22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time | Be doers not simply hearers of the Word
[Deacon Gunther]
In today’s Gospel Jesus says to the Pharisees “You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition”. If you’ve seen the musical, “Fiddler on the Roof” then you’re familiar with the musical’s opening song called “Tradition” that is sung by the older “papa” of the family. The song shows how the whole Jewish community was built on long-standing unbreakable traditions. The theme of the musical is how these age-old traditions were being uprooted and challenged and changed by the unrest of that day. The musical portrayed the grief, the sorrow and the hardship that can be experienced when traditions rule.
In our reading from the Gospel of Mark we see a confrontation occur between tradition and truth, which includes a critically important contrast between inward and outward righteousness. The readings challenge us to think about the motivations for our actions, reminding us that God calls us to lead lives of integrity.
Jesus was constantly getting himself into trouble with the Pharisees who had come to see the traditional laws and commandments as ends in themselves rather than a guidance for actions. Jesus respected the many religious laws of the time but took issue with the attitude … of those who traditionally kept the laws for show and not from a sincerity of heart.
Our spiritual life includes many visible traditional postures, gestures, and actions, like the sign of the cross or kneeling in reverence or striking our breast in humility and repentance or Baptism, Wedding, and Funeral ceremonies. And when they come from the heart, they express our true desire to serve others and please the Lord. They become vehicles of grace.
Jesus said:
“Nothing that enters one from the outside can defile that person, but the things that come out from within are what defile”.
We need to honour God with a heart that generates love not defilement. In today’s rather complex Gospel, Jesus criticizes the Pharisees for their misuse of religion. He condemns them for their scrupulous concern with minute pious practices and empty external rituals, while disregarding essential commitments of faith and love. He quotes Isaiah: “this people honour me with their lips alone though their hearts are far from me”. He calls them hypocrites because they misuse religion. Even to the point of encouraging the tradition of stoning to death of someone who has committed a sin.
Some Christians today also may misuse religion, not in as harsh a way but by avoiding the problems and needs of the world around them and focusing only on their own needs. They may want to be baptized, married, and buried in the Church, and that’s about the only involvement with religion they wish to have. They may forget that our following of Christ deals essentially with love and deep concern for one another.
In our second reading James tells us that our faith must be acted upon or we are fooling ourselves if we think we are real Catholics. He tells us to be doers of the word and not simply hearers of the word who deceive themselves. Which means the Word requires both the hearing and then the action upon the message. Caring for those whom society deems the least constitutes action, doing the Word.
And James concludes that “religion that is pure and undefiled before God” is to help those in need. We are also reminded that Jesus has one command: “that you Love one another as I have loved you”.
Jesus, in his teaching, moved the debate from a concern with externals to what comes from within a person. Jesus asks for behaviour that was compatible with God’s will.
Simply praying or attending Mass is not enough. Honouring God first with our lips and then with our actions is what brings our hearts close to the Lord.
Both the Second Reading and the Gospel touch on the teachings of Jesus to care for the marginalized. And Pope Francis echoes this teaching when he urges his brother priests to go out as shepherds where there is suffering and brokenness so that they have the “odour of the sheep”.
All of us are called to be “doers of the word and not simply hearers”, and to care for the vulnerable, the poor, and the lonely in our society. Let’s think about what practice of charity can we take today to bring our hearts closer to the Lord? Perhaps while grocery shopping, we can purchase additional canned goods to donate to the Pelham Food Bank. Let’s fill the buckets by the coatracks! Or, as some of you are already doing, help prepare meals for the homeless at the Hope Centre. The sign-up sheets are on the bulletin board!
My friends, let’s live our faith with integrity in such a way that what is true in our hearts shows through in all our words and actions.
I’d like to close with this prayer:
“Merciful Father, your son teaches us to look deep within, to discover that which is the root of all sin. Give us hearts that desire serious contemplation, so that we may know all that comes from within might be fitting for your honour and glory. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen”.
May God bless you!
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