Bake Sale

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long.” (Matthew 23:1-5 ESV).

Jesus’ scathing condemnation of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees is a word we need to hear today. So much of the time we find our churches full of instruction in how to do the things of God, but never do we find God in them! Wes Seeliger tells the following story:

"Bake sale" said the sign over the door. Joe's mouth watered. He could imagine all the treats inside. He opened the door and walked in. Joe couldn't believe his eyes. As far as he could see in the building there were rows of tables with signs over each table to describe its specialty. Cakes, Cookies, Muffins, pies, tarts. Except....there were no cakes, cookies, muffins, pies or tarts. You see, this was a "recipe" bake sale. Someone grabbed Joe's arm. "Coconut macaroons. Get the original!" "No so. Our recipe is older than theirs," another table shouted. " Devil 's food cake . Accept no substitutes, " a shifty hustler whispered in his ear. "Angel food cake! Just like grandmother made" "Who's grandmother?" A lady began to shove him toward a table of fruit tarts while another yanked on his arm to try a roll. Yelling arose from every table as red-faced salesmen hawked their recipes. Confusion ruled and brawls broke out between tables. Joe had taken all he could. He tore himself away and ran outside as fast as he could. As he breathed in the fresh air and walked away, he said, "That was no place for a hungry man."

The Queen Mary was the largest ship to cross the oceans when it was launched in 1936. Through four decades and a World War she served until she was retired, anchored as a floating hotel and museum in Long Beach, California. During the conversion, her three massive smokestacks were taken off to be scraped down and repainted. But on the dock they crumbled. Nothing was left of the 3/4 inch steel plate from which the stacks had been formed. All that remained were more than thirty coasts of paint that had been applied over the years. The steel had rusted away. When Jesus called the Pharisees “Whitewashed tombs,” He meant they had no substance, only an exterior appearance.

When hungry people come to your church, what do they find? When hungry people come to you, will they be fed, or will they merely find the recipe? It is our calling to BE Christians, not just talk about being Christian. This week, as you go to worship, use the time to reevaluate your actions. It is often easy to jump high. However, the real measure of your faith is how straight you walk when your feet hit the ground!