In today’s first reading, from Deuteronomy, Moses reiterates the law which God has given to the people of Israel. While we may be tempted to view these “statutes and decrees” as either rote rules or unfair impositions, Moses prefaces his delivery by reminding the people that God’s laws bring life. In following them, the Israelite community will serve as a witness to the surrounding nations of God’s wisdom, justice, and nearness—“For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God, is to us…?” (Deut. 4:7). However, this witness will only occur if the Israelites obey what comes directly from the Lord and do not add to or subtract from the law to suit their own preferences.
The law is again at the forefront of today’s Gospel. Jesus is confronted by a group of Pharisees, who are incensed to see some of Jesus’ disciples failing to observe ritual cleansing, a series of practices which had developed from oral tradition and were not part of the original Mosaic law. By observing such practices, the Jewish religious leaders hoped to avoid accidental contamination from Gentiles—to separate the “clean” from the “unclean.” However, Jesus reveals that, by placing their focus only on external purity, the Pharisees have forgotten that God is concerned only with the interior disposition of the heart. “…The things...from within are what defile” (Mark 7:15).
Like the Pharisees, it is often tempting to view evil as merely external and to create rituals that will separate the “clean” from the “unclean.” But Jesus returns our focus to the interior disposition of our hearts. Do our hearts consistently produce evil thoughts and selfish desires? Or do those who see us see a reflection of God’s wisdom and nearness? Let us pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal the true state of our hearts to us, so that we may become better reflections of God’s heart to those around us.
Reflection by Parishioner Kathryn Wilmotte