Reading I
1 Kgs 8:22-23, 27-30
Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD
in the presence of the whole community of Israel,
and stretching forth his hands toward heaven,
he said, “LORD, God of Israel,
there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below;
you keep your covenant of mercy with your servants
who are faithful to you with their whole heart.
“Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth?
If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you,
how much less this temple which I have built!
Look kindly on the prayer and petition of your servant, O LORD, my God,
and listen to the cry of supplication which I, your servant,
utter before you this day.
May your eyes watch night and day over this temple,
the place where you have decreed you shall be honored;
may you heed the prayer which I, your servant, offer in this place.
Listen to the petitions of your servant and of your people Israel
which they offer in this place.
Listen from your heavenly dwelling and grant pardon.”
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.”
Meditation: Mark 7:1-13
The Pharisees, one of the many religious groups that made up Judaism in Jesus’ day, were a well-respected lay renewal movement that had begun about 150 b.c.
As successors of the pious Jews who actively resisted paganism during the Greek occupation of Palestine in the fourth century b.c., the Pharisees sought to preserve Jewish identity by rigorously following practices that distinguished Jews from foreign peoples—practices such as circumcision, dietary laws, and purity rituals. In fact, the name “Pharisee” was derived from the Hebrew word perusim, meaning “the separated ones.”
The motive behind the Pharisees’ strict observance of Jewish rituals was very commendable. However, as time went on, they tried to make the whole Jewish populace observe practices that only the priests were required to keep. Moreover, Pharisees shunned contact with those Jews who didn’t fulfill the priestly requirements, lest they contract ritual impurity from them. This, in fact, is one of the reasons why the Pharisees were scandalized when Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners (Matthew 9:10-11). Their stringent application exceeded the tenets of the Law of Moses and inclined the Pharisees toward a concern for outward appearances. Jesus had great respect for the Law and for safeguarding Jewish tradition (5:17), but he rejected the legalistic strictures of the Pharisees that laid heavy burdens on people while overlooking justice, mercy, and fidelity (23:4).
If our hearts aren’t firmly fixed on the Lord, we can fall into the same trap as the Pharisees. How easy it is to criticize those who don’t live up to our standards or our definition of holiness! Or perhaps we zealously put our favorite religious practices ahead of the very truths that these practices are meant to uphold. While we speak pious words honoring the Lord with our lips, our hearts might actually be far from him (Mark 7:6). Let’s be careful that we don’t cling so tightly to our human traditions that we end up disregarding the commandments of God (7:8).
Jesus wants us to focus on the essentials of love for God and neighbor, and not get sidetracked. Remember: Holiness is not a matter of external observances but of the inner heart (Matthew 23:27-28).
“Lord Jesus, don’t let me get caught up in outward observances. Help me to keep my heart set on you.”
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