22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dt 4: 1-2, 6-8; James 1: 17-18, 21b-22, 27; Mk 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23
Dc. Larry Brockman
It is human nature to try to keep it simple. We like it that way- the simpler, the better. And so, a firm set of rules- do’s and don’ts- that is what all of us would really like to live life by. We all want to know where we “cross the line” between right and wrong. It’s like a defensive game the whole way.
The Israelis had such a list of rules- the Mosaic Law. At the foundation of the Mosaic Law was “The Ten Commandments”. These were simple and clear. They were intended to communicate the essence of what is right and what is wrong in each area of life. Do Honor the one true God, do keep holy the Sabbath, do honor your parents; do love God and your neighbor; Don’t lie; don’t kill, don’t steal, and don’t covet what belongs to others.
Notice, though, that each of these is open to interpretation. For example: what does it mean to love? What does it mean to honor? And what does it mean to lie? Just when do we cross the line between desiring something we see and coveting it?
Now Moses made it clear to the Israelis that they were to live by these statutes and decrees. But they were not to add or subtract from them. And yet, that is exactly what the Israelis did- they added and even subtracted from them. They did that because the Israelis had to come to grips with how to define these terms. Rather than each person taking the spirit of these commandments into their hearts, and using their conscience as their guide, the establishment embellished the rules with hundreds of details that rounded out the Mosaic Law.
This became especially obvious after a thousand years of clarifications so that at the time of Jesus, we see the kind of thing that happened in the Gospel Story. Somehow, in their zeal to assure that “Thou shalt not kill”, the detailed practices for cleanliness were issued. One had to abide by all these practices to the letter. And in so doing, the Jews actually diminished the real intent of the law. For being kind to visitors and guests is certainly a priority of the heart; To do otherwise would injure a person; whereas detailed observance of the rules of cleanliness ranks a little lower on the scale of being hospitable.
Now don’t get me wrong. I am not criticizing the necessity to observe rules of cleanliness. It’s just that the hypocrisy stood out in the Gospel story, and this was the point Jesus was making. What is evil is the intent that comes out of us from our hearts. The Pharisees disdained Jesus and his followers. They were simple folk; not educated in the fineries of their faith; and they didn’t seem concerned with these rules. Rather they seemed interested in spreading the word that Jesus taught, in being proactive. And so, they practiced a different kind of morality- a morality that took into account what came from their hearts instead of a morality that just checked to see if one had crossed the line. Jesus says that “evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, and folly” are all things that come from within our hearts, and these are the real evils of this world.
As we go through our daily lives, we are faced with a continual challenge to live our Christian faith. All of us want to feel that we are doing the right thing. But we like to keep it simple, and so, we audit ourselves against the Ten Commandments in very simple terms. We haven’t killed anyone; but what about gossip or avoiding people or any other ways we can hurt people. We haven’t lied; but have we withheld, evaded, misrepresented, or exaggerated anything. And we haven’t stolen; but we may resent folks for what they do have. And how about our parents and loved ones- are we neglecting relationships and duties.
St. Paul has some words for us today that will help. He says, “Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves”. Yes, we need to be careful that we are not deluding ourselves. Our lives need to be proactive; not reactive. Instead of avoiding the little things that really don’t matter, we should be practicing the things that do matter, like seeking out opportunities to love our neighbors in need; like being there for those who have nobody else; and like bearing hardships with dignity and grace. If we do that, then the little things that we do wrong won’t matter because God will see that it’s what’s in our hearts that really matters to us.
Tags: Leading Proactive not reactive lives; doing things that matter