Tin Mừng hôm nay là một bản cáo trạng mà Chúa Giêsu lên án các quy luật của con người và những luật lệ mà những người Biệt Phái đã áp đặt nặng nề trên dân chúng. Những luật lệ này không có dính dáng gì tới trong việc thờ phượng Thiên Chúa đích thực.
Trọng tâm của Lề Luật mà Chúa dạy là yêu mến Thiên Chúa và thương yêu tha nhân. Tình yêu của Thiên Chúa không thể là sự mâu thuẫn với tình yêu tha nhân. Ví dụ, chúng ta không thể yêu mến Thiên Chúa và coi thường những người khác và bất kính với cha mẹ của chúng ta. Chúa Giêsu là gương sáng cho mọi người chúng ta bắt chước trong việc thờ phượng Thiên Chúa đích thực của Ngài.
Trong Tin Mừng hôm nay, Ngài bác bỏ việc thực hành những nghi thức rửa tay vô ích trươc khi ăn của những người Biệt Phái, Nhưng Ngài thực sự hiểu biết những gì là cần thiết để trở thành một Người Do Thái đạo đức và những gì là luật lệ vô nghĩa hoặc vô dụng. Đối với những người yêu qúy bản thân mình hơn cả Thiên Chúa, Ngài sẽ không ngần ngại khiển trách để giúp họ nhìn thấy con đường chân chính của sự thánh thiện.
Sự thánh thiện không phải là một sự tuân giữ luật lệ thế gian một cách hoàn hảo. nhưng phải biết kính mến Thiên Chúa với một trái tim tinh khiết. Ngoài ra , những vị thánh là những người biết tìm cách sống trong một cuộc sống thật đơn giản, biết sẵn lòng làm những điều tốt cho người khác và giúp đỡ những người nghèo khổ và bị áp bức.
Chúng ta không nên bắt chước cuộc sống của những người Biệt Phái. Nhưng thay vào đó chúng ta hãy như vua Solomon trong bài đọc thứ nhất, là người chỉ mong muốn xây dựng được một ngôi nhà cho Thiên Chúa ngự trị, Chúng ta hãy cũng bắt chước xây một ngôi nhà cho Thiên Chúa ngay trong tâm hồn của chúng ta, trong gia đình và trong khu phố của chúng ta. Chúng ta phải biết theo định hướng của Thiên Chúa vì đó sẽ là kim chỉ nam dẫn đưa chúng ta tới không những chỉ là sự thịnh vượng mà còn đưa chúng ta tới sự an bình và hòa hợp trong cuộc sống của chúng ta và trong những gia đình của chúng ta nữa.
The gospel is a very strong indictment of the human rules and regulations the Pharisees added to the Torah which deviated from the true spirit of worshipping God. These rules have no place in the genuine worship of God. The heart of the Law is to love God above all things and to love one's neighbor. Love of God cannot be contradictory to love of neighbor. For example, we cannot love God and despise or neglect our parents. Jesus is the best example of true worship of God. In the gospel, he would not perform the useless ritual washings of the Pharisees. He knew what was essential to being a good Jew and what rules were meaningless or useless. Also, he showed his love for his mother to the end. But he clearly put love of his heavenly Father above all things and this he taught to everyone. To people who love themselves more than God, he would reprimand in order to help them see the true path of holiness. Holiness is not in being a perfect accomplisher of rules and regulations but in loving God with a pure heart. Also, the holy man seeks to live a simple life, doing good to his neighbor and helping the poor and the downtrodden. Let us not be like the Pharisees. Instead let us be like King Solomon in the first reading who desired only to build a house for Yahweh to dwell in. Let us also build a house for God in our hearts, in our families and in our neighborhood. We have to be God-oriented because that will bring us not only prosperity but also peace and harmony in our lives and in the lives of our families.
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. Mark 7:6–8
It seems quite clear that Jesus’ instant fame led these religious leaders to jealousy and envy, and they wanted to find fault with Him. As a result, they carefully observed Jesus and His disciples, and they noticed that Jesus’ disciples were not following the traditions of the elders. So the leaders began questioning Jesus about this fact. Jesus’ response was one of severe criticism of them. He quoted Isaiah the prophet who said, “This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.”
Jesus strongly criticized them because their hearts were lacking true worship. The various traditions of the elders were not necessarily bad, such as the careful ceremonial washing of one’s hands before eating. But these traditions were empty if they were not motivated by a deep faith and love of God. The external following of human traditions was not truly an act of divine worship, and that’s what Jesus wanted for them. He wanted their hearts to be set ablaze with a love of God and with true divine worship.
What our Lord wants of each one of us is worship. Pure, heartfelt, sincere worship. He wants us to love God with a deep interior devotion. He wants us to pray, to listen to Him, and to serve His holy will with all the powers of our soul. And this is only possible when we engage in authentic worship.
As Catholics, our life of prayer and worship is grounded in the holy Liturgy. The Liturgy incorporates many traditions and practices that reflect our faith and become a vehicle of the grace of God. And though the Liturgy itself is far different from the mere “tradition of the elders” that Jesus was criticizing, it’s useful to remind ourselves that the many Liturgies of our Church must move from the external actions to interior worship. Going through the motions alone is pointless. We must allow God to act on us and within us as we engage in the external celebration of the Sacraments.
Reflect, today, upon the burning desire in the heart of our Lord to draw you into worship. Reflect upon how well you allow yourself to be drawn into this worship every time you attend the holy Mass. Seek to make your participation not only an exterior one but, first and foremost, an interior one. Doing so will help ensure that the rebuke of our Lord upon the scribes and Pharisees does not also fall upon you.
My divine Lord, You and You alone are worthy of all worship, adoration and praise. You and You alone deserve the worship I offer You from the depths of my heart. Help me and Your entire Church to always interiorize our exterior acts of worship so as to give You the glory that is due Your holy name. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I can easily fall into hypocrisy. Sometimes, I say one thing and do another. Other times, I put on a show of piety to be seen by others when in truth my heart is far from you. Please heal me so that I may love you with an undivided heart.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Solomon’s Prayer and Petition: When the Temple was completed, Solomon led the people in the liturgy of its dedication during the Feast of Tabernacles (1 Kings 8:1-66). He imitated his father, King David, and presided over the assembly of Israel as a priest-king leading the long prayer of dedication (1 Kings 8:22-53), blessing the assembly with the divine name (1 Kings 8:54-61), and offering sacrifices of oxen and sheep (1 Kings 8:62-66). Today we hear part of his prayer of dedication. In his prayer, Solomon refers to the covenants God has made with humanity and Israel. He asks God to deliver Israel from the covenant curses of Deuteronomy. These include military defeat, drought, famine, pestilence, sickness, captivity, and exile. In his petitions, Solomon asks the Lord to forgive and restore penitent exiles, to end droughts occasioned by sin, to rescue sinners, to grant the prayers and petitions of the Gentiles, to give Israel victory in war, and to show mercy to penitent captives. After Solomon’s prayer of dedication, God will confirm that he has heard his prayer and that the Temple has been consecrated as a dwelling place for his Presence.
2. The Tradition of the Elders: In Jesus’ day, the religious practice and strict observance of the Law of Moses promoted by the Pharisees had unfortunately become burdensome. The Pharisees were scandalized that Jesus and his disciples did not follow the tradition of the elders and ate food without washing their hands before the meal. The Law of Moses commanded the washing of hands before offering sacrifices and eating part of the sacrifice (Exodus 30:17-21; Numbers 18:11-13). This command, however, was extended, by the tradition of the elders, to every meal. According to this pious tradition, every meal was a religious act and, therefore, required the ritual washing of hands.
3. The Hypocrisy of the Pharisees: In the Gospel, Jesus calls out the Pharisees’ hypocrisy. By clinging to and giving more importance to human tradition, the Pharisees disregard the heart of God’s commandments and nullified the Word of God. Jesus invokes a prophecy from Isaiah 29:10-24 that accuses the people of substituting superficial religious practice for true obedience to God’s will and authentic worship. Jesus applies this prophecy to the Pharisees who hypocritically neglect the care of their aging parents by pledging to dedicate their wealth to the Temple.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you have prepared a dwelling place for me in the heavenly House of your Father. How lovely is that dwelling place, Lord mighty God! One day in heaven is better than a thousand here on earth. Lead me to this dwelling place. Guide my steps. Strength my spirit.
Resolution: We need to remember that authentic religious practice and worship must be built on the love of God above all things and love for our neighbor. Love, in the words of St. Paul, is the fulfillment of the Law (Romans 13:10). We must rid ourselves of any hypocritical actions. We are hypocrites and liars if we say and act like we love God and yet neglect to care for those around us with love (1 John 4:20). Am I a hypocrite? With God’s help, how can I rid myself of hypocrisy today?
Opening Prayer: Jesus, may I approach you in prayer with an attitude of sincerity and purity of intention. Help me to overcome any blindness that there may be in me and give me a real openness to change.
1. You Hypocrites: Jesus directly accused the men in today’s Gospel of hypocrisy, using Isaiah’s prophecy from the Old Testament to define it: “This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.” Hypocrisy is as much a temptation for us as it was for the men of Isaiah’s time, and for these Pharisees. There are many manifestations of this sin. The Pharisees were self-righteously misjudging the intentions of the disciples. “How seldom we weigh our neighbor in the same balance with ourselves” (Thomas a Kempis). Is this kind of hypocrisy a weakness of ours?
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