Word to the Wise
Tuesday, February 6, 2024 - Tuesday in the 5th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Kgs 8:22-23, 27-30 and Mark 7:1-13]"Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?" " "You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition... You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things." [Mark]
FEBRUARY 6, 2024 ST. PAUL MIKI ET AL. [martyrs]
There were, at least in Jesus' time, 613 precepts found in the Law of Moses (first 5 books of the Old Testament - the "Torah."). These included the Ten Commandments. The scribes and Pharisees prided themselves on observing these precepts. Inevitably there were conflicts in the manner of observance that required decisions about interpretation. There will always be folks looking for "loopholes" that will allow them to act against the overall purpose of the law. Jesus attacked the scribes and Pharisees for doing exactly that. They found a way around the commandment to honor father and mother by claiming they had dedicated all they (the scribes) had to be dedicated to God and could not be used to support parents in their old age or needs. This, in Jesus' view, circumvented the fundamental law of the Ten Commandments and the even more fundamental law (also found in the Torah) of love of God and neighbor! In the Gospel According to Matthew, Jesus accuses the scribes and Pharisees of "straining out the gnat and swallowing the camel." [Matt. 23:24]
When religious etiquette and rubrics become more important than the faith they are meant to express, there is a big problem. In a church like ours, with its many, many "traditions," the attitude easily arises that gives an almost magical power to procedures and gestures, as if the grace of God is dependent on them. The important development of canon law in the 10th century A.D. led to an unfortunate view of the church as being like a civil society, governed by laws and jurisprudence. The Body of Christ is much larger than that. The purpose of the law, not the letter, should be the guide to its observance.
Washing one's hands before eating is good hygienic practice, but when it becomes a matter of religion, there is a problem. The same can be said about human devotional traditions that can become religious "fads" and lead to judgments against those who do not follow those fads. We know what Jesus thought about that. What do we think? AMEN
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