Homily - Sunday 01 September 2024 – XXII Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)- Rev. Dr. Patrick Mathias SDB

                                                                                 

Sunday 01 September 2024 – XXII Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) 

Mass Readings: Deut 4:1-2.6-8   Ps 15   Jas 1: 17-18. 21-22. 27   Mk 7:1-8.14-15.21-23

Key verse to meditate: There is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile" (Mk 7:15).

My dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time brings a cautionary message about keeping our hearts aligned with God's commandments and becoming doers of the Word. The first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy reminds us that it was God who commanded the Israelites to observe all His commandments as a sign of their obedience and their wisdom in setting an example for other nations. The purpose of Moses' teaching of the law was directed toward the future life of the Israelites in the Promised Land. In the second reading, in line with the central theme of the Liturgy of the Word, St. James exhorts all believers to become doers of the Word, not deceiving themselves by being merely hearers of the Word of Truth. In the Gospel, Jesus engages in a discussion with the Pharisees about Scripture and tradition.

The First Reading: The first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy presents the second part of Moses’ first discourse, in which he exhorts all the Israelites to diligently follow the statutes and judgments that he was giving them. This brief passage, containing the “sermon” of Moses, prepares the way for the presentation of the Decalogue and the other laws, which will begin in Deuteronomy chapter 5. Strict adherence to these laws is the only condition for Israel's prosperity and national greatness. Today’s passage emphasizes the privileges of the Covenant (Deut 4:1-8). Moses invites the people to listen to the decrees and laws about to be promulgated: “Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am teaching you to perform” (Deut 4:1). Since the law (statutes and ordinances) forms the basis of the covenant relationship, the people are exhorted to listen to Moses' teachings.

Observe and Do: The Israelites were instructed to carefully observe the laws (Deut 6:6, 7:11, 8:11, 10:13, 12:32; cf. Jer. 26:2, Prov. 30:6, 22:18f.), ensuring that nothing was added to or subtracted from them (cf. Deut 12:32; Rev 22:18-19). The law, as given by God at Horeb, was not to be supplemented or diminished. The Israelites were expected to learn from the start to uphold the essence of the law, not just its letter. This is precisely the accusation Jesus made against the religious leaders of His day, who had added unnecessary laws that burdened the poor and the ignorant. Moses instructs the people to observe and carry out the statutes and judgments (Deut 4:6). The command to observe these statutes and ordinances is prevalent throughout the Book of Deuteronomy (see Deut 7:12, 16:12, 23:23, 24:8, 26:16, 28:13). Obeying the Lord meant life for the Israelites.

Moses reminded them that just as obedience to the Lord in the past had resulted in life, so too would obedience now guarantee ongoing life. Those who fell short of the Lord’s expectations would perish (cf. Deut 8:1; 30:19). By obeying God’s commandments, the Israelites would also demonstrate to the nations what it means to be the people of the Lord and to have Him in their midst. The author compares the wisdom of the nations with the wisdom that comes from the God of Israel (Deut 4:6). Since Israel's distinct laws and commandments are highlighted in this liturgical instruction, the wise Israelite is one who has the heart to carry out the Lord's ordinances. Thus, they will also be praised by neighbouring nations for their discipline and love of the Lord’s commandments.

The Second Reading: The second reading from the letter of St. James begins with a reminder that "every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights" (James 1:17; cf. Gen 1:3, 14-18; Ps 136:7; Jer 4:23). One of the best and most perfect gifts sent by the Father is Jesus Himself (John 6:32-35). God is good all the time, and He continually sends good gifts to His children (see Matt 7:11). After this initial reminder, the reading highlights three important teachings:

Word of Truth: The first key teaching in this letter is that God's word is a word of truth. St. James emphasizes God's action of bringing forth the world through His creative word of truth, with humanity as the pinnacle of creation. While acknowledging the chosen people, St. James points out that Christians are the first in God's process of redeeming creation. In Genesis, we see that the entire creation, including humanity, came into being "by the word" of God (cf. Gen 1:3; Ps 33:6; Isa 55:11; Wis 18:15; Sir 43:26). The truth of God's word is understood as the word of truth, as seen in various Pauline writings (cf. Eph 1:13; Col 1:5; 2 Tim 2:15; Ps 119:43; 2 Cor 6:7). In the Old Testament, the word of truth refers to God's law (cf. Ps 119:43; Jer 23:28; Deut 22:20; Prov 22:21), while in the New Testament, it refers to the Gospel (2 Cor 6:7; Eph 1:18; Col 1:5; 2 Tim 2:15; 1 Pet 1:25).

In the Old Testament, the first fruits of people, including animals and plants, belonged to the Lord and were offered to Him (Ex 22:29-30; Num 18:8-12; Deut 18:3; 26:2, 10; Lev 27:26; Ezek 20:40). Similarly, in the New Testament, Christian believers who are reborn by the word of truth are considered a special possession of God, just as the Israelites were (cf. Rom 16:5; 1 Cor 15:20; 16:15). St. James emphasizes that Christian disciples, reborn by the word of truth (Eph 1:5; Rom 12:2; 1 Cor 4:15; Titus 3:5; cf. John 1:13; 3:3-8), the Gospel, are the special possession of God.

Be Doers of the Word: The second key teaching in St. James’ letter is the exhortation for believers to be doers of the word, not merely hearers who deceive themselves (Jas 1:22). St. James clearly invites every Christian disciple to "become doers of the word and not only hearers." The Jews knew well what it meant to carry out the law (Deut 28:58; 29:28). Jewish teaching was clear that one must do the law, not just hear it. St. James, who was knowledgeable of Jewish tradition, refers here to the Word as the teachings of Christ in the Gospels.

Therefore, Christians are to know and adhere to the teachings of Jesu-namely, the Word of God (the law) and then carry it out faithfully (Jas 1:25; 2:8; cf. Rom 8:2; 1 Cor 9:21; Gal 6:2). St. James emphasizes the interchangeability of the Law with the Word in Christ Jesus. He concludes emphatically that obedience to the word of Christ brings life to the believer's heart. Disciples cannot be hearers only, like those in the Parable of the Sower (Mt 13:3-9) who have no root in the Word. If there is fruitful listening and an integration of the Word of God into our lives, then we will be considered doers of the Word: "But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves" (Jas 1:22).

Real Religion: Taking the Side of the Weak and the Poor: Finally, the third key teaching St. James stresses in today’s second reading is that pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is to "visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world" (Jas 1:27). This teaching underscores the prophetic tradition, which highlights the character of every prophet in the Old Testament.

Gospel Reading: Eating with Defiled or Unwashed Hands

This Sunday’s Gospel passage begins with the Pharisees accusing Jesus’ disciples of not following “the tradition of the elders” because they eat with unwashed, impure hands (Mk 7:2, 5). However, the passage concludes with Jesus identifying the true source of impurity: the evil thoughts of the heart, with sexual sin listed first among these “thoughts.” Sin, as Jesus points out, is related to the heart and not to the external observance of rituals. Rituals are man-made, but God created the human heart, which belongs to Him alone. First, it’s noteworthy that Jesus is questioned not about His own failure to wash His hands but about the disciples’ omission of this practice. The accusation is that some of His disciples were eating without washing their hands. However, the concern was not about the disciples’ lack of hygiene but rather that they were not adhering to the ceremonial washings practiced by the Pharisees.

For us, in our tradition, washing hands before eating is a common practice. If Jews washed their hands before or during prayer and prayed before eating, then they would have also washed their hands before meals. The Pharisees, and all Jews concerned with purity, also refrained from eating anything after returning from the marketplace without first washing. The marketplace, being a public place where people of all sorts came and went, was a potential source of ritual defilement due to contact with others. This made the washing of hands and full purification even more necessary (see Lev 14:8-9; 15:5-6, 8-11; 16:4, 24, 26; 22:6). The "tradition of the elders" also referred to the washing of certain kinds of containers and utensils, as these could contract ritual impurity-a biblical requirement (see Lev 11:32; 15:12; cf. Mt 23:25–26).

The Tradition of the Elders: While the Pharisees and their scribes held firmly to the tradition of the elders, the historian Josephus notes that these regulations, stemming from "the tradition of the fathers," were rejected by the Sadducees, who believed that only what is written in Scripture needed to be observed (cf. Gal 1:14). Rabbinic texts also affirm that handwashing by laypeople is not explicitly commanded in the Bible, and that "the washing of hands for secular food is not from the Torah."

Interpretations of Scripture: In response to the Pharisees and scribes, Jesus cites the prophet Isaiah (cf. Isa 29:13; Isa 7:6), addressing the vain worship of the Israelites as a nation: "Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. In vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men'" (Mk 7:6-7). Verse 7 highlights the vanity of their worship, rooted in their substitution of human commands for Divine law. Jesus contrasts "lips" and "hearts" here. "Lips" represent one's outer self and actions, while "hearts" reflect one's inner life, including motives and choices.

The central argument in today’s Gospel reading is that Jesus opposed the Pharisees’ method of interpreting the law. They focused solely on their preaching and nothing more. By elevating their interpretation of God’s commandments to the level of divine authority, they allowed human exposition to replace the Divine word, rendering their worship meaningless. The problem with the Pharisees’ interpretation of Scripture was that they valued their interpretations more than the Scripture itself.

In the New Testament, we see how the Pharisees and scribes, the teachers of the Law, were very strict about following the commandments of the Lord. But they missed the point in applying these, Laws. A literal following of the Law of the Lord, devoid of God’s love and mercy, renders the law null and void. Jesus, in fact, told the people to accept the teachings of the Pharisees and scribes because they sat on the teaching throne of Moses, but He strictly advised them not to follow their bad example (Mt 23:2).

That Which Comes from Within Defiles a Person: Proceeding further, Jesus startles us all when He says, "It is what comes out of a person that defiles." How do we understand this teaching of Christ? For something to come out, it must first come from within, affecting our external selves. The things that come out of a person are what defile him. The Pharisees were constantly concerned about ceremonial defilement, so to protect themselves from outward uncleanness, they created a complex set of rules. When Jesus says that what comes out of a man defiles him, He is pointing to the corruption of the human heart.

Uncleanness Is a Matter of the Heart: Uncleanness is a matter of the heart. Jesus teaches, "For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person" (Mk 7:21-23). Here, the Lord refers to the mind or heart of each one of us. Even though people are fundamentally good and created in the image of God, Christ reminds us that sinful tendencies are inherent in our humanity. Jesus lists thirteen sins that originate from the heart, showing that one sin often leads to another. His point in this private teaching to the disciples is that nothing external can produce uncleanness, contrary to the Pharisees’ teachings on cultic purity. Instead, Christ teaches us that uncleanness is a matter of the heart. This teaching is one of the major distinctions between Christ and the scribes and Pharisees, offering a true understanding of purity and holiness in the eyes of God.

Psalm 36:1 tells us that "sin speaks to the sinner in the depths of his heart." This means that sin directs the heart of the sinner or the wicked. What is more startling is that sin speaks to the sinner not from an external source but from within, from his or her own heart. It is the good people or the righteous who are tempted more, not the hardened sinner. Saints are tempted more because the wicked do not care about their fallen state.

A Story: The Confession of the Fox: To explain Psalm 36:1, I would like to share a story. A fox went to confession. It knelt and began to list its sins. While narrating its sins, the fox said, "Father, forgive me, for I have been stealing chickens from the neighbouring house and eating them stealthily." As the priest was halfway through his advice, the fox suddenly interrupted, saying, "Excuse me, Father." The priest said, "Go ahead." The fox replied, "Could you wait for a few minutes? I just saw a chicken passing by the door of the church."

A pure heart is one that has nothing to do with falsehood. A pure heart is painstakingly truthful and free from deceitfulness. Deceit occurs when you desire two things, not just one. You want to do one thing but make people think you are doing another. That is the impurity of the heart. Thus, St. James invites us to purify our hearts and minds: "Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded" (James 4:8). It becomes clear, then, that only Christ can make us clean by His blood.

Points for Personal Reflection:

Christ Makes Us Clean: This passage from Mark reflects much of our ordinary life today. We all make great efforts to be clean, but God speaks in today’s Gospel of the cleanliness of the heart. This cleanliness does not come by human effort, but by listening to and adhering to God’s word. Holiness comes from God, and no external cleanliness (although necessary) can equal the purity of the heart, which is the fruit of hard labour and grace. True conversion and purity come from the heart when God resides there and takes center stage.

How Is Your Heart Today?  We learn an important lesson for our Christian discipleship today: unwashed hands cannot defile us, but a corrupted heart can. Similarly, the commandments of people and false interpretations of scripture cannot cleanse the heart. If this is the case, then there is a need to be reborn (Jn 3:3) and to set our hearts and minds on the things above, as St. Paul invites us to do in Colossians 3:2. In the Old Testament, God promised His people through the prophet Ezekiel to give them a new heart (Ezek 36:26). We have received this new heart in Jesus Christ, who shed His blood on the cross and washed away all our sins (cf. Eph 1:7; Heb 9:22; Rev 1:5).

A Story:  Honor God with Your Heart and Not with Your Lips - Two angels went to a church on a Sunday morning. After getting seated in the pews, the Eucharist began. The priest came inside with the altar boys and began the Mass. The choir started to sing, but one of the angels noticed something strange. He asked the second angel, "Why do I see people singing and responding, their lips moving, but I hear nothing?" The other angel replied, "This is because here, only the lips are moving; their hearts are far from God and this holy place, so there is very little worship taking place." Jesus, responding to the Pharisees and their scribes from Jerusalem, quotes the prophecy of Isaiah: "This people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me" (Is 29:13).

The Heart as the Center: The heart is supposed to be the center of every person. It represents the individual. In biblical language, the heart is perceived as the place where God resides within a person, and therefore it must be maintained in holiness. Jesus tells us that the heart can also be the source of all the evil things He lists. Jesus says we need to love God above all else. If our worship of God doesn’t come from the heart, it merely reflects an external faith, coloured by human respect and human calculations. But God doesn’t count external beauty but only internal purity (cf. Is 29:13; Ezek 33:31; Mt 15:8).

Purity of the Heart: Søren Kierkegaard said, "Purity of heart is to will one thing," namely, to “seek the face of the Lord” (Ps 24:6). “Seek me and live” becomes a simple formula for holiness (Amos 5:4). The Psalmist says, "My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face.’ Your face, Lord, I will seek" (Ps 27:8). The Psalmist continues to pray, "Who shall go up to the mountain of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and has not sworn deceitfully" (Ps 24:3-4). God is the one who purifies the heart, and the instrument with which He cleans it is faith. Therefore, trust in the Lord with all your heart (Prov 3:5). Purity of heart means willing one thing: God’s truth and God’s value in everything we do. If you want to be pure in heart, pursue God with utter single-mindedness.

As a priest and as people dedicated to the service of the Word of God, do I teach as doctrines the precepts of men or of God and the Church? Do I neglect the commandment of God and hold fast to the tradition of man-made structures?

The more I recognize my sin, the more I experience God’s wondrous love for me, even in my sin.

Psalm 36:1 - Sin speaks to the sinner in the depths of his heart. What is my meditation on this verse?

Am I a doer of the Word of God?

How am I going to guard my heart from being contaminated by the thirteen sins that Jesus lists?

If true beauty and goodness come from within, what do I do about the sins that arise from my heart?

The purity of the heart is to will one thing. What is that for me?

Have I made God’s law the foundation of my life?

How do I worship God: with my mouth or with my heart? 

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