Kept

Not like the clergy (1:22) 

Many years ago, a major Greek scholar was visiting an Oxford theological college. His hosts asked if he would read the lesson for the day, which happened to be this passage. He chose to read it in Greek, translating fluently as he went along. It all sounded rather like the RSV, until he got to this verse, when instead of 'scribes' he read 'clergy'. There was a sharp intake of breath, audible, I am told, to all. No one had spotted how closely the educated religious class of today, the group into which they were all being inducted, paralleled not Jesus' disciples but Jesus' opponents.  

As we gain knowledge and grow in understanding of God's ways, we have this challenging path to take: how do we avoid our theology (literally 'talk of God') taking us away from our faith (our 'walk with God')? 'You study the Scriptures, but you refuse to come to me' says Jesus to his critics. Too often we trust to clever ideas, or good practice, or careful study and forget to seek the source of all wisdom.