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Gospel: Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23
When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
—For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace
they do not eat without purifying themselves.
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds. —
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
“Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”
He responded,
“Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:
This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.
You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”
He summoned the crowd again and said to them,
“Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.
“From within people, from their hearts,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Over the course of history, human beings have done some of the greatest things to each other – and some of the worst things to each other – in the name of religion.
We’ve fed, clothed, and sheltered the poor. We’ve forgiven transgressions, and repaired broken relationships.
We’ve worked for peace, even giving our lives in pursuit of it; built towering cathedrals that have stood for more than a millennium; and created musical masterpieces.
All in the name of religion.
But human beings have also started wars, burned down houses of worship, and even oppressed and enslaved people in the name of religion. Look no further than what is unfolding in Afghanistan.
Getting religion right matters. In some cases, people’s lives depend upon it.
What, then, is “right” religion?
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In our second reading, Saint James says:
“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
This is why Jesus so often criticizes the scribes and Pharisees, as he does in today’s Gospel. Their religion does not make them better people.
They follow hundreds of different rules – they wash their hands before meals, they clean their bowls, they do not work on the Sabbath – but all of this effort does not lead to an inner transformation.
It may sound trivial to us today, this idea of washing your hands before a meal, but rules like this were essential for the Jewish identity in the first century; it was the heart of their religion.
The Jews were an oppressed minority living under Roman rule. Ritual purity was their way of keeping their culture, their identity, and their beliefs alive.
Jesus does not criticize them for doing this. Nor does he criticize them for being Jewish; Jesus himself was Jewish. What he condemns is the fact that all of this effort is fruitless.
Clean hands mean nothing if your heart is defiled.
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The same idea applies to every religion today. Catholics, for example, can be “religious, without being spiritual.”
We can follow the rules, memorize the commandments, recite prayers from memory, recount a parable or two, or even attend Sunday Mass without growing in love.
It’s only when our religion changes the hundreds of small daily decisions we make – when it changes the way we speak, think, and treat each other – that it serves its purpose, becoming “real.”
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Our religion is centered around love.
The love that God has for you and for me – and the love we must have for one another.
How, then, has our religion made us better people, or better lovers of God and humanity?
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The Native Americans explain religion differently, but in a way that is still relevant to us today.
They believe there are two wolves living within all of us. One wolf feeds on things that are evil, like the sins mentioned in today’s Gospel: unchastity, theft, adultery, greed, arrogance, envy, murder, jealousy, and judgment.
The other wolf feeds on things thing that are good: peace, patience, kindness, generosity, charity, apologies, prudence, and love.
The question becomes, which wolf wins?
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The one we feed.
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Human beings have done some of the greatest things in history in the name of religion. But we’ve also done some of the worst things in the name of religion.
“Right” religion, no matter what yours may be, boils down to feeding that good wolf within. Doing so not only leads to inner peace; it also spreads peace around us.
Perhaps this is what God is asking us this week: how will we feed that good wolf within?
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Image credits: (1) Indian Review of Advanced Legal Research (2) Fine Art America (3) Which side of ourselves will prevail? cnn