What Defiles A Man

Sermon for Feb. 3rd 2008

Acts 10:9-16 Matthew 15: 10-20

From time to time, you hear from this chancel some remarks about the church calendar. Last year around this time, I spoke to you about the traditions and significance of Candlemas, which has been often thought to mark a change of season and the time to definitely dispose of all those Christmas decorations, as Herrick describes in his poem. But that was actually yesterday.

Today, in the traditional calendar, is also Quinquagesima, from the word for “fifty”, as seven weeks before Easter comes to about fifty days. This designation is part of what was called the Pre-Lent season, three weeks devoted to gradually getting us into the right frame of mind for that important period. But then, during Vatican II, the periti decided that these would only be “Sundays in Ordinary Time”. Sometimes I get a picture of the Pre-Lent and Epiphanytide Sundays turning out in protest at being labeled “ordinary time”. But, as they say in seminaries, the difference between a terrorist and a liturgist is that you can negotiate with a terrorist.

However, if you will bear with my high church instincts, February 3rd specifically has been marked in many places by a special tradition. This day is the feast of St. Blaise, a 3rd century Bishop of Sebaste who was put to death, like so many others, for his faith. The stories that have been told about Bishop Blaise relate that he was both a priest and a doctor, caring not only for people but also for sick animals. In particular, people liked to tell how he miraculously saved a boy who was choking on a fishbone. This led to the tradition of marking his day by a special Blessing of Throats,1 when divine protection was invoked against “all ills of the throat” for the coming year.

Now, in the New Church we do not include the invocation of saints in our practices, and Swedenborg has very harsh things to say about what he calls “worship” of saints. But our teachings have much to say about how rituals and accoutrements may significantly “represent” something; and today I wanted to consider what a ritual like this might represent.

When we read about bodily correspondences, we will not be surprised to be told that the organs of the throat region have two kinds of uses, and therefore two kinds of correspondences.2 And these are connected with two kinds of things referred to in our Gospel reading, the ones that come into us, and the ones that come out of us.

The Pharisees who criticized Jesus and his associates in this passage were very concerned about washing hands before eating—not for the reason your mothers doubtless told you, but because they thought everyone ought to eat in the same conditions of ritual

purity as priests about to consume holy food, so as to make clear that they were not of the common herd, the am ha’aretz3 who did not bother with the observance of religious law. They also worried about consuming food that was not kosher, something that Peter was still worried about in our first lesson. The Lord responded to their concerns by speaking about the nature of defilement and what causes it.

One part of the function of the throat region deals with things that come into someone. The muscles of the gullet work to convey our nourishment from the mouth to the digestive organs. And by correspondence, this is an image of our assimilation of what is good and true, and “appropriating” it to make it part of ourselves.4 Even what “passes through and so out of the man” has spiritual correspondences, involving the selection and rejection of evil and error.

Another thing that enters into us and often passes through the throat is the microscopic life that proves very annoying. And indeed the Spiritual Diary speaks of Swedenborg’s scary encounter with “mucus spirits”.5 It is probably not accidental that a blessing against “ills of the throat” is sought at a time of year when we are usually anxious about encountering germs.

But as I was researching the tradition, I found a reminder that we should not overlook the spiritual ills of the throat. These involve the other uses, those of the organs of speech, which also corresponds to the sentiments that come from the heart and the will. Some of them are “profanity, cursing, unkind remarks, detraction or gossip”. These are things which come OUT of a man, and which are the true source of defilement.

One person who was mindful of these ailments was a woman cited by the Times correspondent: “I asked St. Blaise to let me not hurt anyone with my voice, to not say anything offensive. I’m so old, I’m going to die of something one of these days, but I wanted to ask for this blessing to make sure I do not say anything that would hurt anyone, ever.”6

As often happens, it can be easy and temping to conclude that “I don’t/wouldn’t commit any offenses like that.” But try and consider now and then. Do we ever take delight in passing on something discreditable about someone else, when there is no real need for it? Do we speak without considering what a charitable interpretation would make of someone’s conduct, or make assumptions that someone is acting from bad motives? I certainly do.

1 See, for instance, New York Times for Feb. 13th 2000, “The View From Rye”2 Among other references, those collected in Worcester’s “Physiological Correspondences” under “Œsophagus” and “Organs of Speech”. Available at http://www.theisticscience.org/books/worcester/.3 Literally “person of the land”, but still an uncomplimentary name for someone who is not observant. http://www.amhaaretz.org/meta/what-is-am-ha-aretz.html4 Apocalypse Explained 5805 SD 4034-40366 Story referenced in note 1.

I was fond of the late TV series “Herman’s Head”7, where the protagonist’s mental faculties were personified. In one such episode, Herman had an impulse to reveal something that he knew would embarrass one of his friends. And we saw his “Intellect” anxiously insisting, “I must impart information, it will make the point, I love making points.” I found this ruefully familiar.

These are all things to be avoided if we are to pursue what Buddhist teaching calls “Right Speech”.

So, yes, it is proper to be concerned about external infections and ailments, and understandable to seek protection against them. But we must never on any account let concern about things which will pass through and out of us distract from thinking of the things which will spiritually defile us if they come out of us.

William Linden

7 Obligatory popular culture reference. See http://www.tv.com/hermans-head/babbling-brooks/episode/36668/summary.html?tag=ep_list;ep_title;8