August 30^th 2015. Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary time.

Gospel:   Mark 7:1-8;14-15; 21-23

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

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Gospel:   Mark 7:1-8;14-15; 21-23

The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered round Jesus, and they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with unclean hands, that is, without washing them. For the Pharisees, and the Jews in general, follow the tradition of the elders and never eat without washing their arms as far as the elbow; and on returning from the market place they never eat without first sprinkling themselves. There are also many other observances which have been handed down to them concerning the washing of cups and pots and bronze dishes. So these Pharisees and scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not respect the tradition of the elders but eat their food with unclean hands?’ He answered, ‘It was of you hypocrites that Isaiah so rightly prophesied in this passage of scripture:

This people honours me only with lip-service,
while their hearts are far from me.
The worship they offer me is worthless,
the doctrines they teach are only human regulations.

You put aside the commandment of God to cling to human traditions.

He called the people to him again and said, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that goes into a man from outside can make him unclean; it is the things that come out of a man that make him unclean. For it is from within, from men’s hearts, that evil intentions emerge: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within and make a man unclean.”

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary  . . . . The first reading praises the Law and states that the people of Israel are blessed because they possess this wonderful system of regulations. The Gospel, by contrast, criticizes the way that the Jews focus on observance of the Law. What is going on here? The issue is this: the goal of the Law was to foster a deep relationship of filial obedience to the Lord, but it became an end in itself. When laws are kept for the sake of the laws themselves then they become empty and meaningless. This message warning of the danger of scruples is not simply for the Jews, but for all peoples at all times, and particularly for you and me. Do I follow prescriptions just to ease my conscience or to satisfy my personal scruples? Do I follow observances in order to feel a sense of individual righteousness? If so, then this Sunday’s Gospel calls me to enter into a deeper filial relationship with the Lord, doing things that have meaning in the context of that relationship, not doing actions just for the sake of the actions themselves.

The goal of the Law was to foster a relationship of filial obedience to the Lord, but it became an end in itself

It might seem that the first reading is in contradiction to the Gospel. The first reading states that nothing is to be added or taken away from the Law. The people are asked to be attentive to all the prescriptions in order to demonstrate to everyone how good this Law is. In the Gospel, the Pharisees complain that the disciples of Jesus do not keep all the required observances. The first four books of the Torah contain many prescriptions to which the Jewish tradition had added many secondary norms. For example, if a norm said “Don’t touch anything on the table”, the secondary norm would forbid you to even enter the room so that you wouldn’t risk touching anything on the table. To these observances Jesus says, “This people honours me only with lip-service, while their hearts are far from me. The worship they offer me is worthless, the doctrines they teach are only human regulations.” The problem that Jesus is identifying here is that the goal of the Torah was to foster a relationship of filial obedience in people; the relationship was to be developed by this attitude of obedience, of opening one’s heart to the Lord and his wisdom. It was not law for law’s sake, but a relationship of being the people of God. In fact, the first reading speaks of a people who are praiseworthy because of their closeness to God. The law in itself counted for nothing; its value centred on its role in fostering the relationship with God.

The lesson of this Gospel is not simply for the Jews but for each one of us personally

The law for law’s sake is a trap in which have fallen – not only the Jews – but also the individualist, legalist attitudes of today, attitudes that all of us are guilty of. The value of this Gospel text is not its role in pointing out the historic faults of the Jewish people: there is nothing in the Jewish people that is not also in us and in every people. The problems and issues underlined in the Gospel texts are paradigmatic of issues that are relevant for all peoples at all times. The problem is when norms are no longer an instrument of a relationship but become utterly directed to my own individual righteousness. When norms are utilized for my own satisfaction then this constitutes a perversion of the faith. The priority is to make me feel at ease with my conscience. This type of monotonous pedantry can become ensconced in our Christian communities, leading to the neglect of the personal relationship that was the original motivation behind all such laws.

It is our relationship with the Lord that counts, so let us leave all scruples behind and start getting to the real heart of things

The law becomes more important that the person. The scrupulous examination of procedure takes precedence and leads to emptiness and meaningless. We can follow all the norms to the letter and still fail to touch the Lord, fail to abandon one’s heart in filial submission and trust to the Father. It is the heart that counts. Jesus says in this Gospel, “Nothing that goes into a man from outside can make him unclean; it is the things that come out of a man that make him unclean.” It is not the way we clean a thing that counts, or the day on which we eat a particular food, or the manner in which we give something. What counts is where my heart is, what my heart produces. Do I have a relationship with the Lord, or not? Do I have a life visited by grace? Or am I simply following a code without possessing a sense of the truth? This Sunday it is very important that we exit from this mountain of scruples directed towards the care of our individualistic righteousness. When we are in a relationship and insist on certain prescriptions, then often we are trying to hurt those around us. But when we love those around us, we tend to forget the little rules. Instead we focus on the person and get right to the heart of things, thinking only of their real needs.