Luke 11: 37-41 | Daniel Spoerri | You clean the outside of cup and plate?

Luke 11: 37-41 You clean the outside of cup and plate?

Aktion Rest (Tableau Piège),  Executed by Daniel Spoerri (b. 1930) plates, knives, forks, napkins, glasses, beer bottle, ash tray, cigarette buts, cigarette packs, matches, saltshaker and remnants of food on board, Executed in 1972 © Christie’s Amsterdam, May 2016 Sale, lot 200, sold for €37,500 Jesus had just finished speaking when a Pharisee invited him to dine at his house. He went in and sat down at the table. The Pharisee saw this and was surprised that he had not first washed before the meal. But the Lord said to him, ‘Oh, you Pharisees! You clean the outside of cup and plate, while inside yourselves you are filled with extortion and wickedness. Fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside too? Instead, give alms from what you have and then indeed everything will be clean for you.’ READ MORE Reflection on the Assemblage In today’s reading we see Jesus getting upset again with the Pharisees. They were probably good people, loyal to observe the law as perfectly as possible, BUT, this rigid attitude often made them blind to more important things. The Pharisees were primarily concerned with the external observance of rules and regulations, such as the ritual washing before a meal in today’s reading. The focus on the external rather than the internal, is what upset Christ. Christ on the other hand is focussed on what is inside a person, inside the human heart. He is not interested in the outside of our cups or dishes being clean, He is interested in helping us clean up the inside of these cups. Truth is that there is a Pharisee in all of us, big or small, who prefers cleaning the outside of the cup rather than tackle the greed, pride and sinfulness inside. Our artwork today is by Swiss artist, Daniel Spoerri, executed in 1972. Spoerri captures a group of objects, such as the remains of meals eaten by individuals, including the plates, silverware and glasses, and fixes them to the table, which is then displayed on a wall. So you have to imagine our artwork hanging on a wall. It is a snapshot of a meal that took place, but the sitters are gone, the food is gone, the moment is gone. All that is left are the dirty cups en dishes… For Jesus, holiness is not a matter of avoiding what is considered ritually impure or focusing on external signs of devotion… Jesus sees people from the inside!… and that is where He wants us to focus on… by Patrick van der Vorst