The 22nd Sunday of the Year Deut 4:1-2 & 6-8; Jas 1:17-18, 21-22 & 27; Mk 7:1-8 (Year B)
“Lord, who shall dwell on your holy mountain? He who walks without fault; he who acts with justice and speaks the truth from his heart.”
The psalmist’s question, originally addressed to devout pilgrims journeying to Jerusalem’s Temple sanctuary, echoes down the generations, and must be answered by every person of faith. Essentially it questions the worthiness of any person to stand in the presence of God.
In the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses proclaimed the Commandments and laws of Israel as the divinely revealed path into the presence of God: “Take notice of the laws and customs that I teach you today, and observe them, that you may have life and may enter and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of our fathers, is giving to you.”
In the fullness of revelation we understand this Promised Land as the conclusion of our journey, as a life lived in communion with Father, Son and Holy Spirit. To enter such a communion we must live in obedience to God’s will rather than our own, must act with his justice and speak his truth from our hearts.
The Book of Deuteronomy, understanding that such integrity lay beyond sinful humanity, described the Law as a gift of God’s grace. Such a law was not beyond attainment. It transformed head, heart and understanding. Its intent was to create that communion with God for which we long: “What great nation is there that has its gods so near as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call upon him?”
The intention of the Law was clear, but sadly sinful human beings have a tendency to cling to externals without revealing their hearts to God’s will. Thus the scribes and the Pharisees, seeking to undermine Jesus, concentrated on the minor transgressions of his disciples: “Why do your disciples not respect the traditions of the elders but eat their food with unclean hands?”
Jesus, citing Isaiah, appealed to the long prophetic tradition that had condemned a superficial observance that had so often cloaked the lack of inner integrity: “This people honours me only with lip service, while their hearts are far from me. The worship they offer me is worthless, the doctrines they teach are only human regulations.”
Jesus set before his disciples a more perfect call to inner integrity, since “it is from within, from men’s hearts, that evil intentions emerge”.
In response let us pray with humility the psalmist’s prayer: “A pure heart create for me, O God. Give me again the joy of your help.”
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