Gospel MK 7:1-13
When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
(For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace
they do not eat without purifying themselves.
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.)
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
“Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”
He responded,
“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,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.
You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”
He went on to say,
“How well you have set aside the commandment of God
in order to uphold your tradition!
For Moses said,
Honor your father and your mother,
and Whoever curses father or mother shall die.
Yet you say,
‘If someone says to father or mother,
“Any support you might have had from me is qorban”‘
(meaning, dedicated to God),
you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.
You nullify the word of God
in favor of your tradition that you have handed on.
And you do many such things.”
Reflection:
Jesus was not the first person to take exception to the Pharisee and scribe’s obsession with establishing manmade traditions and laws which preempted the laws of God.
In today’s gospel, Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah as saying:
“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,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.”
By way of example, the sixth Commandment given to Moses directly from God states: “Honor thy mother and father.”
The Jews altered this straightforward commandment to fit their own desires, saying if you give the money you would normally have spent to support your elderly parents to the temple, then you will not be guilty of breaking God’s commandment by failing to provide for your parents.
Jesus was a Jew who loved His own people but saw them as misguided.
Our Lord saw the Jews as establishing manmade laws and traditions while losing sight of God’s unrelenting love of His children.
He came to remind the Jews that the commandments were given by a loving God as a means of guiding His children to a life of fulfillment, not as a means of punishment.
Jesus had a great saying that perfectly fits this situation: “You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.” (Matthew 23:23-24)
“It is much more in keeping with the ways of God to find a reason to forgive rather than an excuse to condemn.” – – Unknown