GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 5:38
the Power of Custom
As children, my two brothers and I would visit our maternal grandparents, who lived in the “country.” If the visit was during the spring, Grandma would fix sassafras tea—tea made from brewing the roots of a sassafras tree. Grandma said the sassafras tea was a spring tonic that thinned the blood for the spring and summer heat. Now, I know that sassafras oil contains safrole, which may have a carcinogenic effect, and it was banned in all commercially mass-produced foods and medications in 1960. Grandma, of course, knew nothing of this, and her custom was strong.
Every time someone eating at Alice’s home dropped a fork, they would say, “Company’s coming from the… (whatever direction the fork faced).” In some families, if someone spills salt, they take a pinch of salt and throw it over their left shoulder. According to tradition, this salt over the shoulder hits the devil lurking there and reverses the misfortune—and makes a mess on the kitchen floor. Some people will not continue down a sidewalk if a black cat crosses their path, and others will not step on a crack in the sidewalk. Others will not allow any singing at breakfast because of the inherited custom that singing at breakfast brings sorrow before dinner. Custom is strong.
In the New Testament Jewish era, there were strong customs about acknowledging someone’s death. Even a poor man, according to custom, had to have at least two flute players for his wife’s death. Someone with the social standing of a synagogue ruler would have several flute players. There would be a host of mourners tearing their garments, for which there were rules and regulations. No one in the deceased’s family could work for at least three days. People in the deceased’s house and the three houses on each side emptied all their water. It was in this context, then, that the synagogue ruler, three disciples, and Jesus approached: “And they came to the house of the synagogue ruler, and he saw a commotion—much weeping and wailing.” (Mark 5:38) The friends or family of this prominent citizen ensured that they followed the mourning custom.
Most customs are innocent—drinking sassafras tea, throwing salt over the left shoulder, or avoiding cracks in the sidewalk—while others are not so much. Whatever their nature or source, customs are powerful.
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