Sunday Gospel Reflection
"Out of the heart come evil thoughts"
Introduction:
Ways to Enter the Sacred Meal
How do you prepare for a special dinner? What rituals or habits do you have to ready your
mind and heart for that unique meal?
Meal time is social time. A special dinner can be as simple as wine and cheese, or as
extravagant as a multi-course night in a fine restaurant. But, don't we remember not the
food and drink, but the company we keep? Don't companions make a meal memorable? We can
eat with family and friends. But, what would we do to prepare to eat a meal with God? This
simple question cut to the heart of one's relationship with God. Do we prepare by removing
ourselves from the
dirt of the world? Or do we prepare ourselves by removing the dirt of the heart? This
question was the battleground over which Jesus and the Pharisees fought.
First Reading
Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8
1 "And now, O Israel, give heed to the statutes and the ordinances which I
teach you, and do them; that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land which
the LORD, the God of your fathers, gives you.
2 You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it; that you may keep
the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
...
6 Keep them and do them; for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight
of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, 'Surely this great
nation is a wise and understanding people.'
7 For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to
us, whenever we call upon him?
8 And what great nation is there, that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all
this law which I set before you this day?
Second Reading
James 1:17-18, 21-22, 27
17 Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father
of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth that we should be a kind of
first fruits of his creatures.
...
21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rank growth of wickedness and receive with
meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
...
27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans
and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
Gospel Reading
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
1 Now when the Pharisees gathered together to him, with some of the scribes, who had come
from Jerusalem,
2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands defiled, that is, unwashed.
3 (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they wash their hands, observing
the tradition of the elders;
4 and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they purify themselves;
and there are many other traditions which they observe, the washing of cups and pots and
vessels of bronze.)
5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live
according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with hands defiled?"
6 And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,
`This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;
7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.'
8 You leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men."
...
14 And he called the people to him again, and said to them, "Hear me, all of
you, and understand:
15 there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things
which come out of a man are what defile him."
...
21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft,
murder, adultery,
22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.
23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man
Bible Study/Meditation
Watching her mother struggle, a single girl asked why it was necessary to cut the bone off
the piece of meat before putting it in the pot to roast. The mother replied, "That's
the way my mother did it." Later the girl asked her grandmother the same question,
only to be given the same answer, "That's the way my mother did it." Somewhat
intrigued to know the real reason, she placed a long distance call to her
great-grandmother asking the same question. This time she got a different answer,
"Because it was too big for the pot I had." We chuckle at how this practical
solution inadvertently became established as a meaningless tradition from one
generation to the next.
An unknown author succinctly captures Jesus' teaching in this week's Gospel Reading by
stating "Tradition is the living faith of the dead. Traditionalism is the dead faith
of the living." Jesus is speaking in this passage about the dangers of
traditionalism. He rebukes the Pharisees, not for the proper adherence to tradition, but
for
their traditionalism. As Catholics our lives and worship are marked by tradition, and
unfortunately for some it has become traditionalism. Tradition is and should be a good and
healthy aspect of our lives, leading us to Jesus and amplifying his teaching. The value of
tradition is emphasized by Jesus' example as he observed religious traditions of Judaism.
The last supper Jesus had with his disciples took place amidst his observing of the
Passover tradition. It was during this observance that Jesus instituted the sacrament and
tradition of the Eucharistic meal. So we know from his life that Jesus was not opposed to
valuable traditions, but rather to the hypocrisy of traditionalism.
The point of Jesus' rebuke was the Pharisees' hypocritical concern about minute,
man-made, details of religious observances, while simultaneously harboring hearts
overflowing with deceit and sin. The Scriptures tell us that God does not look on the
outward appearances, but rather looks on the heart. So God is not fooled by outward shows
of religiosity though people sometimes are.Romano Guardini, in his book The Lord,
discusses the dangers of traditionalism by explaining, "A special caste, that of the
scribes, the protectors of the Law, grew up around it. They probed its meaning,
interpreted and applied it. They surrounded every paragraph with explanations and
observations, which in turn gradually assumed the character of new laws, so that in the
course of time a fine strong net held the whole of life in its meshes
...
"To this was added that which Jesus mentions with such heaviness of heart; hypocrisy
and cant. On the outside, greatest delicacy of conscience; on the inside, hardness of
heart. Outer loyalty to the Law; inner sin-and sin without admission of sin, with neither
contrition nor the desire for salvation. Such then was the attitude with which Jesus was
confronted."
Legitimate traditions, which are primarily manifested through outward expressions, are not to be abandoned, but rather to be understood as a means of transforming our heart and life. Tradition when practiced wisely, and wholeheartedly helps us examine and prepare our heart, reflect on the condition of our heart, and can lead our heart to Jesus and his teachings. Tradition should be a means of growth and grace and not simply used to validate a life with God which either doesn't exist or which exists in a sorry state of disrepair.
To avoid traditionalism, we need not know where every tradition originated but like the young girl in the illustration, we must seek to know why we practice a tradition, and then practice it from the heart.
Reflections:
· Please re-read the phrase(s)/sentence(s) that move(s)/touche(s) you and what inner
message of the heart is the Spirit whispering to you?
. If so much about the scribes and Pharisees was praiseworthy, why did Jesus call them
"hypocrites," "blind guides" and even "fools" (Matthew
23:13,15-17,19)? Because some of them began to put a high priority on observing the
details of the law, but neglected what it said about mercy.
-----What would you do to have mercy as God does?
. In our own lives, we too have certain ways of doing things, traditions we like to
follow. But there may be something God wants to change in us, or something new that he
wants to accomplish in us. Perhaps we need to slow down a little to hear him speak to us
in prayer. Perhaps there are habits and customs we need to
reassess
----How do you prepare for Sunday? Try a nightly Examination of Conscience, a
review of the day and a prayer for forgiveness. Over the next several days, see if that
prayer does not heighten your thirst for Sunday worship
. What role do external observances play in our life of faith?
. What do I like best and least about what comes from within me? How can I control what
comes from within?
Prayer
Lord, fill me with your Holy Spirit and make my heart like yours. Strengthen my heart and
my will that I may I choose to love what is good and to hate what is evil