Word to the Wise
Sunday, September 3, 2006 - 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
[Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8 James 1:17-18, 21B-22, 27 and Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23]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.
In the great musical, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, one of the first songs is entitled TRADITION. There the lead character sings about the ways things are done that mystify him. He scratches his head and says, "Don't ask me. It's tradition." But, it's more than tradition, it's a whole way of looking at things that is based on repeated behavior and customs that assumes an identity of its own and becomes normative for everyone! We know this from our own experience. An outsider comes in and says, "Why do you do this or that in such and such a way?" We stop and think for a moment, and then say, "I dunno! We've just always done it that way!" What starts out as a practical response to a particular problem at a particular time can become a "tradition" that defies change and time! Jesus' encounter with the Pharisees in today's gospel scripture represents the tension that can arise between those who want to uphold the TRADITION and anyone who dares to suggest that what is being presented as GOD'S LAW is actually human custom (traditions with a small "t"). Furthermore, the question of motivation is introduced, which has the effect of shifting the focus from external behavior to internal behavior, which is not so easily observable! Indeed, which is worse, doing the right thing for the wrong reasons or doing the wrong thing for the right reasons? Is "Tradition" (or "traditions) a sufficient reason for doing something? Or anything? The Pharisees were actually trying to impose an urban Jerusalem type of religious observance on people from the rural area (Galilee) who lacked the resources for it. The context for tradition can be very important and it can also be problematic. Tradition and "traditions" may be supported by a story (technically, a "mythology") of which the traditions are expressions. Certain symbols or events are brought forward and/or reenacted at particular intervals. Some of these may be daily events. These things may be like the air around us which we don't pay attention to unless something clouds it or changes the smell, etc. Our "secular religion" has a story on which all patriotism is based. The Kentucky Dominican sisters whom I serve have the "story" of their foundation along Cartwright Creek nearby in 1822! The Jews of Jesus' time had the "story" of the Exodus and of the Covenant. We Christians have the gospels which are the "story" of Jesus life, death and resurrection. Those who find Tradition or traditions worrisome are likely to say, "That was then. This is now!" Such an attitude has the effect of disorienting many people for the sake of imposing a "new agenda." Jesus did not advocate a total break from Tradition or traditions. He did insist on integrity in that observance - an integrity he found lacking in the Pharisees. Nor did Jesus insist that the Jerusalem observance was normative for Galileans. This uncovers the shadow side of Tradition and traditions. These good things can become the instruments of power for a group that has "taken over" the interpretation of them - the Jerusalem elite! The debate between Jesus and the Scribes and Pharisees opens an important area of faith and practice that has local and universal importance to us all. Thoughtful consideration of the role of Tradition and traditions can lead us to a better understanding of why we do what we do! AMEN
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