Reading 1
Gn 2:4b-9, 15-17
At the time when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens
while as yet there was no field shrub on earth
and no grass of the field had sprouted,
for the LORD God had sent no rain upon the earth
and there was no man to till the soil,
but a stream was welling up out of the earth
and was watering all the surface of the groundB
the LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground
and blew into his nostrils the breath of life,
and so man became a living being.
Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east,
and he placed there the man whom he had formed.
Out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow
that were delightful to look at and good for food,
with the tree of life in the middle of the garden
and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The LORD God then took the man
and settled him in the garden of Eden,
to cultivate and care for it.
The LORD God gave man this order:
“You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden
except the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
From that tree you shall not eat;
the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die.”
Ps 104:1-2a, 27-28, 29bc-30
Responsorial PsalmR. (1a)
O bless the Lord, my soul!
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
You are clothed with majesty and glory,
robed in light as with a cloak.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul!
All creatures look to you
to give them food in due time.
When you give it to them, they gather it;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul!
If you take away their breath, they perish
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul!
Gospel
Mk 7:14-23
Jesus summoned the crowd again and said to them,
“Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.”
When he got home away from the crowd
his disciples questioned him about the parable.
He said to them,
“Are even you likewise without understanding?
Do you not realize that everything
that goes into a person from outside cannot defile,
since it enters not the heart but the stomach
and passes out into the latrine?”
(Thus he declared all foods clean.)
“But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him.
From within the man, from his heart,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile.”
Meditation: Mark 7:14-23
“What comes out of a person, that is what defiles.” (Mark 7:20)
Have you ever felt like you were leading two different lives? On the one hand, there’s the “you” that everyone sees on a daily basis. It’s the personality you project to the world, maybe even to your closest friends and loved ones. But on the other hand, there may be a “you” that you keep hidden—a person who is hiding sins and imperfections, always trying to put on a good show.
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus explains that the origins of sin and defilement are in the dispositions of the heart. In other words, the out-ward expressions of sin—cheating, lying, stealing, acts of impurity—all start as germs of thought and desire in our hearts. Think of an iceberg: A small portion is visible, but the biggest chunk of ice is below the surface. A ship’s captain may think that the tip of the iceberg is just a chunk of floating ice, nothing worth worrying about. But if he fails to account for the foundation, the results could be disastrous. In a similar way, if we discount our own sins as random acts of disobedience without dealing with what is churning away in our hearts, we too are asking for trouble. The hidden portion of the iceberg is still there and still very dangerous.
Experience tells us that what is in our hearts will eventually affect our behavior and our relation-ships. Holding on to sin in secret will darken our spiritual clarity and wound our friends and family members—often in ways we may not expect. And then there is also the stress we experience from trying to keep parts of our lives in the dark and having to keep up an act.
Imagine how much peace we would have if our inner hearts and outer lives truly were reflections of Christ. Today, let’s try to do just that, by bringing our inner darkness into the light of Christ. The best place to do this is in the confessional, but even in our daily lives, through the gift of repentance, we can begin the process of healing and reconciliation. Come clean to the Lord, and watch to see how he brings peace and clarity to your heart!
“Lord, search me and show me my weaknesses so that I can be strengthened in your grace.”
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