August 30,2015
OF LOVING AND SERVING GOD
Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8 Psalm 15:2-5
James 1:17-18, 21-22, 27 Mark 7:1-8,14-15, 21-23
The issue for the people in the Gospel is purity, and how to maintain it in order to keep a proper relationship with God. People in Jesus’ time worry about cleanliness too. A righteous person, and everything he or she touches, eats, or offers to God has to exist in this purity. There is no problem with being clean . Who does not want cleanliness, and good hygiene?
But Jesus is pointing out something on the compulsion of observing the tradion without getting the essence of it. What makes a person unclean? Jesus says, “Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” A condition that no amount of handwashing, cleansing, or ritual can change the essence or meaning of what one does and does not do. There’s no diet to cure it, and no anti-microbial soap to wash it away. And we can’t catch it from anyone else. We can’t avoid it by avoiding people we think are unclean.
As Jesus himself and his friends don’t have time to keep all the rules, He in the Gospel figures it’s more important to announce the importance of being righteous than to follow the traditions of rituals like the ceremonial washing of hands.
So what do we worry about? Are we focusing in the minor things and leaving behind the essentials? Are we worshipping God with our words and ignoring God in our lives and actions? Are we so consumed with the non-essentials in this life, that we have lost our grip on the meaning and depth of life? More form than function? Most of the time we engage ourselves in thinking that prayer and rituals are enough ,while leaving behind the essence and heart of following the steps and commandments of Jesus.
In the Gospel, Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah saying, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.” Jesus exposed and criticized the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and teachers of the law . They were good in the practice of prayers and rituals but did not pay attention on how to connect the prayers and ritual with service to the people specially the most neglected and marginalized ones . They haven’t the least intention of doing any good but they only want to be seen to be doing so. They love themselves in such a way that the fulfilment of their desire is by showing off their religiosity . This expression neglects the essence of rituals and prayers and leave behind the real worship and service to God.
Jesus teaches us in this Gospel, the role of loving and serving God is the foundation of service and rituals. The celebration and fulfilment of service is experienced in prayers and worship. The depth and meaning of worship and prayers are determined by how much we have loved God and the people. Ritual does not keep us with God. Righteousness does. And that righteousness comes from living actively and openly in harmony with the great commandment – to love God and neighbor with our whole heart and soul. It is a life directed toward our principal mission of aligning our purpose with Jesus, the Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier.
Loving and serving God sometimes means we break rules of the hypocrites. Like Jesus, we have more important work to do. Too important to take the time to bother over things that will just lead us into meaningless undertakings
Christ is not deceived by form. Christ calls us to do our appointed work in this world- to build the kingdom and to participate in the seeking love of God. These will shape the form and expression of worship and prayers. For a religious life where form faithfully mirrors the depth and intention of ministry of loving the neighbour is an equally righteous one. It can transform our lives and those we touch.##
Donna Lou Samagkin Galingan
Iglesia Filipina Independiente
BalikTanaw Sunday Gospel Reflection 