(Liturgical color: Green)
Mark 7:1-8,14-15,21-23
Personal intimacy with the Lord!
After Jesus' discourses on himself as Bread of Life in chapter six of John, the liturgy goes back to the gospel according to Mark.
We hear a dispute between Jesus, the Pharisees (who were rigid defenders of the Jewish religion and traditions) and scribes (the teachers of Jewish law). They question why some of Jesus' disciples do not observe religious traditions and customs of washing their hands before meals, and other Jewish traditions on purification handed down by their elders. For the Jewish people, their religious traditions form part of God's law.
But Jesus takes issues with the legalism and hypocrisy of the Pharisees and scribes, who prefer to focus on the external or details of the law rather than the spirit or essentials of the law. So Jesus tells them that what counts most is inner personal holiness, or authentic relationship with God, and not the scrupulous external observance of the law.
In other words, religious traditions and practices are fine but they are not substitute for our lack of personal intimacy with the Lord. So the Church invites us to joyfully observe religious traditions not with rigid legalism or fear of committing sin but out of genuine love of God. Because observance of God's law is rooted in the love of God and must be an expression of that love.
The best criterion of any law is in fact the Greatest Commandment: love of God and love of neighbor by relating personal holiness to the care of the needy. Because genuine holiness is one that leads us to the service of others, particularly the less fortunate. Such act of concern and love for others is always a manifestation of an overflow of our inner relationship with God.
A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.
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