Cleanliness & Light

a reflection on Luke 11:14-12:12

by Katie Heemstra

While praying through this week’s readings I was truly at a loss for what to write about.  No one section or day really stood out to me and each one seemed so critical of something, which is honestly not fun to write about.  We have Jesus casting out demons and the famous, “a house divided cannot stand,” verse, we have a section on judgment and letting our light shine, another section on woes to the Pharisees, and finally a section on hypocrisy, fearing God but not fearing God at the same time, unforgivable blasphemy and finally the power of the Spirit to give us words.  What a jumble of topics! But in praying through this section of scripture as a whole, God started showing me a common theme in all of it: cleanliness and light.

The two are symbolically similar and tend to go hand in hand.  Where we find one it would be no surprise to find the other. Light can bring healing, cleansing is healing too.  Shedding light on a situation is a type of purging, which in turn is a type of cleaning. With that in mind then looking at the verses as a cohesive whole, I think Jesus is trying to convey the difference between true light and true cleanliness and that which is made or done through human effort.  

We see it first in the example in Luke 11:24-26, when an unclean spirit leaves a person and returns to that person finding everything tidied up and rearranged back in order, then invites all his demon friends back with him for the equivalent of a house party wreaking havoc on this poor man’s soul.  An odd example, right? I thought so, so I looked into some commentaries on these verses and they key to this scenario is that this person was expelled of the unclean spirit and tried to clean up the aftermath on his own (notice the use of swept clean – he basically dusted his house and put the pictures back up on the shelves, but did not put the effort in to truly, deeply clean) basically just cleaning up the demon’s room, inviting the spirit to come back.

Here’s a more tangible example…say you have an addiction and it has taken over your life.  You begin to see the destruction it is causing so you make up your mind to stop using whatever substance you’re addicted to.  You make it a couple days, maybe even a week or two, but something sets you off and you binge that substance so hard, you’re now even worse off than you were before you tried to quit.  This man tried to quit (“sweep his house”) on his own effort, but if he were to check himself into a rehab facility (“deep clean”) he would stand a chance against the onslaught of attack his addiction would have against him.  That deep cleaning is only available when we invite the Spirit in to help us clean up our act. It’s the only way to truly change our situation.

Next, we have the example of putting a lamp on a stand, rather than hiding it under a bowl in Luke 11:29-36.  We are warned in this passage to make sure that the light within us is not darkness. Another odd reference from Jesus.  How can light really be darkness? The answer is only if it is not from the true source of light: God our Father. If our light is coming from another source, say our own efforts to be righteous, it is not a true light we are shining, but a poor imitation.  We’re back to sweeping our own houses clean rather than letting the Spirit deep clean us: our effort versus letting God take control.

Third, we have the example of the Pharisee calling Jesus out for not washing before eating his meal (we’re back to the cleaning thing!).  Jesus throws it right back at the Pharisee accusing him of washing the outside of his dish but not the inside. Finally we have a fairly straightforward example: the Pharisee does much to make sure his outer appearance (how he looks, what he does, who he is perceived to be) follows the letter of the law, but his internal condition (his motivations, his desires, his heart) is quite dirty and ugly.  Jesus shows us the difference between the clean outside and clean inside in the examples in the following verses (Luke 11:43-52). Visible tithing, taking important seats in the synagogue, receiving respectful greetings in public are all focused on outer appearance. Cleanliness of the inside is shown as being generous to the poor and showing justice and the love of God to others. In order to do any of these things with a genuine heart rather than selfish motivation, we must be in tune with God and the Spirit.  It is his work through us that makes us able.

Finally we have the example of hypocrisy where truth is brought to light in the end (Luke 12:1-3).  Here we are, back to the light once more! We are warned that whatever we think we’re doing in secret will one day be revealed to all.  Whether this revelation will come through people coming to see our true character in this life or if all will be revealed in the next, we don’t know, but the heart of Jesus’ statement is if we act in the manner of the Spirit, truly cleansed on the inside, acting in love, justice and mercy we will have nothing to fear in this life or the next.  I think this is why Jesus continues on to say we should not be afraid of others who can only kill our bodies, but only fear God who can eternally damn us to hell. God sees what is done in secret, He sees if we are only working in our own effort to sweep our houses clean or only wash the outside of the dish. He sees our hearts and our true motivations.  BUT, we are to fear His judgment, we are not to fear Him, because He is the only one who can redeem us, make us truly clean, bring light into every situation in our lives.  We are to run to him with hearts wide open asking for His cleansing love and righteousness to make us well and whole and able to show his love to the rest of his children here on earth.

A lot easier said than done, right?  It sure is for me. But that is the beauty of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives.  Just as He will come and teach us what to say when we are called out to speak (Luke 12:11-12), He also comes when we ask to gently (yet deeply) clean out our hearts and shed light on our actions and circumstances.  It is not by our own efforts alone that we are going to be able to do what Jesus is asking of us. We have four examples in just these passages of how that does not work. We must first go to God, rely on Him to do His work in us, and in our willingness to be shaped, cleansed, and used by Him, we will be filled to overflowing with the love, justice, and mercy God calls us to act out in our lives.

artwork:Woe Unto You, Scribes and Pharisees, James Tissot (1836-1902)