Traditions are a fundamental part of our human experience.  They ground us, they connect us to one another and they often bring meaning, peace and joy to our lives.  We are entering into the fall season that will usher in all kinds of beloved traditions…traditions at church, traditions at home, traditions in our neighborhoods and community.  But tradition, according to our scripture reading for this week, can also lead us down a slippery slope…especially in our lives of faith.  Because traditions can become worn out.  They can lose that which makes them lively and life giving.  They can become small and legalistic.  They can become more important, in and of themselves, than that which inspired them in the first place.