they would meet at table fellowship—perhaps this story was told with a slant toward this concern.
Ironically, none of the science, which actually makes a really good case for regular handwashing, is a part of this. The Pharisees got it right, they just didn’t know why! It is just plain fact that handwashing is not only healthy but regular handwashing as a common practice can reduce the number of people who die from communicable diseases. And yet, that wasn’t the conversation the Pharisees were trying to have.
The Pharisees criticizing the disciples expressed offense that the disciples were not walking “according to the tradition of the elders!” Effectively, they were criticizing Jesus and his disciples for not doing something that has always been done.
There are so many examples of traditions and habits we have personally, as a family, or in our communities that seem to have come from nowhere. Take railroads: The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number. Until you learn that that width was based on the gauge of previous transportation technology, which was based on previous transportation technology, all the way to the width between the wheels of chariots used in the Roman Empire!
Sometimes we unquestioningly inherit habits. And as Christians, we can fall prey to inheriting our beliefs and identity without really thinking too much about them.
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, once said, “I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power.”
Have you ever sat in worship on a Sunday and felt like you were going through the motions? In the mid-20th century, it was a social expectation to go to church. But attending worship became more about habit than our connection to God.
I think the power of our faith can get forgotten in the routine of practicing it. Jesus quoted Isaiah, “You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.”
And when our faith becomes more rote than real within our hearts, then I think other things start to fill that hole that is there. Lucky for us, God never abandons us—even when we can unintentionally abandon God!
