Sunday, August 31, 2003
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

1st Reading: Dt 4:1-2, 6-8

Moses said to the people, "Now, Israel, listen to the norms and laws which I teach that you may put them into practice. And you will live and enter and take possession of the land which Yahweh, the God of your fathers, gives you.

Do not add anything to what I command you nor take anything away from it. But keep the commandments of Yahweh, your God, as I command you.

If you observe and practice them, other peoples will regard you as wise and intelligent. When they come to know of all these laws, they will say, "There is no people as wise and as intelligent as this great nation." For in truth, is there a nation as great as ours, whose gods are as near to it as Yahweh, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him? And is there a nation as great as ours whose norms and laws are as just as this Law which I give you today?

2nd Reading: James 1:17-18, 21-22, 27

Every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the Father of Light, in whom there is no change or shadow of a change. By his own will he gave us life through the Word of Truth, that we might be a kind of offering to him among his creatures.

So get rid of any filth and reject the prevailing evil, and welcome the Word that has been planted in you and has the power to save you.

Be doers of the Word and not just hearers, lest you deceive yourselves.
In the sight of God, our Father, pure and blameless religion lies in helping the orphans and widows in their need and keeping oneself from the world's corruption.

Gospel: Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

One day the Pharisees gathered around Jesus and with them were some teachers of the Law who had just come from Jerusalem.

They noticed that some of his disciples were eating their meal with unclean hands, that is, without washing them. Now the Pharisees, and in fact, all the Jews, never eat without washing their hands for they follow the tradition received from their ancestors. Nor do they eat anything when they come from the market without first washing themselves. And there are many other traditions they observe, for example, the ritual washing of cups, pots and plates.

So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law asked him, "Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders, but eat with unclean hands?"

Jesus answered, "You, shallow people! How well Isaiah prophesied of you when he wrote: This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. The worship they offer me is worthless, for what they teach are only human rules. You even put aside the commandment of God to hold fast to human tradition."

Jesus then called the people to him again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and try to understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can make that person unclean. It is what comes out from within that makes unclean for evil designs come out of the heart: theft, murder, adultery, jealousy, greed, maliciousness, deceit, indecency, slander, pride and folly. All these evil things come from within and make a person unclean."

Commentary

Jesus and his disciples run into problems with the scribes and Pharisees in today' gospel reading. They were observed not to wash their hands before eating a meal-something devout and traditional Jews would find quite unacceptable, even scandalous. The traditions of the elders were sacred for the Jews. And so we must not think that Jesus was simply being stubborn or rebellious in his actions and words in the passage. In fact, nowhere did he say that these traditions were unimportant. What he did stress however, was their "relative" importance, that is, that although valuable, these traditions should not make people forget the values and meanings behind them. People should not forget that while these values are important, there are other values that are even more important than they. Honoring God with one's heart for instance, more than simply honoring him with one's lips, is one of the principles Jesus proposes the scribes and Pharisees put a higher weight on. In our lives too, we are sometimes that way, tending to put more value to the superficial realities of our faith than on the substance and essence of it-which is love of God and love of neighbor. Our traditions, our practices, our rituals-these are important, for sure. But their importance is relative to their being expressions of what's going on in our hearts. If these externals are expressions of a profound faith and love in our hearts, are worthwhile; if not, then they are no more than hypocritical practices that signify absolutely nothing.

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