Word to the Wise
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 - Tuesday in the 5th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Kgs 8:22-23, 27-30 and Mark 7:1-13]"You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition...How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition...You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on."
The question asked by the scribes and Pharisees seems innocent enough (or they may have hoped it would seem like that1: "Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders and instead eat a meal with unclean hands?" Jesus seems to erupt at them! He essentially accuses them of taking God's law and corrupting it by their interpretations! Instead he presumes to teach on his own authority and his interpretations are a threat to their own traditions. This causes a resentment that would become lethal later on. His words are quoted above and should be kept in mind by anyone who finds themselves in a position where the law must be applied to the challenges of everyday life. This is all the more important when faith and one's relationship to God is concerned.
I come from a family of judges and lawyers and I am also a member of the legal profession (although I do not practice law). I know well the uses and abuses of law. The human tendency to use a body of law for personal convenience is ever present. The higher values of justice, mercy, love and human dignity can get lost in a jungle of convenient interpretations. This takes on a special character in religious matters because salvation may be involved. The scribes were the experts in the law. The Pharisees were purists in their desire to live that law to the letter. Jesus points out that their behavior is not in accord with the original intention of the law. This is an attack against their whole way of life! Anyone charged with applying law to human life must keep the original goals in mind and especially the higher values of justice, mercy, love and human dignity. Otherwise the law and interpretors become corrupt. AMEN
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