We all come to scripture with lots of commitments. We’re already committed to certain beliefs, desires, and practices. The way we think and feel and act carries a lot of momentum, especially because our thoughts and feelings and actions are usually shared by a whole community of people. And when our community has carried beliefs and desires and practices for a long time, the impact of that tradition can often be a blindspot when reading scripture or encountering Jesus. In Mark 7.1-23 Jesus points out some blindspots in the religious people of his day. They’re things that seem obvious to us as outsiders. The challenge is to confront our own hearts to find out which of our thoughts, feelings, and actions are causing us to miss Jesus and the witness of scripture.