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Gospel Reading for September 1, 2024 – Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23
A PRICELESS GIFT
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 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.
“From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile.
————
During the pandemic, washing of hands was a must, and it was not about religion. It was about not getting the deadly covid virus. But, for the Jews, washing of the hands and so many rituals of cleansing on the outside were traditions that formed part of their religious doctrines/practices and put a burden on the people. Worst, it made people believe that God was SO SUPERFICIAL and mere cleansing of the outside made a person clean inside.
Perhaps, this was why Jesus introduced the Sacrament of Reconciliation by telling Peter, upon whom the Church will be built: “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 18: 18). When we go to confession, the sins we confess are not those that make us unclean outside of us, but those that make us unclean from inside. When we do wrong to others and even to other creatures, we do wrong to God who created them, and we also do wrong against ourselves who are made in God’s image and likeness. If we truly are so one with Him, we may find our sins repulsive and unforgivable. Thankfully, we have a very loving and compassionate God who is ever willing to “RECONSTRUCT” us into his divine image. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is A PRICELESS GIFT that Jesus gave us!
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit” (Psalm 51:10-12)
