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Gospel: Mark 7: 1-13
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 went on to say,
“How well you have set aside the commandment of God
in order to uphold your tradition!
For Moses said,
Honor your father and your mother,
and Whoever curses father or mother shall die.
Yet you say,
‘If someone says to father or mother,
“Any support you might have had from me is qorban”‘
(meaning, dedicated to God),
you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.
You nullify the word of God
in favor of your tradition that you have handed on.
And you do many such things.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Jesus doesn’t criticize or condemn Jewish rituals. In fact, he participated in them thoroughly!
When he was only an infant, Mary and Joseph brought him to the Temple, presenting him to the Lord in accordance with the Law. He also studied the scriptures from an early age – and knew them well.
So well that he separated himself from his family after their annual pilgrimage up to Jerusalem when he was twelve. He then remained in the Temple for three days, dialoging with the religious authorities.
And, Luke tells us, “all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers.”
Even Christ’s betrayal, death, and resurrection – as well as his Promised Presence in the Eucharist – are built upon Old Testament prophesies and rituals.
Jesus was as Jewish as Jewish gets.
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Yet, the religious authorities accuse him in today’s Gospel of violating the very Law he came to fulfill.
“Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders?” they ask him. It’s a fair and important question.
But, again, Jesus does not criticize their laws. What he criticizes is the legalism, self-righteousness, and exclusivism that has hijacked the authorities’ understanding of their faith.
Whereas the Law was once an opportunity to draw closer to God, it had become a theological prison which, seemingly, no one could get out of.
This is what the Lord was breaking – their hardness of heart.
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It’s the same thing which Christians, on occasion, must also shake from themselves. It’s important to honor the Lord’s day – worshiping him on Sundays; to strive for moral and bodily purity; to be, “perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.”
But if our understanding of religion only leads to the exclusion and judgment of others, then we’ve lost the whole point.
Christianity is meant to make us ever more compassionate, inclusive and merciful people. This fulfills the Law – loving others the way Christ has loved us.
How might we do that today?
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Image credits: (1) New Covenant Community Church (2) Woe to You Scribes and Pharisees, Chantal LaFortune (3) TextsinContext, WordPress