Youth for Christ Sto. Tomas Cluster

07022012

1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30 / Psalm 84

Gospel: Mark 7:1-13

That Which Defiles

The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.

So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”

He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

“‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 
They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”

And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)—then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

Photo by: Beatrix Juan

Tradition and Right Intention

Being an image and likeness of God, we always have this deep longing of knowing Him more. So much so that we try to define Him according to our human experiences. We picture God according to how we relate with people–that whatever God has given us in glimpses, we try to magnify by making it our tradition. The problem–sometimes–with tradition is that, as it is being passed on from one generation to another, what is left is the external actions devoid of the real meaning of why we are doing such in the first place.

The Pharisees were very much after the external ways of honoring God. They clung onto tradition because that was the way they grasped the God they cannot see. They wanted to follow His ways and they translated it into a series of a very strict implementation of laws. The objective–probably– was good, they wanted to make themselves pure, but the yearning to be pure didn’t go well with the intentions which were not. Traditions and external actions are meaningful when they are in tune with well-discerned  intentions. The psalmist cries out, better one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere. The phrase rightly expresses the former’s deep desire of God.  The psalmist’s intention was on God–and not on tradition.

This is our challenge today, to focus on Jesus so that when we apply His ways, we will do it not because it is a tradition. In our own ways, we worship not because it’s our tradition to do so, nor we pray because it’s a tradition pray. We worship and pray because we desire God deep in our hearts. Our intention is to worship Him– out of a sincere yearning to do so, and not because we are just used to it.

Writer: Gelo Saludo | Artist: Beatrix Juan

via CFCYOUTHFORCHRIST.NET