August 29th 2021. 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

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

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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

SUMMARY OF HOMILY

1. WHY IS THIS DEBATE RELEVANT? In the Gospel, Jesus is involved in a diatribe against the Jewish leaders regarding their fixation with ritual washing and purification. This might seem like an obsolete debate for us, something that was relevant at the time of Jesus. Why should it be of interest to us today? The fact is that this kind of discussion is relevant in every era of the Church! There is a regular tendency for ritual practices and traditions to take on a greater importance than the truth itself. The early Christians knew that the problem of the Pharisees was not a problem for the Jews but for Christians, who became Pharisees in their hearts, searching for their own righteousness within themselves.

2. WHY ARE WE SO TEMPTED BY RULES? It is easier to keep rules than to be converted at heart! It is much simpler to change outward practices than internal attitudes! People often like to think that the external form of how something is done is what counts, but Jesus tells us that nothing that comes from the outside makes a person impure. It is from the interior, from the heart, that impurity comes. And then Jesus lists all of those sins that issue from within. We can try to change things on the outside, to create a “Christian aesthetic”, but this is a useless project. We can try to make a man perfect on the outside, but this is just a veneer that is covering an interior that still needs to be redeemed.

3. THE HEART IS THE PROBLEM, BUT ALSO THE SOLUTION! If all problems originate in the heart, then it is the heart that is also the solution. The evil acts that we do are not just evil acts. They are the fruit of an inner dynamic, a delusion that resides in our hearts. Behind acts of impurity and malice there is more than simple disobedience of rules; there is a distorted mode of acting. Being healed is not simply a business of learning to keep rules and behave better, but a rebirth from goodness. We don’t need to act like Christians but to be Christians. As the third chapter of John’s Gospel says, we need to be reborn as children of God, not simply act as if we were children of God. It is possible to do many good acts without being changed at heart, and it is our heart that really needs attention. It is essential that we enter into this task of constant purification of our hearts in the presence of the Lord. If we do not, then we will act like Christians but not be Christians at heart; love will be an effort, a mask, a pantomime that we perform. How profound is this Gospel! It demands that we look into our hearts and be profoundly challenged. This opens us to salvation and to the visit of the Holy Spirit.