When Michigan drivers head up north on I-75 and see that flashing yellow merge arrow, most everyone moves over and forms a single file line. This, even though traffic engineers have determined that if everyone stayed put and gently merged at the point of obstruction the time it would take to pass could be drastically reduced. Sure, engineers have tried, with huge signs, 'Merge AT THE ARROW' but Michigan drivers, in fact, American drivers, are much more swayed by their ingrained sensibilities to form a cue as quickly as possible (and coerce others to do this as well) even if there is no traffic law governing this. It is clear that the rules that govern merging traffic on our freeways have less to do with the most efficient way of getting us from Point A to Point B, and much more to do with upholding shared societal rules of right behavior.

And this is what puts you and me in the same boat with our friends the Pharisees in Sunday's gospel reading.

This is where we hear the most important of St. Mark's 'purity' texts, as Jesus goes head to head with the Jewish elite regarding food purity. He and the disciples have just ordered a meal at McDonald's, forgotten to wash their hands and say the blessing, when they get called out as ungodly people because they don't obey, 'the traditions of the elders.'

For their part, these Pharisees understood these traditions not as an attempt to bury the commands of God in trivia, but to apply the torah to every facet of life. They were as well-intentioned as every Michigan driver that gets over as soon as the flashing merger arrow appears. And they were as judgmental as those drivers who always play cop and block other drivers from using the open lane. And they found, as we do, that sometimes our dogged determination to follow all the rules has us missing out on what those rules were established to do: make our lives more fulfilling, spread love and compassion on the earth, and ultimately bring us closer to God.

This exchange reminds us that Jesus came to announce the end of religion (humanity's attempt to find God) and the arrival of love (God's attempt to find us). And loves means reserving judgment, walking in humility and being very long on compassion, which is in stark contrast to what rule-making can do to us. In what ways do we put rule and ritual before basic love for ourselves and others?

Reading:
The Four Hour Work Week -Timothy Ferriss
The Art of Being Together - Francis Wade
A Passion for the Possible - Wm Sloane Coffin