When I was a camp director the rules of long established and understood games were constantly being changed in order to incorporate a larger sphere of players. For the same reason Jesus said, "You have a clever way of rejecting God's law in order to uphold your own teaching." Jesus had a knack for constantly changing the rules of the game of life in order to incorporate a larger sphere of people in his kingdom net.

One such game where the rules were often changed was volleyball. Volleyball is a well-established game with rules which are basically understood by everyone who plays. Many times we would have children playing the game who were either handicapped or mentally retarded. In order to integrate these special children into the game of volleyball it was necessary to change the standing rules or laws of the game. We would say that it was fair for the special children to catch and throw the ball instead of having to volley the ball. This enabled all of the children to be part of the game.

In our text Jesus is concerned that all of his children are a part of his kingdom life. And he would go so far as to change the rules and regulations and laws in order to integrate as many of his children as possible. The Pharisees and teachers used the law to exclude people from the kingdom. This angered Jesus to the point of remembering what Isaiah had written: "These people honor me with their words, but their heart is really far away from me. It is no use for them to worship me, because they teach man-made rules as though they were my laws!"

Again, Jesus making a statement about how calcified and stiff the tradition had become. Jesus is saying here that because of love, his father would do anything to get his children into his spiritual kingdom net. God will even change the rules and regulations in order to include as many of his children as possible. Jesus says that the ancestors' love is bounded; that is, the tradition has become bounded by fear and selfishness, while God's love is unbounded and limitless. It is so much so that God even changes the law from being written on stone to being written on the heart.

I once read a story about a group of soldiers in France during World War II who had become separated from their platoon during a fierce battle to retake a village. The village was finally retaken but in the process one of their fellow soldiers was killed. The small motley group of men carried their dead comrade to the nearby village church. They sought out the pastor in order to ask him if he would grant permission to allow their friend to be buried in the church cemetery. The pastor asked the others if they knew if their dead friend had been baptized. They said that they did not know. The others explained to the pastor that they had talked a lot about life and death and God, but one subject they had not broached was if and when their comrade was baptized. "Well then," explained the pastor, "if you do not know if your friend was baptized I must inform you that church ecciesiology does not permit you to bury your dead friend in this cemetery."

Saddened by this news, the men carried the body to the edge of the cemetery and buried it on the other side of the fence.

The next morning the small rag-tag army walked over to the church cemetery to check the grave of their friend to make sure it hadn't been disturbed. They were all startled and disturbed when, after looking for quite some time, they could not find the fresh grave. Just as they were about to give up in utter frustration the pastor approached them and said, "You cannot find the grave because it is not there where you are looking for it. Yesterday, I felt really guilty after telling you that you could not bury your friend here in the cemetery. So I woke up very early this morning and moved the fence so that your comrade is now included in the church cemetery."

And Jesus said, "You put aside God's command and obey the teachings of men."

Jesus is making a startling and definitive point here. He is saying that his Father's love always preempts ancestral laws; that his new law of love written on the heart always preempts ancestral words written on stone.

Jesus is not saying that ritual cleanliness is bad or wrong in and of itself. We certainly practice, in our culture, similar sanitary measures. The point Jesus desires to make here is: what is unfriendly to God is when ritual cleanliness preempts God's love and mercy and compassion.

Jesus would have to put forbearance before forebears. He would have us participate in his father's love induced restraint ahead of ancestral legal tradition.

A story: The court warden's deep voice perked through to Billy's conscious awareness as he called the session of juvenile court to order. Billy had already sat through the arraignment session where he had been charged with aiding and abetting automobile vandalism. He felt really bad about the whole thing now. "But it's a bit late for that now," he thought to himself as he relived the incident that took place on New Castle Street two weeks ago.

"Jimmy and I were just out to have a good time cruising the neighborhood on foot that night. And then Jimmy just happens to bring his 22-caliber pistol with him. I didn't think anything of it at first. I mean, I didn't think he would actually take it out of the holster and start taking pot shots at stop signs and street lights. I just stood there with my stupid mouth swung wide open in disbelief. I couldn't believe what Jimmy was doing and I should have taken off home then running full speed ahead. But like a dummy I just stood there and gawked dumbfounded! And let him go on shooting at car tires and then he started to knock out windshields. You've gotta hand it to him. Jimmy is nuts! That's when the police showed up and put the handcuffs on both of us. And now here I am sitting in a juvenile court of law up on at least a dozen counts of vandalism."

Billy was nervous but never the less he was glad his mother was with him. That's what he felt most bad about. Disappointing his mother like this. She had worked extremely hard raising Billy and his sister and he couldn't bear to break her heart like this.

Through the clutter of ponderous guilt-ridden fog Billy heard his name, "Well, Billy," the judge said, "after reviewing your case do you have anything else you would like to say?"

With downcast eyes Billy shook his head in the negative and whispered softly, "I just feel so bad that I hurt my mother like this ... and I know right from wrong ... I shouldn't have let Jimmy do what he did ... oh, I don't know Judge Green."

"Well, Billy," Judge Green said, "You're going to have to give me a few minutes in my office while I consider your case and what I think your sentence should be. I'll be back in 15 minutes. You can just wait right here, I won't be long."

The 15 minutes seemed like a lifetime to Billy, forcing him to deal with his crime once again. "Boy, I wish I could replay the tape on this one, but I guess I can't. I'll just have to take the medicine and live and learn. I'm never, ever going to get involved in anything like this again."

The sound of a door slamming against a door jamb snapped Billy back into the courtroom once again. Judge Green's formal black robe made him look official and authoritarian. And Billy didn't think he was going to like the medicine that was going to be dished out to him.

"Okay, Billy," Judge Green spoke intentionally, "here's what we're going to do. At least a dozen counts of automobile vandalism. I could send you to reform school for up to two years. You realize that don't you, Billy? You aided and abetted Jimmy, you know?"

Judge Green continued, "But I'm not going to do that, Billy. Do you want to know why?" Billy vaguely nodded his head in the affirmative. "Let me tell you why, Billy," Judge Green was speaking softly and tenderly now, "I've known your mother for a long time. Yes, your mother and I went to school together when we were kids. Billy, your father was a fine man, but when he suddenly died 10 years ago that left all of the responsibility on your mother. Billy, your mother has done a fine job raising you and your sister."

Billy reached over and grabbed his mother's hand and held it gently. The judge continued, "She's done an excellent job despite the handicap of not having your father during all these years. Billy, she has sacrificed for you. She has worked hard, overtime, in order to give you the things that you need to have. And she has raised you in the church and made sure that you were active in positive organizations like the scouts and school athletics and school clubs. And most importantly, Billy, she has spent good time with both you and your sister. She's always made it a priority to take the two of you on a vacation every summer. Billy, your mother has done a darn good job with you! And I'm going to show restraint in this case. Not, mind you, because of you. What you did, Billy, is unconscionable. I am not going to send you to reform school, Billy. But I am sentencing you to 60 hours of voluntary community service in the city's park and recreation department's summer program. Case dismissed!"

"You put aside God's command and obey the teachings of men."

Likewise, God displays his forbearance and shows his restraint. Not because of us or what we have done or not done. But because of Christ and what he has done for us through his life, death and resurrection.

God's love, shown to us in Jesus, preempts rules, regulations and ancestral laws. God's new law written on stone. Thus today we do not celebrate your ancestral forebears but instead we celebrate God's gracious display of friendship toward humanity through his active forbearance, through his restraint.