“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside will be clean.”                                                                                               Matthew 23:25, 26 (NIV)

I must admit – I am not a very good cook. I can cook, but I don’t enjoy it. I can follow a simple recipe; however, I always try to rush through the process. My husband, on the other hand, enjoys cooking and even creates his own recipes. He finds it therapeutic. Therefore, he cooks and I take care of the dirty dishes.

When I tackle a sink full of dirty dishes, I rinse out the inside of each item first and allow it to soak in soapy water if needed before I rinse off the outside (even if I am putting it in the dishwasher). I scrub the inside of each pot, pan, and plate. Then I rub my hand along the surface to make sure it is smooth and free of the pesky remnants of what it contained – which I refer to as gunk. I finish by wiping a rag across the outside surface and rinse the item one last time. Considerably less time is spent on the outside of each dish for obvious reasons. 

Jesus’ warning to the Pharisees about their dirty dishes clearly puts the focus on the importance of being clean on the inside. 

As Christians, we acknowledge this and make it a focus during the Lenten season. We give up something that is bad/ unhealthy or take on something that is good/ healthy to be cleaner on the inside. 

The problem comes when we only attend to this during Lent. When the 40 days are over, we all too often have a sense of relief that we can now return to our old ways – letting all that gunk (like greed and self-indulgence) build up again until next year. 

We all have dirty dishes. I would wager that you don’t go more than a couple of days before cleaning them. So why do we allow ourselves to remain a dirty dish?

This is one simple yet profound message for this Holy Week. 

I challenge myself and you to remember that after the Easter celebration of the resurrection the dishes still must be done. 

Clean the inside of your cup and dish and the outside will sparkle too!

Dear Lord, 

I thank you for this concrete, relatable example and reminder. Each time I face a sink full of dirty dishes may I remember your teaching to not allow things like self-indulgence and greed to build up inside of me. I want to be a clean vessel for your service.

Amen.