5th Week in Ordinary Time

1st Reading: 1 K 8:22–23, 27–30
Gospel: Mk 7:1–13*
One day the Pharisees gathered around Jesus and with them were some teachers of the Law who had just come from Jerusalem.
They noticed that some of his disciples were eating their meal with unclean hands, that is, without washing them. Now the Pharisees, and in fact, all the Jews, never eat without washing their hands for they follow the tradition received from their ancestors. Nor do they eat anything when they come from the market without first washing themselves. … So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law asked him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders, but eat with unclean hands?”
Jesus answered, “You, shallow people! How well Isaiah prophesied of you when he wrote: This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. The worship they offer me is worthless, for what they teach are only human rules. You even put aside the commandment of God to hold fast to human tradition.”
And Jesus commented, “You have a fine way of disregarding the commandment of God in order to implant your own tradition. For example, Moses said: Do your duty to your father and your mother, and: Whoever curses his father or his mother is to be put to death. But according to you someone could say to his father or mother: ‘I already declared Corban, which means “offered to God,” what you could have expected from me.’ In this case, you no longer let him do anything for a father or mother. So you nullify the word of God through the tradition you have handed on. And you do many other things like that.”

Commentary
“These people honor me with their words but their heart is really far away from me. It is no use for them to worship me, because they teach human rules as though they were my laws!”

It is not simply in keeping the laws
of an institution that sanctifies us;
it is keeping good laws that matters.
And good law, Jesus is clear,
is what makes both love of God
and love of neighbor
plain for all to see.

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