1st Reading: Deut 4:1-2.6-8 / Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 15:2-3a.3bc-4ab.5 (R. 1a) 2nd Reading: James 1:17-18.21b-22.27 / Gospel Acclamation: James 1:18 Gospel: Mark 7:1-8.14-15.21-23
Theme: Religion Of The Lips Versus Religion Of The Heart
Jane goes to church every Sunday. She does not miss the weekday masses either. She is a notable figure in the choir as she sings beautifully and also loves praying and reading the Bible. Yet, Jane is a known gossip, is quarrelsome and keeps malice with people. Harry is the gentle guy loved by most of his colleagues. He is considered holy and a nice man. However, Harry lives a life of duplicity as he keeps a sinful private life while he makes people believe he is the best person the world has ever produced. In today’s liturgical celebration, we are presented with a menu of rich readings to digest and assimilate. They highlight the need to choose an authentic life based on the unadulterated, undistorted, unmodified and well-interpreted commandments of God rather than human traditions. We are warned about the dangers of legalistic and hypocritical religion, and are encouraged to embrace purity of heart rather than an overemphasis of mere external cleanliness.
In the first reading, Moses enjoins on the Israelites the holy commandments of God saying: “You shall not add to the word which I commanded you, nor take from it; that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you” (Deut. 4:2). According to Moses, obeying God’s commandments brings wisdom and understanding as well as divine favour in the sight of all people (cf. Deut. 4:6). Unfortunately, unbridled legalism leads to a plethora of cosmetic and man-made interpretations of the law which eventually supplants the law of God. Thus, adhering to legalisms and mechanistic rituals circumvent the true spirit of the Law, that is, the intentions of God. Therefore, we are to search for the spirit of the Law and not just the letter.
Having discovered the spirit of the Law, we are to pursue it in concrete human actions. Perhaps, one may be wondering what one can do in order to fulfil the commandments so as to abide in the tent of the Lord. The Psalmist puts some of these required virtues in song when he chants: “Whoever walks without fault; who does what is just, and speaks the truth from his heart. Who does not slander with his tongue. Who does no wrong to a neighbour, who casts no slur on a friend, who looks with scorn on the wicked, but honours those who fear the Lord. Who lends no money at interest, and accepts no bribes against the innocent (Ps.15:1a, 2-5).
On this note and while emphasising the need to keep the commandments, St. Mark in the Gospel, maintains that, it is very easy for some people to put aside the precepts of the Lord in order to enthrone their own human traditions. In other words, it is plausible for those who claim to worship God to replace God’s commandments with skewed interpretations which suit their whims and caprices. Thus, Jesus tells the Pharisees and scribes: “You leave the commandments of God and hold fast the traditions of men” (Mk. 7:8). Jesus then calls them “hypocrites” (a word derived from the Greek “Hupokritēs” which literally means acting without any sincerity behind it at all). It is like wearing a mask to conceal one’s true identity, like the role-playing of an actor/actress. So, Jesus quotes Prophet Isaiah (29:13) to describe such people in these words: “This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men” (Mk. 7:6-7). Jesus criticises them for two reasons: one, for hypocrisy and two, for substituting the laws of God with human traditions. Therefore, Jesus teaches a way out of this hypocritical and skewed lifestyle, namely, by being genuine with our inner intentions, keeping the human conscience clear and undefiled, and matching words with action. He warns them about putting up a facade to cover inner rottenness which eventually backfires and issues into all manner of vices, thirteen of which he enumerates as evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness (cf. Mk. 7:21-22). Hence, anyone who turns religion solely into external observances or ritualism without being converted in the heart is a hypocrite. A religion of the ‘lips,’ that is, one which is external rather than of the heart is a waste of time. To attend church regularly, but find it difficult to forgive and to let go, is an exercise in futility. Thus, to overcome these, one has to check their interior dispositions, motivations and desires since every outward action is preceded by an inward choice. That is, what defiles people are the products of their own hearts. The conscience, which is the inner sanctuary of every human person, must be kept intact, sacred, holy, undefiled and untainted. When we do this, we are doing pure and undefiled religion, religion of the heart, as James teaches us in the second reading (cf. Jms. 1:27).
In the midst of a world sunk in all the vices mentioned above, one is tempted to think that the advice of Jesus is utopian. Be that as it may, the apostle James in his usual straightforward and practical wisdom offers us a solution in the second reading. According to him, we should: “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (Jms. 1:22). We should in all humility and meekness, receive the word of God implanted in us, the commandments he has given us. According to him, by so doing, our souls shall be saved (cf. Jms. 1:21). If we believe that the commandments come from God, then, St. James wants us to accept them as God’s stupendous gift; not just gifts, but invariably good and perfect gifts from a gracious God. These gifts, no matter how we perceive them even in the midst of the chances and changes of a changing world, never ever vary. Having listened to them, we are to live them out. Our actions will determine whether or not we listened to the words. Therefore, what we hear preached to us or read ourselves must be put into practice.
Furthermore, since every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from God to us, we need to pray earnestly to God to refresh our lives with the power of the Holy Spirit so that, we will be strengthened to undertake what God requires of us daily. Additionally, since virtue is acquired or learnt, we must be willing and ever ready to train ourselves in it and to learn from virtuous people. Associating with the right mix of friends and role models can help us achieve virtue. It is said “Show me your friend and I will show you your character” and “Bad company corrupts good character.” To be able to do away with the excrescence of vice, we must have a teachable spirit which is ready to submit itself in the school of the Holy Spirit and in the discipline of spiritual exercises. A docile and tractable spirit is humble enough to learn.
Beloved in Christ, we cannot continue to live a life of duplicity and to do religion our own way. God expects the best from us. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to guide us so that the misdirected religious zeal borne out of the tension between legalism and the spirit of the law will cease. Happy Sunday! God bless us! Remember to: #Do-Religion-Of-The-Heart-Not-Of-The-Lips#
