Year B- 22nd Sunday in ordinary time
This people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 1 And there assembled together unto him the Pharisees and some of the scribes, coming from Jerusalem. Author: Joseph of Jesus and Mary |
In today’s readings a proper understanding of the Law and its relationship to our hearts is taught. The readings go a long way to addressing the false dichotomy that many set up between love and law, as though the two were opposed. They are not. For if we love God, we want, we love what he wants and loves. And the Law goes a long way to describing what God wants and loves. Indeed, the Law is letting love have its way.
God is Love, and his Law, no matter how averse you are to “rules” is ultimately an expression of his love. In all the readings today God asks, idea he commands that we let love have His way. Let’s look at four teachings on Law and its relationship to God who is Love.
I. The PROMISE of the Law - Note that the text from the first reading frames the Law, and the obedient hearing of it, in terms of a promise of God, seeing the Law as a doorway to the loving blessings and promises of God. The text says, Moses said to the people: “Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
So, the Law comes with a promise and sees the Law as the basis of life, and the doorway to the further blessings of the Land. Many today see God’s law as prison walls,laws that limit our freedom to “do as we please.” But they are not prison walls, they are defending walls.
Every ancient city had walls, not to imprison its citizens, but to protect them from the enemy. Within the walls there was security and the promise of protection. Outside the walls lurked every danger, and there were no promises.
It is like this with God’s Laws. They are, for those who keep them, a great protection and also contain the promise of ultimate victory. But outside this protecting wall there is every danger and not promise of victory.
GK Chesterton wrote in “Orthodoxy”
Catholic doctrine and discipline may be walls; but they are the walls of a playground. Christianity is the only frame which has preserved the pleasure of Paganism. We might fancy some children playing on the flat grassy top of some tall island in the sea. So long as there was a wall round the cliff’s edge they could fling themselves into every frantic game and make the place the noisiest of nurseries. But the walls were knocked down, leaving the naked peril of the precipice. They did not fall over; but when their friends returned to them they were all huddled in terror in the centre of the island; and their song had ceased. [1]
Thus, God didn’t give the Law to take away our fun, but that we might find life and happiness. The devil of course, is a liar, and tells us we will be happier if we sin, and that God is limiting our freedom by hemming us in with the Law. But sin does not make us free: Jesus says, Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin. (John 8:34). Indeed, how much suffering and pain would vanish in an instant if we all just kept the Commandments. For, most of our suffering, and most of our wounds, are self-inflicted, by insisting on journeying outside the city walls of God’s loving and protecting commandments.
Moses develops elsewhere what he says here, reminding us that our decision for or against the Law brings wither blessing or curse:
See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (Deut 30:15-20).
II. The PRECISION of the Law - Regarding the Law of God Moses says, In your observance of the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin upon you, you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it.
Here we might consider an analogy of the Law as a set of directions to a destination. If you give me directions to get to your house, I am not likely going to get there by following the instructions only on every other turn, or in only 50% of the instructions. The compliance must be whole to bring me to the right place.
Thus, we are directed the follow the Law of God wholly. Scripture says elsewhere:
- Instruct me O Lord, in the way of your statutes, that I may exactly observe them (Ps 119:33)
- I intend in my heart to fulfill your statutes always to the letter. I have no love for half-hearted men, my love is for your law (Ps 119:112-113)
- For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. (James 2:10)
Now here too we must see God as a healer who is not exacting for his sake but ours. Imagine a man who goes to a doctor with two broken legs and the doctor says, “We’re gonna aim for 50% here. I’ll set one leg but leave the other one broken. But don’t worry about the broken leg, that’s why God gave you two!” We would surely hold such a doctor in contempt. Thus, God who is our healer points to full health, not to crippled or partial health.
Jesus says, You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matt 5:48) indicating the kind of healing he offers. And St. Paul adds [God who] began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil 1:6).
Thus the precision of the Law is taught to indicate the healing power of God’s law with grace.
III. The PRIORITY of the Law - In the gospel today Jesus rebukes the Scribes and Pharisees saying, “[You] teach as doctrines human precepts. You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”
And now, as then, many set aside the Priority of God’s Law in favor of human thinking. Today for example politics has become a pernicious influence in this regard and most Catholics of both parties are more passionate about their political views than God’s teachings as revealed through Scripture and Church teaching. And if there is a conflict between what God teaches and the political party view, guess which gives way and guess which gets the unexamined allegiance? Be it questions of abortion, the treatment of “resident aliens” (as Scripture calls immigrants), moral issues such as Homosexual “marriage,” etc…. Allll too easily Catholics will turn a deaf ear to what God teaches, never issue rebuke to their own party when correction is needed and cheer as their political leaders champion positions contrary to God’s Law. Too many Catholics place political priorities and popularity, i.e. human traditions and agenda over God’s.
The Lord goes on to say, “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…” He says elsewhere, [you] make void the word of God through your tradition which you hand on. And many such things you do.” (Mk 7:13)
Be very careful, the pernicious effects of partisan political thinking and the “battle station” mentality of winning has caused too many Catholics to cease to be the leaven, and the prophetic voice they are supposed to be in their political parties. All the political parties and most of the political movements need purification, and a Catholic must be a Catholic Christian before he is a Democrat, a Republican or a Libertarian. No party or movement stands blameless before God and the unquestioning, unqualified and silent allegiance from Catholics and others Christians toward political parties is a huge problem. We are too politically compromised and have elevated human teachings and movements too often above God’s Law.
There are surely other ways that we favor human traditions and teachings over God’s Law following whims and all the latest trends and fashionable things in an often mindless way, never judging them by the clarity of God’s reveled Law.
To all this, the Lord gives rebuke and reminds us that his Law must the standard by which every other thing is judged, that a Christian should see everything by the Light of God’s law, exposing error and evil, approving goodness and truth wherever it is found. Nothing is to priority over what God teaches.
In the end it is a question of what and who we love more. God and his law, or this world and its ways of sin and compromise.
IV. The PLACE of the Law - The Lord goes on to indicate that our fundamental problem can be that the Law of God is not in our heart and warns that the heart, since it is the locus of human decision and action, must be the place of God’s law for us. He says, Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile. “From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile.
Hence the need to have God’s law in our heart is essential. It is not enough to have a cursory and intellectual awareness of God’s Law. The Law must drop the 15 inches from the intellect to the heart.
And what is the human heart? While there ambiguities in the Biblical text distinguishing mind and heart, this much is clear, the heart is the deepest part of the Human person, where we are alone with our thoughts and deliberations. The heart is the place where we discern, where we ponder and ultimately decide. The heart is “where we live.” It is to this deepest part of ourselves that the Law of God must find a home.
Jesus it clear, it is from the deep heart of the individual that come forth our behaviors, the behaviors that determine our character and destiny. It is here that the Law of God must find a home. And it will only find a deep home here through prayer and meditation, through a careful, persistent and thoughtful reading of God’s revealed truth coupled with gratitude and love of God.
It is no mistake that the summary of God’s law says simply to Love the Lord the your God with all your heart and your neighbor as your very self. For it is only love that unlocks the door of our heart. And in loving God we begin to Love what and who he loves. To love God is to love his law. Scripture says,
1. Ps 119:20 My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times.
2. Ps 119:24 24 Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.
3. Ps 119:72 72 The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.
4. Ps 119:127 For I love your commands more than gold, however fine.
5. Ps 119:131 I open my mouth and sigh, longing for your commands.
Yes, in the end, the Law comes from Love, the God of Love who is Love. And it is thus love that unlocks the Law, love that makes us realize that the Law is a gift of God’s love.
In the end, we cannot understand God’s Law apart from his love. God is Love. Love and God’s law cannot be opposed as some so boldly assert. No, the Law, God’s Law is letting love have its way. God appeals to us as a Father saying, “Let my Law have its rightful place in the depth of your heart, let it be your priority, follow it precisely, and, by my word you will enjoy its promises.” Let Love have His way. Long for God’s Law as for his Love.
This song says:
We need to hear from you
We need a word from you
If we don’t hear from you
What will we do?
Wanting you more each day
Show us your perfect way
There is no other way
That we can live
Destruction is now is now in view
Seems the world has forgotten all about you
Children are crying and people are dying
They’re lost without you, so lost without you
But you said if we seek
Lord if we seek your face
And turn from our wicked, our wicked ways
You promised to heal our land
Father you can!
1 Now when the Pharisees gathered together to him, with some of the scribes, who had come from Jerusalem,
2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands defiled, that is, unwashed.
3 (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they wash their hands, observing the tradition of the elders;
4 and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they purify themselves; and there are many other traditions which they observe, the washing of cups and pots and vessels of bronze.)
5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with hands defiled?"
6 And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;
7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.'
8 You leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men."
14 And he called the people to him again, and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand:
15 there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him."
21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery,
22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.
23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man."
Jesus demonstrates that the Pharisees and scribes annul God's word with their human traditions.
