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Gospel: Mk. 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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Today’s Gospel passage sets the stage for a lengthy confrontation between Jesus and the religious leaders of his day.
The religious leaders are convinced that following the external laws and rituals handed down to them from their ancestors are what make them God’s chosen people.
But Jesus challenges this deep-seated belief, claiming that God’s favor does not come through handwashing or Sabbath keeping; rather, through purity of heart. As the Psalmist cries out, “Create a clean heart in me, O GOD, renew in me a steadfast spirit.”
Handwashing and Sabbath keeping are fruitless exercises if they are not done with love.
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While this legal back-and-forth may sound trivial to us today, there is still a real challenge imbedded within it.
The Lord is calling us to see beneath our own religious practices, such as attending Mass, reading scripture, and praying the rosary, and to examine our moral purity. As Jesus says elsewhere, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Perfection in this sense does not necessarily imply being without sin. Perfection is about the journey. The striving. The effort it takes to reach spiritual maturity; moral clarity; wisdom; ultimately, allowing Christ to live in us and to love others through us.
When I examine my own heart, what are the roadblocks? Am I holding onto anger, jealousy, or a grudge? Am I selfish? Do I judge others?
Most importantly, do I do my best each day to allow Jesus to make his dwelling within me?
Perhaps such questions provide a pathway for us as we prepare for Lent.
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For this is how we find our way to perfection. Not by ridding ourselves of sin per se, but by opening ourselves to the presence of Christ so that we may be his voice, his hands, his feet, his beating heart in this world.
Create a clean heart in me, O GOD, renew in me a steadfast spirit.
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Image credits: (1) Sermons by Chris Goringe (2) Ritual Well (3) One Walk I With Jesus