First Reading: Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8
Responsorial Psalm 15:2-5
Second Reading: James 1:17-18, 21-22, 27
Gospel: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
The first reading today from the Book of Deuteronomy reminds us of the importance of observing the commandments of God faithfully. As Israel prepares to enter the Promised Land, Moses reminds them of the Wisdom, beauty and purpose of God’s commandment. God did not give Israel the commandments to be a burden but a blessing; a blessing that reveals God’s closeness to his people and his desire for their well-being. This passage reminds us that the purpose of the commandments is not to enslave or restrict our freedom but to enhance it. The commandments serve to make us live wisely and every day in God’s presence as His own people. It also reminds us that obedience to the commands of God is necessary to maintain a good relationship with God.
The necessity of careful observance of the commandments of God as evidence of their wisdom and the nearness of God to them, led the Pharisees who were passionately devoted to the exact observance of the law to developed complex interpretations and practical guidelines for putting the Torah into practice in daily life to ensure ritual purity which came to be regarded as the “tradition of the elders.” The tradition of the elders refers to regulations that are not found in the Scriptures but are practical guidelines for putting the Torah into practice. They were passed on by word of mouth until they were eventually written down around 200AD and came to be known as the Mishnah. The Mishna is a collection of rulings about matters of the practice of law, customs and rituals. There is also the Talmud which consists of the Mishnah with commentaries. The Pharisees and the Scribes held that these oral traditions were equally inspired and authoritative as the written Law of Moses.
In the Gospel, some Pharisees and Scribes approached Jesus and questioned him, “why do your disciples not respect the tradition of the elders but eat with unclean hands?” The first thing we must keep in mind is that this is not a question about hygiene but a question about ritual purity according to the tradition of the elders. This ceremonial handwashing before meals was intended to maintain ritual cleanliness and was seen as essential for fostering proper religious observance and religious purity. The problem with this ceremonial handwashing before eating is that, in practicing it, more emphasis was placed on external ritual purity rather than on internal spiritual purity. This is why Jesus frequently criticized the Pharisees and the Scribes for focusing on outward rituals while neglecting the more important aspects of God’s commandments, such as justice, mercy and faithfulness. Jesus insists that true defilement comes rather from within a person, from their thoughts, and actions rather than from external sources.
Jesus is not condemning the tradition of the elders but the application of the traditions in a way reduces religion and the life of faith to a joyless and sterile legalism which emphasizes external observances over interior transformation that aligns our hearts and actions with God’s will. He called the Scribes and Pharisees hypocrites. The English word “hypocrite” comes from the Greek hypokrites which means an actor or a stage player. In Greek drama, actors wear masks and play roles that they are not, so that by way of analogy, a hypocrite is one who wears mask, pretending to be somebody or something he or she is not. When this happens in religion, religion becomes lip service while our hearts are far from God. That is why Jesus repeats the accusations of Isaiah to His contemporaries, “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written; this people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are from me; in vain do they worship me, teachings as doctrines human precepts. You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” This accusation can just be as true for us today if our worship and religious observances do not express sincere love for God and neighbor but substitute for it.
So, how can our worship be pure and overcome the charge of paying lip service? St James tells us in the second reading, “Be doers of the word and hot hearers only, deluding yourselves.”
Happy Sunday..
Fr. Chidi Onwuka m.ss.cc