Word to the Wise
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 - St. Scholastica, Virgin
[1 Kings 10:1-10 and Mark 7:14-23]Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come from within are what defile. [Mark]
Food, culture and faith can make for an interesting mix! What a person eats or doesn't eat can say much about them, and I know from experience that in religious communities comprised of brothers or sisters from different cultures, the diet of the house can be a subject of intense discussion! If the diet in question is an expression of religious belief - i.e. certain foods are taboo for some and not for others - the matter can be very serious indeed! In certain cultures this can cause riots! Early misunderstandings of the eucharist by non-Christians led to accusations of cannibalism! In today's gospel passage, Jesus confronts the issue of dietary law head on! He teaches that a person's acceptability to God is not based on what they eat! Instead, that acceptability comes from within because the internal dispositions determine the external ones and not the other way around when it comes to one's relationship to God. This put him squarely in opposition to the Pharisees and other observant Jews of the time! The issue did not go away after Jesus' death and resurrection. St. Paul and St. Peter became involved in a dispute about it that led to the "Council of Jerusalem" which offered a compromise involving the way in which animals were slaughtered. St. Paul had to deal with the issue of food that had been part of a pagan religious observance and made available to the public! Ultimately the dietary requirements fell by the wayside in Christian practice except for periods of fasting. The determination in the gospel today does not stop at the matter of food, however. We must still look at that list of examples that Jesus gives and come to terms with those things within us that can destroy our relationship to God. These might include a condescending attitude toward those who do observe certain food taboos as a matter of faith or political principle, etc.. Our principal act of worship involves eating and drinking. It is all "food for thought!" AMEN
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