September 1, 2024 at Saint Peter the Apostle and Saint Agnes Churches in Naples, FL
Deuteronomy 2: 1-4, 6-8 + Psalm 15 + James 1, 17-18, 21-22, 27 + Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23
Well, that wasn’t much fun listening that list of our sins was it? It wasn’t any fun reading either! After almost 55 years of hearing confessions, I can tell you that this list just about covers it all. My guess is that those Pharisees were sorry they ever brought up the whole matter of the law. Being publicly called hypocrites and having the teaching of one of your own prophets thrown in your face didn’t exactly open the door to a polite conversation. So, Jesus turns to the crowd, that’s us, and asks us to “hear and understand.”
Jesus attacked the thinking of those Pharisees for two reasons. First, they believed that if they would just carry out correct external practices they were a good person no matter what their hearts and thoughts were like. Second, their definition of religion depended upon rules that were mostly made by people rather than God. This kind of thinking leads to believing that keeping the law will guarantee salvation. And so, this episode could lead us back to that old question, “What must I do to be saved?”
Christ did not come to do away with the laws and commandments of religion. Those old rules the Pharisees are disturbed about kept people healthy. Washing was and still is, a good thing. What Jesus is saying is that keeping the rules is just not enough. He gave us the Beatitudes. He said, “Be humble. Be just. Be charitable. Be merciful. Be gentle. Be forgiving. Be respectful.”
In spite of what Jesus teaches, Phariseeism isn’t dead. It is alive and well in government and in every bureaucracy where people put red tape before the needy. They say they are only doing what they have to do, and are never uncomfortable when doing their duty hurts another. As a current example, some on the Arizona border with Mexico are accusing Catholic Charities there of breaking the law by feeding hungry people who cross the border. It’s the same thing still going on. It works in religion too. Some who call themselves religious often claim to be keeping tradition while they confuse human tradition with God’s commands. This Gospel warns against the tendency to equate human precepts with God’s will.
This Gospel speaks not to Pharisees or Scribes, but to all of us disciples with a warning about anything that pollutes the human heart and destroys human relationships. We have to examine all the ways we behave, looking into our own hearts. All these sins we just heard of are external offenses against others, and they are first conceived in the heart.
When the word of God has taken root in us, everything becomes a religious practice. This word can come to us through the teachings of our faith, through the example of good people around us. However it comes, when it does take hold of us our inner eye is opened, our heart is softened, and we turn instinctively to God like a flower turns to the sun. When this happens to us, God’s law becomes sacred, religious practice is cherished, and we are filled with the power that saves.