The Undivided Heart
Isn’t it amazing how much ingratitude there exists in human societies and in human nature? Two weeks ago we heard of one town that asked Jesus to leave, to get out of town, after he healed two men that were possessed by demons. Today he healed another man possessed by a demon, and today’s Gospel reading from Matthew tells us: But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”
The Gergesenes two Sundays ago; the Pharisees today – both groups united in their rejection of Jesus. Not on any big metaphysical or theological grounds, but purely out of ingratitude, the inability to be grateful for the healing that was being done in their midst. Their hearts were hard. Their loyalties were divided. They spoke of God with their mouths, but their hearts were far from God. As God put it into the mouth and pen of Isaiah to proclaim for all generations to read and hear:
these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote. (Isaiah 29:13)
When people’s hearts are far from God, they can worship anything and anyone; they can worship a lie. There are religious people who put more trust in human traditions than they do in God. They give lip service to God. They speak of God, but their hearts worship idols. Psalm 86 is our message today:
Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. (Verses 11-12)
This passage is all about the heart. The psalmist prays for an “undivided heart” – yā·ḥǎḏ lē·ḇāḇ – so with his “whole heart” he may give thanks to the Lord. The Hebrew for ‘whole’ is kōl, a word that represents the totality of something.
Only with an undivided heart can one give thanks to God with one’s whole heart. This language of Psalm 86 leaves no room for maneuver, for halfhearted devotion, for lip service. The Pharisees were good at lip service, but their hearts were far from God, so they couldn’t give thanks. And not only could they not give thanks, but they accused Jesus of driving out demons by the prince of demons! By the devil in other words. The Gergesenes also, two Sundays ago: their hearts were more focused on the economic damage done by the healings that Jesus performed, so they also could not be grateful.
We have to make the choice in every situation. Where is our heart? Is it divided among many loyalties? And do these loyalties come between us and God; between us and Jesus Christ?
Every Sunday in the Beatitudes we hear: Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. Μακάριοι οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ, ὅτι αὐτοὶ τὸν θεὸν ὄψονται.
What purity is Jesus referring to? Purity according to some ethical or moral standards created by human beings? It’s interesting that Jesus did not talk much about morality or family values to use a modern term in American Christianity. No, his teaching went beyond morals into matters of existence. He taught existence, not morals: Blessed are the poor in spirit; Blessed are the meek; Blessed are those who mourn; Blessed are the merciful; Blessed are the peacemakers; Blessed are the persecuted. These are statements of existence, not morality. They are statements about who we are, not what we do. And you won’t find much reference to the Beatitudes and other statements of Jesus Christ in books of morality that tell people how to live.
“Blessed are the pure in heart.” Pure in heart – that’s Jesus way of saying, Blessed are the ones with undivided heart.
You are blessed when your heart is undivided; when your loyalties do not stand between you and Christ. Of course you have loyalties; of course you have commitments to family and work. Of course you do. We all do. But do those loyalties divide your heart? Do they create warfare inside you? Jesus is not interested in cheap morality. He wants you to be whole, in harmony with yourself; when your many loyalties and commitments don’t create conflict inside you. God is the God of harmony, not of disorder, according to St. Paul (1 Cor 14:33). When Jesus healed people, he made them whole. When he did a physical healing, he didn’t just look at the physical illness or disability; he looked at the whole person. That’s why in many healings he said, “your sins are forgiven.” Salvation in Christ means to be made whole. The undivided heart becomes the clearest sign that a person has been saved and been made whole by Jesus.
When you reach the point in your life where everything becomes thanksgiving and gratitude, you are there. You have the undivided heart. Praise the Lord and live your undivided life!