Homily for the Week of September 6, 2009

TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY, 2009

First Reading: Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 15:2-3, 3-4, 4-5

Second Reading: James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27

Gospel: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Many great things have been done in the name of religion, but also many bad things have also been done in the name of religion. All religions can be guilty of encouraging their followers of causing great harm to others. For example, over 1000 years ago the Catholic church organized Crusades to go to Palestine and get back that country that had become Muslim. Many were killed in the name of religion. In more recent times some Muslims organized under Al Quaeda or Hassbellah, or countries like Iran and Syria use air planes and bombs to attack the infidels living in places like the United States or Lebanon. All of these will quote the Koran as authority for their actions. We also have many Catholic cults who teach what they call the truth about Our Blessed Mother or some saint.

The Gospel I just read finds Jesus having the same problem with a group of religious fanatics called Pharisees. The Pharisees were more concerned about what the laws were, rather than why the laws are followed. The Pharisees were actually good people and probably very holy. Getting everything just right was very important to them. But they were more concerned about the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law.

The Pharisees have been noticing that Jesus and his disciples do not keep the Jewish traditions. These “traditions” were added practices. They were not the laws. There were all kinds of traditions affecting every aspect of their lives. Many of them had to do with how and when to wash your hands and cups and saucers. These were purity laws that were to be used in the temple. The washing of hands was not done for hygienic purposes. They didn't even know about germs and bacteria. Washing the hands was a religious ritual meant to prepare the priest for offering sacrifice. Priests today wash their hands in a ritual way as part of the Preparation of the Gifts. The Pharisees insisted that this ritual be done in the homes as well as in the temple. Jesus was not doing away with the teachings of his Jewish religion. He was doing away with certain customs or rituals which had been started by certain persons in the name of religion.

Catholics believe that our faith or our religion is based on the words of the Bible and Sacred Tradition. However, many ceremonies or rituals were added to our worship over the past 2000 years. For instance, those of us who started to learn our religion before 1965 remember the many changes in our Mass. We had altar rails. The altars and the priest faced the back wall. There were side altars. Most people came to communion twice a year: at Easter and at Christmas. The anointing of the sick was called THE LAST RITES. When a priest came, then it was sure the person was dying. These changes had nothing to do with why we go to Mass. They were about what the priest and people do and don't do at Mass.

To understand Jesus better, imagine Jesus having very dirty hands from having been working in his garden. His disciples are seated at the side of the garden at a picnic table. They too have been helping Jesus pull weeds. They had also pulled and plucked their noon meal, peeled the onions, washed some beans and were enjoying themselves while listening to Jesus discussing thoughts with the scribes and Pharisees. At the same time these persons were complaining that Jesus was too liberal. But their religion consisted of lots of rituals. They believed they would go to heaven if they followed all these rituals. They made the rituals equal to the law. By so doing they were neglecting justice and charity.

Following Jesus does not no mean acting religious, but rather it involves being like Jesus. All the religious behavior in the world cannot cover up a mean and unloving heart. I think we all know religious people who are really very nasty inside and we all know unreligious people who would give us the shirt off their back if we needed it. Which of these is truly religious? Jesus calls us to a happy medium where both our behavior and our heart are centered on him.

Using the law as a straightjacket to condemn others or reducing the law to mere external observance is not what Jesus asks of us. Jesus came to move our hearts to love. When we love, we go beyond the law and live in union with Jesus. Like him we live a life of service to God and others. Being truly religious means we serve others with a joyful heart.

As Americans, we have a love/hate relationship with law. We want the law to be enforced on others, but we want laxity for ourselves. If someone is speeding and cuts us off, we want to know where the police officer is who will ticket that person, but if we do the same thing we will have a dozen excuses for the police officer not to write us a ticket. We also want the law to be specific, and at the same time we don't. We want a clear speed limit so we will know how fast we can go. Once the limit is posted, however, we then want to know how far over the limit we can go before we risk getting a ticket. We often do the very same thing with the moral law. We might condemn another while forgiving ourselves for doing nearly the same thing. There is a saying that goes: "If you can't take it, don't dish it out." Whatever you do to someone else, you should be willing to have it happen to you.

Yet, if properly written and enforced, law is instructive, and not burdensome. The Law can gave us an identity, a sense of purpose, and a sense of meaning. It was clear that when we strayed from the Law we lose our sense of purpose and our identity. We have seen this happen in our economic crisis. As soon as financial institutions strayed from their rules, purpose and integrity, our economy tanked.

Each of us must find our ways to respond more generously o our life situation. It could mean overcoming a selfish relationship; or works towards protecting the rights of all persons, especially laborers whom we will honor next weekend; or being better prepared and having more enthusiasm for the coming to church or for our religious faith. We are called today, not so much to know the laws, but to live our Catholic way of life, especially, as we have come here to Mass. Let this time in church today be a time of prayer, and a time to unite ourselves with God.