Dt
4:1-2, 6-8; Jas 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27; Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
In the gospel, Jesus criticizes the scribes and the
Pharisees because they honor God only with their lips but their hearts are far
from Him. The Lord sees something hypocritical in the way these people observe
the Law since they concern themselves so much with external practices of their
religion but not with interior matters of their heart. For Jesus, the
cleanliness of the hands is far less important than the purity of the heart. “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” (Mk 7:21-22).
Like the scribes and the Pharisees, we also could
deeply involve ourselves with external aspects of religion and forget its
interior demands. We also might find the outer, visible matters of life much
easier to deal than the inner world of the heart. Attending Sunday masses,
saying the rosaries, giving gifts to the poor, comforting the sick, visiting
prisoners, etc. are important expressions of religion. Yet, there is an
interior world that shapes and gives meaning to these practices which must not
be taken for granted. We need to ask ourselves: What is the attitude or
disposition of our heart when we worship God or when we help the poor? It is
not enough that we pray; we have to pray earnestly. It is not enough that we
give; we need to give generously or without strings attached.
The second reading says that pure and undefiled religion
consists in this: “to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep
oneself unstained by the world” (Jas 1:27). The believer must listen to the
Word of God and put it into practice. He or she also must keep his or her heart
uncorrupted by worldly things and pleasures. In the practice of religion, therefore, “being” is as important as
“doing.” The character of the believer is fundamental for the goodness of his
or her actions.
The verses of our Responsorial Psalm are
traditionally called “entry-psalms.” In biblical times, they were sung by
pilgrims as they approached the temple. The verses remain relevant for us
because they describe the persons who are acceptable to God: “Those
who walk blamelessly, and do what is right, and speak the truth from their
heart; who do not slander with their tongue, and do no evil to their friends,
nor take up a reproach against their neighbors; in whose eyes the wicked are
despised, but who honor those who fear the Lord; who stand by their oath even
to their hurt; who do not lend money at interest, and do not take a bribe
against the innocent” (Ps 15:2-5).
We all need to pray that we will live justly and
righteously in the eyes of God and of people.
Perhaps you recall the story of the blacksmith who
gave his heart to God. Though conscientious in his living, still he was not
prospering materially. In fact, it seems that from the time of his conversion
more trouble, affliction and loss were sustained than ever before. Everything
seemed to be going wrong.
One day a friend who was not a Christian stopped at
the little gorge to talk to him. Sympathizing with him in some of his trials,
the friend said, “It seems strange to me that so many afflictions should pass
over you just at the time when you have become an earnest Christian. Of course,
I don’t want to weaken your faith in God or anything like that. But here you
are, God’s help and guidance, and yet things seem to be getting steadily worse.
I can’t help wondering why it is.”
The blacksmith did not answer immediately, and it
was evident that he had thought the same question before. But finally, he said
“You see here the raw iron which I have to make into horse’s shoes. You know
what I do with it? I take a piece and heat it in the fire until it is red,
almost white with the heat. Then I hammer it unmercifully to shape it as I know
it should be shaped. Then I plunge it into a pail of cold water to temper it.
Then I heat it again and hammer it some more. And this I do until it is
finished.”
“But sometimes I find a piece of iron that won’t
stand up under this treatment. The heat and the hammering and the cold water
are too much for it. I don’t know why it fails in the process, but I know it
will never make a good horse’s shoe.”
He pointed to a heap of scrap iron that was near the
door of his shop. “When I get a piece that cannot take the shape and temper, I
throw it out on the scrap heap. It will never be good for anything.”
He went on, “I know that God has been holding me in
the fires of affliction and I have felt His hammer upon me. But I don’t mind,
if only He can bring me to what I should be. And so, in all these hard things
my prayer is simply this: Try me in any way you wish, Lord. Only don’t throw me
on the scrap heap.”
(The story is told by
Lynell Waterman)
No comments:
Post a Comment