"doing the dishes..."

This post was contributed by Justin Harvey, The Crossing's Diomass Intern.

Washing dishes is one of those mundane tasks that we all face sooner or later. Some love it. Some hate it. I would venture to say the majority of people try to avoid it. Working at coffee shops for the past few years, I did a fair share of dishes on a daily basis. One day while wiping a dingy towel through another coffee mug, this Scripture passage came to mind, and I now cannot wash dishes without thinking about these words in Luke 11:37-41:

"When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was surprised. Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people. Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also?"

And here’s where his words hit hard (for this reader at least):

"But give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.”

I won’t attempt any commentary on this passage at the moment, because it gives me so much to ponder. I do, however, welcome your thoughts, dear friends, on how this speaks to you. And maybe the next time you are doing the dishes, you’ll join with me in pondering these words of our Lord.