Cleanliness is Next to Godliness – Discuss

Very funny, and rather well-chosen – Jesus peering round the angle of the door frame, at the top of which are his words, “I SAW THAT!”

This is my Christmas present from Lucy, the manager of the community centre where I volunteer on a Wednesday.  

I shouldn’t have been surprised. It seems I’ve put the ‘Fear of God’ into anyone who dumps donations or kitchen equipment on the storeroom floor. But then there was the incident when young Ralph opened the fridge door, saw something wrong and exclaimed, “Jesus Christ!” He hadn’t seen me round the corner emptying boxes…I wrote a little leaflet for him, a tongue-in-cheek tract, which I’ll post as a blog shortly.

As I was growing up, I remember the catchphrase, Cleanliness is next to Godliness. What utter nonsense! Religion, in my youth, served the purpose of restraining people from their excesses. The purpose of grim, formal school assembles was to reinforce good, compliant behaviour. Somebody was watching you from above, rather like Big Brother in George Orwell’s ‘1984’. And any number of items such as cleaning up after yourself could be tacked on to ‘His’ requirements.

Our school assemblies acted as a vaccine to prevent pupils from ever finding faith. I think this is one reason why baby-boomers (my generation, especially men) have turned our back on God, Jesus and – especially – church. Religion was, in effect, a rod to chasten us.

Sadly, our society is reaping the fruit of believing we aren’t accountable to God. For example, the increase in children being taken into care is an evil outcome of our collective selfishness, a witches’ brew of factors for which we are all responsible. Yes, all – from the corridors of Westminster, from our boardrooms, to our hate-filled social media and our rubbish-strewn streets. Perhaps we’ve thrown out the baby with the bathwater?

-o-O-o-

“Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I’m here inviting outsiders, not insiders—an invitation to a changed life, changed inside and out.”

This was Jesus (Luke 5 vs 31,32 from The Message translation), responding to criticism that he associated with the wrong people. The tax collectors, ostracised by society, to whom he offered acceptance and a new start. The prostitutes whom he treated with respect, compassion and forgiveness. He spent almost none of his time trying to correct people’s outward behaviour, and was seen by the common folk as standing for freedom from the religious oppression of his day. So, what do I think he wants to say to us now?

The pages of the four gospels ring out a clear message. “I’ve come to set you free – to be truly yourself just as God the Father intended. I’ve come to bring life in all its fulness. And firstly, I want you to connect with me. Then, you’ll have the inner dynamic to please God.” Not a set of rules, but a new heart.

Those of us who connect with Jesus, use language that suggests a loving relationship. It’s like having a new best friend. He’s even interested in silly little things like those keys that have mysteriously gone missing.

I’ve quoted before from Dennis Bennett’s ‘Nine o’clock in the Morning’. There’s the touching story, dated around 1960, of Peggy, whose husband Chuck had left for a business trip. He’d left her a cheque for $3,000 in today’s money, which he needed her to pay into their account that day to cover his expenses. She couldn’t find it anywhere! She had visions of Chuck not being able to pay for his hotel room…In tears of desperation, Peggy called her friend Anne to ask for support from their prayer group. Anne contacted her other friends and got on her knees. “Lord Jesus, show us where the cheque is…”

Half an hour later, Anne rang back. “Peggy, the cheque’s in your laundry under a pile of clothes.” And there it was!

Can you imagine how this made both women feel? Awed, yes – but also, overwhelmingly loved by One who knew them and their circumstances, through and through. Confident, too, to ask God, through Jesus, for greater things like healing of sick bodies, restored relationships, breakthroughs in money matters, community transformation…

Yes indeed, Jesus ‘saw that’ – and he cares!