The American Society of Microbiology recently issued a report on cleanliness in America. Microbiologists know that some simple, common sense habits of cleanliness—like washing our hands—can do a great deal to prevent the spread of disease. All it takes is rubbing your hands together for 10 to 15 seconds using soap and warm, running water. 

Unfortunately, the message hasn't gotten through to some people yet. The American Society of Microbiology knows this because they once stationed people in the restrooms of airports in five major cities in the U.S. and in Toronto. These monitors pretended to be brushing their hair or applying make-up when in reality they were keeping track of how many people washed their hands after using the restroom. The numbers that year were about the same as in previous surveys, except in Toronto, where the SARS scare had about 95% of people washing their hands. Otherwise, in places like San Francisco, New York, and Chicago, only about two-thirds of people washed their hands. The other one-third were contributing to the spread of everything from SARS to the common cold. 

Hand washing was also on the minds of the Pharisees and teachers of the law we meet in today's Gospel lesson. After a bit of observation, they asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples wash their hands?" Their concern was not the hygiene of the disciples. People in those days didn't know what we know now about germs theory and the spread of disease. No, their concern was that the disciples were not following "the tradition of the elders," which prescribed ritual hand washing before meals and after returning from the marketplace. In his response to the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus makes it clear that Clean Hearts are More Important than Clean Hands.